What are your favorite leadership quotes (whether from the Bible or not)? This is a short list I compiled from the Bible. Enjoy:
Wait! Also check out the 3 leadership qualities Part 1, 2, & 3.
Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker deserves hispay.”
1 Timothy 5:17, 18
And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps,gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:28
This saying is trustworthy: “If someone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a goodwork.” The overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, not a drunkard, not violent, butgentle, not contentious, free from the love of money. He must manage his own householdwell and keep his children in control without losing his dignity. But if someone does notknow how to manage his own household, how will he care for the church of God? He must not be a recent convert or he may become arrogant and fall into the punishment that the devilwill exact. And he must be well thought of by those outside the faith, so that he may notfall into disgrace and be caught by the devil’s trap.
1 Timothy 3:1-7
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not two-faced, not given to excessive drinking, not greedy for gain, holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 3:10 Andthese also must be tested first and then let them serve as deacons if they are found blameless. Likewise also their wives must be dignified, not slanderous, temperate, faithful in every respect. Deacons must be husbands of one wife and good managers of their children andtheir own households. For those who have served well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 3:8-13
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.
Hebrews 13:17
When there is no guidance a nation falls, but there is success in the abundance of counselors.
Proverbs 11:14
Doing wickedness is an abomination to kings, because a throne is established in righteousness.
Proverbs 16:12
A dispute also started among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. So Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ Not so with you; instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
Luke 22:24-27
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavyloads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long. They love the place of honor atbanquets and the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. And whoeverexalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:1-12
In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clotheyourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but givesgrace to the humble. And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:5-7
At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, had him stand among them, and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven! Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:1-4
For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.” And even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way. Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that youcould be exalted, because I proclaimed the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbedother churches by receiving support from them so that I could serve you! When I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way,and will continue to do so. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.
2 Corinthians 11:5-15
Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person.
1 Corinthians 10:24
Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Matthew 15:14
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me. You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full. Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.
Psalm 23
All Bible quotes are taken from the NET Bible which can be found online at net.bible.org. Please share your favorite leadership quote that you have from the Bible. Let’s see how many we can find…
Wait! Also check out the 3 leadership qualities Part 1, 2, & 3.
The Carpenter's Ministry 
Thank you for those! Those are all excellent (and some convicting) to reflect on & to remember in this fast paced culture. We all know it, but good to see the words of “the throne being established in righteousness” to keep in the forefront of our minds & hearts as we interact with the world.
You are welcome. I agree, we need to reflect on these as well as the rest of the Bible often so we don’t get swept up into the cares of this world and forget about what truly matters most.
What truly matter most?
For me it’s obeying God. What matters most to you?
I was interested in the mental gymnastics necessary to rationalize the following pearls of ancient wisdom. I assume you can’t take God at his word in the following?
Exodus 22:20
Deuteronomy 13:6-10
Deuteronomy 13:12-16
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Timothy 2:11-12
1st Corinthians 14:34
Philemon 1:12
Also please explain:
Matthew 5:18-19
Luke 16:17
I’m going to assume for now that you are genuinely interested in knowing the answer to your question. If you are being antagonistic then I am going to ask you to no longer comment on my blog.
The first thing people do wrong is take a verse here or there to try to prove a point. Both Christians and non-Christians do this. We must always consider context before understanding what the Bible is saying. We must remember that the vast majority of the Bible was not written to us. It was written to a specific group of people, in a specific period of time with a specific message. We read it today to try to apply the truths in it to our own lives (specifically for those who are looking to know and follow after the God of the Bible).
More context to consider is that the entire Bible leads to Revelation 21 and 22, being reunited in eternal paradise with God. God wants us there. He allows us to chose His way or the way of the world. He wants everyone in heaven but allows people to make their own decisions.
More context to consider is truth. There is absolute truth and then there is relative truth. Both of which are in the Bible. More on this in a bit. Let me get to the quotes you listed:
Exodus 22:20
Deuteronomy 13:6-10
Deuteronomy 13:12-16
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
These are all a part of what is called the Law of Moses (although He received it from God). Context: God brought Israel out of Egypt so they can get to know Him. They only knew of the Egyptian gods. God had to spend a lot of time teaching them. You must base everything on this quote as to why some of this seems so harsh: “Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin.'” Exodus 20:20. God gave people a choice. With choices there are always consequences. He was nice enough to tell Israel in advance what the consequences would be. If they didn’t like it they were free to leave at any time.
Matthew 5:18-19
Luke 16:17
Jesus was referring to the 10 commandments here (absolute truth) not the other law above (relative truth). The other law was done away with, the 10 commandments stand until the end of the world. There are many books written about the difference between to the two so I’m not going to discuss it here.
Philemon 1:12
Slavery has meant different things during different times in history in different places. It was allowed by God because it was a way for poor people to have a home, food, and save some money. They were not forced slaves they were hired workers. (Think of when Jacob worked for Laban for 14 years). After 7 years of service (slavery) they had the choice to either leave or stay for the rest of their lives (Deut 15:12-18). Jesus didn’t come to the earth to abolish slavery. He came to die for our sins, and be resurrected so we too can be resurrected on the last day.
Timothy 2:11-12
1st Corinthians 14:34
Again you have to look at the context. Paul said this not to oppress women but protect them (relative truth). Again there have been many books written on this topic so I won’t expand on it further.
So, again I ask you, what truly matters most to you?
Hey thanks for the reply man. I certainly didn’t mean to come off as disparaging or pugnacious. I was just short on time and needed to get to the point. I appreciate you taking time to read my comment. I’m certainly not attempting to devalue your work. I write and blog regularly and the time and research involved can get very involved. I have to say that all I was asking for was your subjective evaluation of the barbaric passages that I provided. I didn’t expect deflection, rationalizing and endless unsubstantiated claims. Keep in mind that the burden of proof rests on those making outlandish claims. I apologize in advance for the lengthy post. I’ve used your posts for easy reference points.
I’m going to assume for now that you are genuinely interested in knowing the answer to your question. If you are being antagonistic then I am going to ask you to no longer comment on my blog.
No, I am not being deliberately provocative. Yes, I’m genuinely interested in the answer that you have for my question. I’m a Psychology student and I’m very interested in the ontology and epistemology of belief. I do want to spotlight that my question was in regards to how you would personally frame the passages that I provided.
The first thing people do wrong is take a verse here or there to try to prove a point. Both Christians and non-Christians do this. We must always consider context before understanding what the Bible is saying. We must remember that the vast majority of the Bible was not written to us. It was written to a specific group of people, in a specific period of time with a specific message. We read it today to try to apply the truths in it to our own lives (specifically for those who are looking to know and follow after the God of the Bible).
I would definitely agree that cherry picking scripture by anyone is obscurantism. The bible is a good place to start. There are a few things I’d like you to expand on when you mention context.
This often claimed that the bible was just the best that was possible for that community in that period of history. The 5th century BC was a time of such barbarism that Leviticus was like the US constitution and a brilliant document. It is an appalling guide to morality.
Considering that the old testament recommends (specifically, ad nauseam) the death penalty for: everyone who has cursed or hit their father or mother, everyone that has not listened to a priest, every women that is not a virgin on her wedding night, followers of other religions and their children and the entire town from which they reside, blasphemers, false prophets, infidels, people working on the Sabbath; adulterers, homosexuals, witches, fortune tellers, and nonbelievers.
I was wondering the appropriate context from which a sane person could entertain that these are the best possible explanations that god could think of during anytime in human existence. Considering he know that all these problems would arise anyway.
Claiming that these were god’s guidelines at all seem to drastically discredit him. You and I could sit down in five minutes and come to better conclusions than the murder of what would account to half of the American population.
A temporal deflection is once again obfuscating the patently obvious here. You’re saying that these deeply inadequate responses were the best god could think of to deal with imaginary crimes like witchcraft and fortunetelling? People were burned at the steak because they were accused of these crimes. Please note that not once in your reply did you resolutely condemn these practices or even pretend to grappling with the nuances. I don’t doubt that you think that they are appalling guidelines to build a sustainable society in any time in history. These are exactly the mental gymnastics that I was interested in.
More context to consider is that the entire Bible leads to Revelation 21 and 22, being reunited in eternal paradise with God. God wants us there. He allows us to chose His way or the way of the world. He wants everyone in heaven but allows people to make their own decisions.
You’re using the bible as a framework from which to draw beliefs when it suits you. There is not a reason to dignify the bible as informative. It is profoundly unscientific, wildly contradictory and loaded with barbarism, sexism, racism and tribalism – to name a few. There is not a single passage that couldn’t have been written by someone in their respective times. There is no mention of electricity or DNA or anything that would suggest that it is more than a catalog of self delusion.
The deeper problem here, is that we’re applying deductive reasoning to extremely shaky foundational claims. This would be laughed off the table in any other area of human conversation.
Here you claim to know what god wants. I’m sure that you’re aware that we ourselves have no idea why we do what we do. Let alone even another human being. This has been more than substantiated within psychology and neuroscience. We know that we have a distorted and constructed memory of a distorted and constructed perception, both of which are subservient to the narrative that your brain is under. This is why I chose Psychology as a profession.
I’d like to know how you’ve come to the conclusion that you know what god’s motives are. Note that the bible and personal experience are not verifiable data points that the real world entertains.
You also claim that we’ve been given a choice. Of course there is no real choice and you’re well aware of this. Infatuations with the glorious end of times and the end of the world in which all the good people that just have to be calling the right god by the right name, and living in the right geographical location with the right parents underpin this entire response. It’s us vs them in the context of this world view. Please explain how compulsory love and absolute fear are reconcilable.
The “choice” is to believe, which we all know cannot be fabricated, you cannot truly fake a belief, especially to a god that can supposedly convict you of thought crimes – the definition of totalitarianism. You can believe in this god on faith, which is to say on bad evidence, or face eternal punishment.
I have no doubt that believers really believe what they say and there is no way that you or I could wholeheartedly pretend to believe in each other’s point of view. This “choice” is analogous to having someone put a gun to your head; that also made you and knows exactly what you’re going to do from the beginning of time, but saying that they’ve given you the option to believe or die.
They’ve also conveniently engineered the punishment for something they knew you would do as well. This phantasmagorical would view is psychotic and psychopathic.
More context to consider is truth. There is absolute truth and then there is relative truth. Both of which are in the Bible. More on this in a bit. Let me get to the quotes you listed:
I definitely enjoy philosophy and I find it an indispensable tool when unpacking statements. I’m actually impressed that you brought it up, although it is a common trick of presuppositional apologists that have abandoned evidentialism and choose to play semantic games instead.
I agree on the universality declaration. Surely there are fixed realities and to claim that there isn’t is to state an absolute yourself. I assume that you’re talking absolute truth in terms of ethics and not logic.
In terms of morality and decisions surrounding right and wrong, taking into account your biases and cancelling them out is necessary. Seeking confirmation of your belief with the metaphysics you seek them is not how you arrive at truth. No where in human discourse do we play by these rules.
Relentless peer reviews, admitting that you’re wrong, not pretending to know things that you don’t know and intellectual honesty is mandatory. Religion is the antithesis of this. I provide passages from which god’s best answer to problems is to have us kill each other and you reference context. Please notice this.
To spotlight absolute truth is merely to say that there are right and wrong answers here. Relative truth is a slippery slope and I do think that’s another discussion. Unfortunately relativism, like spiritualism, has been hijacked with religious dogma, superstition and metaphysical baggage.
I think it’s important to review the ways we’re developing truth claims. It’s important to notice the dichotomy between consistently leading the evidence to your belief instead of following the evidence to where it leads.
Truth is generally defined as observations that are in accordance with fact or reality. Facts in this context, are the best possible explanations that we have regarding the nature of reality. These observations are testable, observable, repeatable and falsifiable. Whatever statement you make; is it verifiably true? If not, you cannot call it truth. God doesn’t fall into any of those categories and religious literature has been relentlessly and unequivocally eroded at an ever growing rate.
We base factual claims primarily in accordance with logic and not additional information. Claiming that there is absolute truth in the bible (10 commandments) makes it illogical to then command murder as guideline to a sustainable society – this is an overt illogical pattern. This falls into the relative truth category, which isn’t truth at all if it’s relative. You’re merely positing your subjective truth claims, in which anything can be true if you believe it, in accordance with your narrative that you need to be true to keep your world view intact.
Exodus 22:20
Deuteronomy 13:6-10
Deuteronomy 13:12-16
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
These are all a part of what is called the Law of Moses (although He received it from God). Context: God brought Israel out of Egypt so they can get to know Him. They only knew of the Egyptian gods. God had to spend a lot of time teaching them. You must base everything on this quote as to why some of this seems so harsh: “Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin.’” Exodus 20:20. God gave people a choice. With choices there are always consequences. He was nice enough to tell Israel in advance what the consequences would be. If they didn’t like it they were free to leave at any time.
Multiple logical fallacies that need to be shelved here.
The story of a mass migration has been definitely disproved by Israeli archeology. The same as a global flood, tower of babel and dozens of others. There is no evidence to support any of it. Christians would have made sure it made global news if any of these were ever confirmed. We would have both heard about it non stop.
This “choice” you reference is simply believe or be punished, with no 2nd alternative. You have to participate in a celebration of human sacrifice, you have no choice in this matter. If someone were to offer you this, you’d claim you had a choice?
How do you know that Moses received the old law from God? I’m talking evidentiary support, as is the standard in every other area of our lives. The bible is a book of stories, translated from hearsay by illiterate and ignorant people attempting to sell a celestial dictatorship to people that didn’t know anything at all about the universe, let alone themselves.
Bible scholars confirm that the earliest gospels were written decades after the life of Jesus and the events they report. Following this standard of evidence would make anything true if we put it into an ancient text and gave it some time. The length of time a cultural norm has been in place has no bearing on the validity of it.
God brought people out of Egypt so he could get to know them? I’m not even going to ask how you know this, the same standard of evidence applies here. An omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent (on it’s face a self contradiction), would never condone any of the barbarism and brutality that we’ve seen throughout human existence. He certainly would never need a lot of time, if any, to teach anyone anything or convince us of his existence.
If any one of our religions were true, the followers of that god would be experiencing tangible, and undeniable benefits. These benefits would be evident to everyone. There would be endless statistical markers affirming the worship of that god. People would have already lined up throughout history and there would be no question in regards to the one true god. There certainly would be no need to knock on anyone’s door or to leave pamphlets at gas stations to spread the faith. Modern society gives no indication of this.
Matthew 5:18-19
Luke 16:17
Jesus was referring to the 10 commandments here (absolute truth) not the other law above (relative truth). The other law was done away with, the 10 commandments stand until the end of the world. There are many books written about the difference between to the two so I’m not going to discuss it here.
The 10 commandments, the all knowing guidelines of which you and I could have a tall coffee at Starbucks right now and impart more wisdom to build a sustainable society. I can’t say that I expected to comment on the commandments. The first four are human emotions. There is no mention of children at all; no prohibition against violence of any sort including assault, child abuse, or spousal rape.
I’d first refer you the overt plagiarism of the code of Hammurabi, from which the commandments, virgin birth, resurrection, carpenter, son of god and miracle stories originated from in the Mediterranean over 10,000 years BC.
The Code of Hammurabi, which predated the 10 commandments by centuries, and of which we actually have an existing copy – yes, carved in stone. Numerous other civilizations – China, India, Sumeria, Egypt – had written legal codes thousands of years before the Jews fled into the desert.
All those codes had prohibitions against murder, theft, adultery, and fraud. And yet the Christians persist with their demonstrably false claim that they were first.
The first four commandments only regulate the believer’s relationship with the deity, an all powerful deity could easily prove his existence and not take up almost half if the human races’ guidelines. These have no place at all to build a society on. They also have no moral or ethical relevance for one’s conduct towards other people or in society at large.
The fifth commandment tells you to honor your father and mother. Fine! But this is also nothing to regulate a society with, and has also no relevance for your conduct towards other people than your parents. The rest of the fifth commandment “that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee”, makes sense when we realize that Jehovah thinks that the death penalty is suitable punishment for not honoring your parents, – or worse, speak ill about them
The commandments 6 – 9 are common to all known human cultures independent of religion, and not at all particular to Christianity. When Christians refer to the Ten Commandments in debates on ethics and morality, it is usually just these four commandments they mean. These are also usually the only commandments they manage to remember, if one urges them to recite the Ten Commandments.
The 10th Commandment deals with coveting, and has of course nothing to do in a code of laws. You can’t regulate human emotions by law; another wasted guideline, no matter what time in history you deflect to.
Either this is the best that god can come up with, or they’re man made. Of course I think there are good rules in there. Don’t kill and don’t steal ring a bell among others. These were already rules which were well received and widely accepted tens of thousands of years before Christianity hijacked them.
Philemon 1:12
Slavery has meant different things during different times in history in different places. It was allowed by God because it was a way for poor people to have a home, food, and save some money. They were not forced slaves they were hired workers. (Think of when Jacob worked for Laban for 14 years). After 7 years of service (slavery) they had the choice to either leave or stay for the rest of their lives (Deut 15:12-18). Jesus didn’t come to the earth to abolish slavery. He came to die for our sins, and be resurrected so we too can be resurrected on the last day.
You’re claiming to know god’s motives again here.
This slavery justification is reprehensible nd I’m shocked that you’ve even attempted to comment on this. The only reply in this context is resolute condemnation of slavery. Even if we did have a good reason to believe the bible was the word of god, owning another human being is a moral atrocity in any context regardless.
The equivocation over what slavery means is irrelevant. Jesus never repudiated slavery; god never saw a time in which owning another human being would become untenable. The God of the Bible also allows slavery, including selling your own daughter as a sex slave (Exodus 21:1-11), child abuse (Judges 11:29-40 andIsaiah 13:16), and bashing babies against rocks (Hosea 13:16 & Psalms 137:9).
The Bible clearly approves of slavery in many passages, and it goes so far as to tell how to obtain slaves, how hard you can beat them, and when you can have sex with the female slaves.
We should still be keeping slaves according to this world view. The south was on the side of theology. We do have guidelines though for slaves to please their christian masters especially well and are cautioned not beat them so hard that they die within three days or lose eyes or teeth in the process.
I hope that I’m wrong. I would love for you to provide a passage in which Jesus provides explicit rejection to the practice of slavery and stop playing pass the ball with semantic games.
To reason in this manner is to fail to connect to the suffering gratuitously imposed on other human beings. If you’re not willing to concede that your god should have foreseen an alternative to slavery, when you and I can easily see how morally abhorrent it is, we are never going to find common ground.
Timothy 2:11-12
1st Corinthians 14:34
Again you have to look at the context. Paul said this not to oppress women but protect them (relative truth). Again there have been many books written on this topic so I won’t expand on it further.
I’m guess I’m not willing to take the full contextual picture into view when I say that telling women to be quiet in church in accordance with the law and submissive to their husbands is wrong here as well. That is somehow relative truth. Never mind the 10 commandments, which is inflexible by your definition, classifies women/wife along side livestock and material possessions. Please provide the context from which we are to build a sustainable society without empowering women then.
So, again I ask you, what truly matters most to you?
The ability to use logic and human conversation are what it’s important to me. To truly be open to conversation. To not answer the question before it’s been asked. To follow the evidence where it leads instead of solely relying on my confirmation bias, disconformation bias, biased assimilation, sunk cost fallacy, backfire effect and assignments of intentional agency to keep my world view intact. The ability to change my mind and actually get points for proving myself wrong.
You’re a smart guy. Don’t limit yourself to traditions handed down to you that have deliberately restricted information from the start. How rigorously you seek truth says a lot about your honesty.
Making sure that the information you pass along, especially to children, says a lot about your honesty and who you are. Put the emotional hijacking and cognitive partitioning aside and think for yourself.
I grew up a believer as most of my life. Learn how to challenge your insulated presuppositions with every chance that you get. Good luck! 🙂
Thank you for sharing. I too have a degree in psychology. Unfortunately for you though, I don’t do debates. God hasn’t blessed me with those skills. There are plenty of Christian bloggers out there who do and are very good at it. I would suggest you seek them out.
I simply proclaim my faith and what the Bible teaches to those who are interested and who actually believe in the truth presented in the Bible. Sorry, but you are not one of those people who this blog is geared toward.
I wish you the best in your studies and in your life.
I appreciate the kind words and I wish you the best as well. Good luck with your blog man.