Today in our men’s group we discussed Acts 20. As I read and prepared for our discussion, I noticed 21 character traits of the apostle Paul. Look over this list, and then take time to assess yourself as a leader. Which 3-5 of these are you doing well? Put a star next to these. Well done, good and faithful servant! Now, on which 3-5 of these do you need some improvement? Circle those.
- Humble (v. 19).
- Servant-heart (19).
- Integrity. Never hesitated to preach the Word, no matter what the consequences (20).
- Committed. Devoted to teaching God’s Word regardless of the venue (20).
- Unprejudiced. Taught everyone…both Jews and Gentiles (21).
- Compassionate. Had a heart for bringing lost people to Christ (21).
- Spirit-Led, not led his own thoughts and plans (22).
- Fearless; total trust in God (22).
- Spirit-filled. He listened to the internal promptings of the Holy Spirit (23).
- Faithful. He had a proper perspective on life – and death, and he persevered (24).
- Visionary: He could leave this earth knowing he had done all he could do, with no regrets (26).
- Passionate. He never held anything back. People got 100% of the Good News (27).
- Shepherd. He cared for and invested into people (28). (See their response to him in vv. 37, 38!)
- Shepherd-developer (28).
- Realist. He understood the reality of spiritual warfare (30).
- Warrior. He cared about the church and wanted them to be protected against the evil one (31).
- Not greedy or even interested in the world’s riches (33).
- Diligent; not lazy (34).
- Responsible (34).
- Giving (35).
- Pray-er (36).
QUESTION: What next step will you take as a leader to continue growing in your leadership characteristics? Who will you share this with … someone who can help hold you accountable? Please leave your comment below!
Allen White
Amy Jackson
CJ Stephens
Jay Daniell
Joel Comiskey
Kathy Stahlhut
Micah Odor
Michael Mack
Pat Sikora
Ralph Neighbour
Randall Neighbour
Rick Howerton
PastorMason
December 19, 2012 at 9:43 pm
"Shepherd-developer" really stands out to me. Great list Mike, thanks for compiling this!
Mike Mack
December 23, 2012 at 10:55 pm
I'd like to say I'm good at all 21 of these, but then I'd violate #1! 🙂
Si Won Hwang
January 30, 2017 at 7:26 am
I am going to develop for a Christian Global Leadership in Korea. It is good gift from you. I appreciate it and I would want to develop of the King David. My group name is David Academy of Myoung Sung Presbyterian Church in Seoul Korea. I was a vice Dean of it.
Michael C. Mack
January 30, 2017 at 9:00 am
I am so glad you can use it. I wrote a book about the leadership characteristics of King David called Leading from the Heart, published by TOUCH Outreach Ministries (www.touchusa.org).
http://www.touchusa.org/resources/leading-from-the-heart.asp