Lead Like a King
Dave Faust
The Bible is the best leadership manual ever written. As the books of First and Second Kings reveal the flow of biblical history, they also highlight positive examples to follow and tragic mistakes to avoid. Here are 10 lessons from Israel’s kings that every leader should take to heart.
When First Kings begins, Israel is united and prosperous. When Second Kings ends, the nation is divided and the people are in exile (2 Kings 25). In between, it’s all about leadership. Kings come and go, their reigns marked by summary statements noting how long they served and whether or not they remained faithful to God.
The Old Testament kings serve as a sobering reminder that leaders ultimately are evaluated not by length of service, opinion polls, and approval ratings. In the final analysis, leaders are accountable to God.
QUESTIONS:
This column first appeared in The Lookout on Jun 21, 2015.
Lay Down Your Crowns
Unless you’re Miss America, the king or queen of England, or a kid at Burger King, you probably never wear a crown. But we all understand that a crown symbolizes royalty, authority, honor, and victory.
Lead Us Not into Temptation
Have you heard about the overweight man who went on a diet? His normal commute to work took him past a bakery, and he started taking a different route each morning so he wouldn’t be tempted. One day, however, he arrived at work carrying a large cake. He explained to his coworkers, “I drove past the bakery and saw delicious cakes in the window. I told the Lord, ‘If you want me to eat cake, please create an open parking spot right in front of the bakery.’ Sure enough, I found a parking space on my eighth time around!”