Abraham is still held in high esteem by Jews and Gentiles alike. His name seems synonymous with respect and leadership. At least one of the reasons Abraham still enjoys this position of respect is because Abraham followed through on his commitments. Genesis 12-22

When defining leadership, many people have used the very succinct definition by J. Oswald Sanders where he simply states “Leadership is influence.” Every leader has a sphere of influence, people to whom their influence is direct and an extended sphere of influence where their influence is transferred through the next generation. According to Genesis 6:9 God chose Noah to be an influencer of an entire world starting over because “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.” Read Genesis 6-11.

Just a glimpse at Noah’s sphere of influence comes when we understand a few facts about Noah’s life.

Throughout history, when delegating leadership responsibility, God has looked for individuals with specific character traits rather than certain skills or physical qualifications. Read Genesis 6:5-7:1.

Humankind had grown so evil that God pledged to destroy it and all living things on earth (6:7). But the Lord’s pronouncement of judgment did not come without hope; God chose Noah, a righteous man, a man whose everyday actions indicated that he lived out his belief in God, to take the lead to save a remnant.

True leaders learn from their failure. Adam and Eve were a perfect compliment for each other and were co-leaders over creation. Eve was a leader who learned from her failure. Read Genesis 4:1-5:5.

Eve lived in a world that was free of pain, heartache and sin. Her choice to follow Satan rather than God brought devastating consequences to earth that we still suffer with today. Eve exchanged her life without pain for a hostile world with a brutal environment and even became the first mother to endure the heartache of a murdered child. Yet Eve demonstrated an ability to recover from failure and move forward.