The Source of Your Wisdom Defines You
What kind of wisdom is shaping your leadership? Even as Christian leaders, we can easily adopt popular leadership assumptions that may promise success but are ultimately rooted in an understanding that is not only unwise but could even lead to failure.
Two Contrasting Wisdoms
The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about two contrasting kinds of wisdom. The wisdom of the world, he says in the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians, is very different from the understanding gained through God’s Spirit. Not only are they different, but Paul claims that a person informed only by “human wisdom” cannot fully grasp what comes from the Spirit of God because it must be “spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Paul is clearly addressing wisdom and truth related to redemption and the “message of the cross” (1 Corinthians 1:18). But is it possible that the wisdom we seek for our leadership decisions and actions could also be divided between worldly, human wisdom and the deeper, higher wisdom God has for His steward leaders?
The World’s Leadership Wisdom
I often hear and observe marketplace attitudes and actions intended to help people succeed that can be driven by competition, personal striving, and sometimes outright greed. Here are some examples of organizational practices that can flow directly from what we might call the wisdom of the world:
| Leadership Practice | Underlying “Wisdom” Assumption |
| 1. Guard the organization’s reputation at all costs. | Protecting the institution is more important than complete honesty and transparency. |
| 2. Project confidence and avoid admitting mistakes or weakness. | Powerful leaders must maintain an appearance of strength; vulnerability undermines authority and confidence. |
| 3. Control information. | Leaders maintain power and influence by controlling the knowledge people can access. |
| 4. Reward loyalty to the leader. | Having personnel who are loyal to the leader is more important than organizational accountability. |
| 5. Let results justify the methods. | Success and effectiveness are the ultimate bottom lines and worth whatever price is required to achieve them. |
God’s Leadership Wisdom
In contrast, when someone is committed to a relationship with God as His steward leader, a very different set of practices emerges, along with underlying assumptions shaped by the wisdom of God’s Spirit. For example:
| Leadership Practice | Underlying Wisdom Assumption |
| 1. Tell the truth even when it exposes organizational weakness or failure. | Character matters more than personal charisma or reputation. |
| 2. Refuse to make organizational growth the ultimate measure of faithfulness. | Success belongs to God, and faithfulness to Him matters more than appearances. |
| 3. Listen carefully to people who disagree with you. | Humility ultimately strengthens leadership credibility and trust. |
| 4. Treat employees as people to develop, not merely as resources to deploy. | Every person is created in the image of God and has the potential to become His faithful steward. |
| 5. Exercise authority not as an owner or boss, but as a steward who is also under God’s authority. | Leadership power is entrusted to us primarily for the benefit of others. |
Wisdom and Power
Paul also presents an interesting point about the relationship between wisdom and power. Just as he differentiates between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom that comes from God’s Spirit, he also points us toward a very different understanding of power.
He tells the Corinthians,
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power”
1 Corinthians 2:4–5
From this and what Paul says in the surrounding verses, we can suggest a simple contrast:
The World’s Leadership Wisdom → Power to Dominate, Manipulate, and Suppress
God’s Leadership Wisdom → Power to Serve, Persevere, and Excel
A Wisdom Litmus Test
Not all leadership practices used by those whom God’s Spirit does not consciously guide are bad or wrong. Many leadership actions are morally neutral and make good sense. Examples include:
- Setting clear goals and expectations
- Faithfully measuring and evaluating results
- Conducting regular job performance reviews
- Communicating clearly with staff and clients
- Managing resources competently
Practices like these should become regular habits and disciplines for Christian leaders, just as for anyone else. The key is to employ them intentionally, with a clear sense of what is motivating us. The unthinking application of leadership practices can create a dangerous opening for unwise, worldly, or even selfish motivations to become the driving force behind our leadership.
With this in mind, here are three simple questions that can provide a litmus test for the kind of wisdom shaping our leadership actions:
- Purpose: Am I primarily protecting my own goals—or pursuing God’s ultimate purposes?
- Power: Am I using my authority to control people—or to serve others?
- People: Am I treating people as a means to my ends—or as God’s image-bearers?
A Different Kind of Power
The great danger for us as Christian leaders is not that we lack leadership wisdom to base our actions on. In fact, we are surrounded by it. The danger is that we become so accustomed to leading according to assumptions that are untrue or unwise that we no longer recognize it.
Paul reminds us that God’s wisdom sometimes appears weak, ineffective, and even foolish—at least by the world’s standards. Yet it is precisely this kind of wisdom that allows Christian leaders to discover and exercise a different kind of power—not the power to dominate others for personal success, but the power to serve others and ultimately accomplish God’s purposes.
Jon Lewis is a Senior Associate for Partnership Advancement with OC International and focuses on encouraging global Christian leaders towards greater ministry effectiveness. He also serves as the Director of the Africa Steward Leader Initiative. With over 40 years of experience, he also served as a MAF mission pilot in Africa and as CEO of Partners International.
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