For a Christian, no decision is wise if made independently from God. Read Joshua 9:1-15

When the people of living in the land around the city of Jericho saw how God went before His chosen people and destroyed the city walls of Jericho, great fear nearly overwhelmed them. Many kings combined their armies and prepared for battle but the Gibeonites made a different plan. They sent emissaries to Joshua claiming to be from a far off land. They disguised themselves as weary travelers even down to the moldy bread in their saddlebags. They asked for a peace treaty claiming that they lived at such a great distance they would be of no danger to the Jewish people. In this instance, Joshua failed to consult God and made a bad decision. Once a decision was made, he was obligated to keep his word and his decision had long lasting consequences.

Making good decisions has special requirements for a Christian leader. Read Proverbs 1:1-7.

For the Christian leader making good decisions includes elements beyond accurately analyzing and processing information and temporary success or failure. To bear the name Christian along with the title leader they must also consider fairness, honesty, and morality as part of each decision. The book of Proverbs isn’t a decision-making textbook, but it was inspired by God and written by King Solomon of Israel, a leader who over the centuries has become known as the wisest man to have ever lived.

Ultimately a leader’s credibility comes from results. Read John 5:1-14.

As a Jewish man Jesus obeyed the established requirements of the faith to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate specific feasts. On one such trip He went to a pool near the Sheep Gate where people who were blind, lame and paralyzed came to be healed. While talking to the crowd Jesus encountered a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. Jesus healed him and sent him home. Because Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath, a day set aside for rest, the religious leaders were angry with Jesus. Normally the religious leaders could have discredited Jesus but because Jesus got results. He continued to gain credibility and His influence grew as God’s anointed leader.

When a leader has the respect of their team, their team will accept their vision. Read John 2:1-11.

A number of men, some of whom would eventually become part of His inner circle of 12 Apostles, had joined Jesus in His mission even before His first public miracle at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. These men were committed to Him and left their profession and accompanied Him as He traveled around northern Israel, but, according to verse 11, it was after He turned the water into wine that “His disciples put their faith in Him.” An important leadership principle is, “When a team trusts in a leader’s credibility, they will believe in that leader’s vision.”

The best leaders know their identity. Read John 1:1, 14.

What Jesus taught and what Jesus did are tied inseparably to who Jesus is, and the same is true for all leaders. John deliberately opened his Gospel with an allusion to the opening words of the creation account in Genesis 1. John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God. Although Jesus took upon Himself full humanity and lived as a man, He never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed, creator of the universe, the binding force that holds creation together.