Every competent leader knows the importance of building a team. Read 1 Chronicles 11:10-23.

The Bible offers an impressive list of military leaders connected to David, calling them his “mighty men” and describing several of their incredible exploits. David’s mighty men formed a loyal, committed and capable team who supported, encouraged and protected David in the years before and after he was anointed king of Israel.

John Maxwell speaks often in his writings of 360 degree leadership. Leaders lead no matter where they are on the organizational chart. Read 1 Chronicles 11:1-3.

Saul, the king of Israel, and his sons had been killed in battle with the Philistine army. The people of Israel, knowing that David had been anointed the next king long before Saul’s death, came together and appointed him king of Israel. As the most influential man in the country, David was leading long before Saul’s death and long before the people appointed him king. David was a leader long before he had position or a title.

There are some leadership traits that seem to lead to God’s special favor. Read 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.

God singled out one man, Jabez, from a genealogical list of more than 600 others for special recognition in 1 Chronicles. Why? What can we learn about Jabez from this brief mention in the Bible?

Verse 9 says, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.” According to the dictionary definition, Jabez was a man of personal integrity, guided by or with a reputation for having strong moral and ethical principles. Interesting that a leader’s character stays at or near the top of God’s list for a leader to be blessable!

The fruits of the Spirit of God are love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control and patience. It is interesting that leaders great or unknown, empowered or restricted, experienced or at the beginning of their journey, wealthy or without financial resources can all experience the fruits of the Spirit without limit or restriction. Every leader should look introspectively on a regular basis and determine if these gifts from God are present, increasing or decreasing. One of the fruits that tends to be a gatekeeper to enjoying all the others is self-control. As we move through the first 9 chapters of 1 Chronicles it is good to stop and look at one leader that lost it all because of lack of self-control. Read 1 Chronicles 3:1.

In the genealogy of King David, Amnon was his first born. One might suppose the firstborn son of a great king was foreordained to do great things for his people. Yet Amnon will end up little more than a footnote in Israel’s history and forfeited any claim to leadership because of his lack of self-control (2 Samuel 13:1-19). Amnon’s lack of self-control led to the disgrace of his family, destroyed his half-sister’s life and eventually resulted in his own death at the hands of a vengeful half-brother.

A leader’s legacy is remembered several ways. There are those on our team and in future generations that will remember our personal weaknesses, others will remember our successes, and still others will keep memories of our civil or religious achievements. As we enter the book of 1 Chronicles to view leadership principles it is important to know that whereas the books of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1and 2 Kings taught us principles of the personal weaknesses of Israel’s leaders, 1 Chronicles looks at the priestly perspective of David’s reign and stresses that leaders of purpose, vision and integrity leave a lasting legacy. Look through 1 Chronicles 1-9 and search for names you recognize from other Bible accounts.

The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles furnish a genealogy of Israel’s leaders. The genealogies take up almost a third of the book! The amount of space given the lineages of these Jewish leaders in this God-inspired book, the best seller in all human history and the single most important book in a Christian’s life, gives some indication of the value God puts on family, past tradition, and legacy. There are some things we can learn from this record of Jewish leaders: