What Does the Bible Say About Leadership?

"But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens."

"When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan."

"But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves."

"Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.) He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap."

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."