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In 2 Timothy 2:22, the apostle Paul puts together two unlikely words: flee and pursue.
You may think those words are opposites, but actually they are partners in a leader’s effectiveness. Godly leaders have Don’ts and Dos that help them operate at their peak effectiveness. It seems to me that the Don’ts need to be attended to first, which will enable leaders to do the Dos better.
Or as Paul might say it: Flee the Don’ts to pursue the Dos.
Don’t engage in foolish arguments about meaningless things
Don’t be quarrelsome
Don’t resent others, even those who are opposing you
Pursue these Dos:
Do strive for righteousness, faith, love, and peace to be more evident in all of your relationships
Do be kind to everyone
Do learn to teach well, especially those who have been taken captive to do the devil’s will
The Dos require a full-time engagement of my time and energy, allowing me to continually grow in my faith in God and in my leadership acumen. The Don’ts will cause my growth to plateau and then to stagnate.
A mark of a godly leader is one who knows his Don’ts and Dos.
So I challenge you: don’t do the Don’ts so that you can do the Dos better, which will then allow your leadership influence to continue to grow.
This is part 87 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Leadership is influence.
Influence doesn’t try to get a following, but people naturally follow a leader who quietly, consistently, and effectively shows up for them.
Jesus saw the needs of people and was moved by compassion to relieve their distress. Peter said He simply went around doing good (Acts 10:38). He gave value to the overlooked, He touched the so-called untouchable, He embraced the rejected.
Jesus said, “I didn’t come to be served but to serve and to give My life away” (Mark 10:45).
This commentary from the folks at He Gets Us is spot-on:
So often our idea of leadership is about asserting dominance and wielding authority; Jesus on the other hand revealed a radically different approach to greatness.
Jesus chose a path that seemed almost counterintuitive, especially to many of those around Him. He showed that true influence doesn’t come from throwing your weight around or flexing your authority—it comes from genuine empathy, authentic care, and intentionally seeing people and going toward them.
Instead of building a platform or demanding attention, Jesus moved quietly through communities, transforming lives through genuine relationships.
He didn’t network with the powerful or chase prestigious connections.
He sat with the overlooked.
He listened to the ignored.
He gave dignity to those society had dismissed.
Jesus’ approach to influence and greatness wasn’t about commanding rooms or dominating conversations—it was about creating spaces where others felt seen, heard, and valued, demonstrating great love in those moments.
When He had opportunities to grasp power, He chose instead to empower others.
His visible leadership wasn’t built on titles or positions, but on authentic relationships He cultivated and the lives He transformed through His genuine care and concern. (‘What is Greatness?’)
In my book review of Spiritual Leadership, by Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, I commented that this book combines two of my favorite topics: Leaders and the Bible. I highlighted so many passages in this book, but here are a few quotes that show that merging of leadership and biblical studies.
“Spiritual Leadership is moving people on to God’s agenda. … Spiritual leaders cannot produce spiritual change in people; only the Holy Spirit can do that. Yet through the Spirit, God often uses people to bring about spiritual growth in others. … That is the crux of spiritual leadership. Leaders seek to move people on to God’s agenda, all the while being aware that only the Holy Spirit can ultimately accomplish the task.”
“Spiritual leadership is taking people from where they are to where God wants them to be. Because God’s agenda drives spiritual leaders, it is God, and not the leader, who determines when His will has been accomplished (1 Samuel 15:13–24).”
“An important truth that is often overlooked is that spiritual leaders can influence all people, not just Christians.”
“According to the Bible, God is not necessarily looking for leaders, at least not in the sense we might think. He is looking for servants (Isaiah 59:16; Ezekiel 22:30).”
“It is generally in tumultuous times that people make the greatest difference in their world. The greater the crisis, the greater is the opportunity for leaders to make a difference. Those who complain about their difficulties or shrink from crises prove they are not leaders regardless of whether they hold such an office. But people who recognize the opportunity history affords them and boldly accept the invitation will change their world. … True spiritual leaders do not wring their hands and wistfully recount the better times of days gone by. Genuine leaders understand they have but one life to live and so they expend it with purpose and passion. God placed you on the earth at this particular crossroad in history. You live in a time of great challenges but enormous opportunity.”
“God has the vision of what He wants to do. God does not ask leaders to dream big dreams for Him or to solve the problems confronting them with their own best thinking. He asks leaders to walk with Him so intimately that when He reveals His agenda they immediately adjust their lives and their organizations to His will and the results bring glory to God.”
“Leadership development is synonymous with personal development. As leaders grow personally, they increase their ability to lead. As they increase their capability to lead, they enlarge the capacity of their organization to grow. Therefore, the most crucial objective for any leader is personal growth. … The most important thing spiritual leaders do is cultivate their relationship with God (John 15:5; Jeremiah 7:13).”
More quotes from this amazing book are coming soon, so stay tuned!
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Gratitude is a great separator for leaders—it gives them a better vantage point from which to lead people and increases their effectiveness as a catalyst for organizational change.
In short, a grateful leader is a great leader.
Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on The Craig and Greg podcast episode We are Grateful.
And you may be interested in a whole series of posts and video where I talked about the psychological, physiological, emotional, and relational benefits of making gratitude our focus. The series was called Be Thankful.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
We are grateful for you! Greg and I love talking about leadership, and it’s a great joy that you tune in to listen. In this episode we discuss why an attitude of gratefulness is so important for leaders year-round, not just around the holidays.
[0:17] We are so grateful for you!
[1:25] What is it about gratitude that make someone a great leader?
[4:28] Grateful leaders have greater influence with people around them.
[8:14] It’s easier to build consensus on our teams when we have a thankful paradigm.
[10:52] Thankful correlates with graceful. This is such an attractive quality for leaders.
[14:10] Greg asks me elaborate on how gratitude ties into my book Shepherd Leadership.
[16:09] How does a grateful mindset help us get through the tough times?
[18:56] Happiness is not the same as joy. Joy is much deeper and serves us as leaders much better because happiness can be gone really quickly.
[23:16] We give you some “homework” that will help you grow your gratitude.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
If God has given you influence as a leader, it is never to further your agenda but to help others grow. Leadership is about servanthood. If we try to make leadership about others serving us, we will quickly get ourselves in trouble.
Check out this full conversation Greg and I had on an episode of The Craig and Greg Show called “The responsibility of power.”
He turned to God and the people put away their idols <or>
He turned from God and the people turned to their idols
It’s true: As goes the leader, so go the people.
In my life, I’ve experienced that the good things that I do over-the-top are only moderately emulated by those around me. But the unhealthy things that I even slightly indulge in are adopted quickly by everyone else.
Godly leaders must be so aware of how their example impacts everyone around them, and they must fight to maintain biblical standards. When we miss the mark, we must be quick to admit our shortcoming, repent, and get back on track.
In Hosea 4:9, God warns that the people will follow the ungodly example of their leaders, which is why God’s punishment is often more severe for those leaders.
On the positive side, in Leviticus 9, Moses and Aaron demonstrate the leadership example of spending time in God’s presence and fully obeying everything God had revealed to them there. Then verse 23 it says that after they came out of His presence, God’s glory appeared to all the people. The positive example of the leaders led to huge blessings for all the people!
A mark of a godly leader is one who increasingly aware of the power of his example.
Leaders, let’s be first to go first in…
…being in God’s presence
…obeying God’s commands
…repenting when we fall short
…asking forgiveness of those who have seen our poor example
…asking God to bless His people because of our good example
This is part 77 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
As leaders, we are called to set the example for our organization. As Greg and I discuss in this episode, the quickest way to make a positive change in your organization is to exhibit the traits you want to see. Do that with consistency, and your team will begin to reflect those traits back to you.
[0:00] Welcome to our new studio!
[1:06] The way a leader leads influences the way the team follows.
[3:03] A leaders team will reflect the attitude they exhibit.
[5:53] Leaders need to constantly be interacting with their team to “check the pulse.”
[7:13] Recognizing innovation in your team is a compliment to your leadership.
[9:10] If there’s a trait we want our team to embody we must exhibit it first.
[10:20] If you don’t recognize potential in teammates you will always hire low-potential individuals.
[13:04] Consistency is important to how a leader reflects values.
[15:13] Leadership vs Bossing
[17:10] Jesus set an example for us of servant leadership.
[18:26] At some point your team will test you to see if what you’re saying is real.
[22:06] If you’re going through a difficult time, a coach can help you navigate. We would love to help you!
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Staying power is something special. It especially stands out to us when someone holds their position for years and continues to remain one of the go-to people in the organization. For Christians, the key to staying power may not be as difficult to obtain as you may think.
The timeline between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar:
Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 and was succeeded by his son Amel-Marduk.
Amel-Marduk was assassinated by his brother-in-law, Nergal-Sharezer, two years later (560 BC), who then assumed the throne.
Four years later (556 BC) Nergal-Sharezer died, and he was succeeded by his son, Labashi-Marduk.
Before a year had passed, Labashi-Marduk was assassinated by a group of malcontents headed up by Nabonidus, who then assumed the throne.
Five years later (550 BC), Nabonidus died and was succeeded by his son, Belshazzar.
Darius—a common name for Medo-Persian rulers. “Darius the Mede” (Daniel 5:31) is a more mysterious figure who, so far, appears only in the Bible. Historians think he may have been Gubaru, an officer in Cyrus’ army who became governor of the Persian province of northern Babylon. In this case, he’s the military leader who invaded Babylon, killed Belshazzar, and effectively ended the reign of Babylon. Persia was now the new world power.
Darius I, called the Great, reorganized the government into satraps and extended the boundaries of the empire (Daniel 6:1-3). Daniel was appointed as one of three presidents over the 120 satraps but was being considered as the chief of the three.
Cyrus the Great was king of Persia from 550-529 BC. When Cyrus became ruler of the Persian district of Anshan, the district was subject to the Medes; five years later he led a rebellion against the Medes that resulted in the capture of King Astyages and the overthrow of the Median Empire. Thereafter Cyrus called himself king of Persia. In 539 BC the kingdom of Babylon fell to Cyrus.
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Let’s say you are thinking about buying a particular book. Are you more likely to buy that book because the author says it’s good, because a book reviewer says it’s good, or because a close friend says it’s good? I think all of us give more weight to the suggestions from our friends, especially because they have nothing to gain from making that suggestion.
In the same way, when someone close to us says, “I know from personal experience that following Jesus is the best decision that I have ever made. Making Jesus my Lord and Savior has completely changed everything for me,” it’s easier for us to make that same decision for ourselves.
The deeper the level of our intimacy with someone usually means we have more influence with them.
Jesus told us all about the Holy Spirit when He was discussing His ascension. He wasn’t going to leave us as orphans, but told us of the intimate connection the Spirit would make for us. For instance, Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever—the Spirit of Truth” (John 14:16-17).
Notice that Jesus considers the Holy Spirit an irreplaceable and coequal part of the Godhead—I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor (see also Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 10:21; Matthew 28:19).
The word Jesus uses for Counselor is parakletos. This means One who comes alongside to help us. I like all the words the Amplified Bible uses: “Comforter—Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby.” Indeed, Luke records numerous instances where the Holy Spirit is alongside Christians to strengthen and encourage them (for instance: Acts 4:8, 6:10, 9:31).
Notice as well that Jesus tells us that as a part of the Trinity the Holy Spirit is eternal: “to be with you for ever.” Because the Holy Spirit is fully God, He knows the end from before the beginning. His perspective is infinite, so He can guide us in ways that only One who can see everything could guide us. For example, He leads us to places we might not have chosen on our own (Luke 4:1; Acts 8:29), or stops us from going somewhere at the wrong time (Acts 16:7), or talking with people we might have overlooked (Acts 10:19, 11:12).
Jesus also calls the Him the Spirit of Truth. He reveals things that we could not have perceived with our natural minds (see Acts 5:1-9).
And Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a great Teacher, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). So we see the Holy Spirit helping us apply Scripture to our prayers (Acts 4:25-26) and to incredibly complex and delicate situations (Acts 11:15-18, 15:1-21).
The Holy Spirit is not a force to fear but a Person to know ever more intimately.
When our lives are transformed and expanding because of an intimate, ongoing, vibrate relationship with the Holy Spirit, we are witness (Acts 1:8). You cannot exhaust all that the Spirit has for you, so keep abiding and growing in that intimate relationship. Let it be said of you as it was said of Peter and John: “We can tell you have been with Jesus!” (Acts 4:13).
In 2 Timothy 2:22, the apostle Paul puts together two unlikely words: flee and pursue. 
Craig T. Owens 