“‘Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 NKJV
Leadership is action. Convictional leadership is principled action gripped by resolute biblical conviction. This is the bedrock foundation from which leadership at the helm charts the course forward. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. explains that:
“There is one and only one thing necessary for leadership, and it is indispensable. That singular thing is conviction—an unshakeable hold on certain commitments and definite beliefs that frames all of reality for the leader. Convictions are not merely beliefs we hold; they are those beliefs that hold us in their grip.”[i]
Without this kind of leadership, both the church and family suffer. Lives are destroyed, everyone hurts really bad, and civilization eventually crumbles. May God’s Spirit ignite a passion for convictional leadership in the depths of the souls of His people. Pray especially for a new generation of men, husbands, and fathers to hear and heed the call to convictional leadership in the church and right at home.
Biblical Truth at the Heart of Convictional Leadership
Revitalizing the church and family in this epoch of history begins with the resolute biblical conviction at the heart of convictional leadership. This bedrock foundation is established by five central truths: 1. Sovereign Majesty of God, 2. Finality of the Cross of Christ, 3. Security of Identity in Christ, 4. Primacy of Marriage and Family Life, and 5. Mission-Driven Engagement of Church and Culture.
Sovereign Majesty of God-Isaiah 6:1-8
The holy character and triune nature of God as the Eternal King, Sovereign Creator, and Merciful Redeemer is the central truth that grips convictional leadership (Rom.11:33-36). Awe and reverence for the Most High God is the beginning of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding (Pr.1:7; 9:10). It is only in the sight of God’s holiness that the rebel darkness of mankind is rightly understood (Rom.3:9-20, 23). The all-glorious majesty of His transcendence, moral purity, and separateness from creation is how depraved sinners know who we are and how we can be right with a holy God. Isaiah was an 8th century B.C. court prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah whose heart was broken in awestruck humility before the Holy One of Heaven. He was therefore transformed into a man of resolute biblical conviction. From this bedrock foundation, Isaiah was deployed into the harvest field of souls as a convictional leadership sent on mission to engage his generation with the salt and light moral back pressure of truth for the glory of Yahweh (Is.6:8).
Finality of the Cross of Christ-Romans 3:21-26
The biblical doctrine of justification was at the heart of the 16th century’s Protestant Reformation and the evangelical church in the 21st century would do well to remember the lessons of history in facing modern challenges to the gospel of grace. Christ’s righteousness imputed to the account of rebel sinners as a gift of grace received through faith alone in His Person and finished work on our behalf is central to our evangelical heritage rooted in Pauline theology (Gal.2:16-21). Along with justification, this glorious salvation is a multifaceted treasure consisting of such gifts as eternal life and spiritual regeneration, redemption and total forgiveness, reconciliation and adoption, and every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies all to the praise of God’s glory in Christ Jesus. Leadership action must be rooted in sound doctrine otherwise motivation and methods will not be consistent with God’s character nor resound to His glory (Rom.5:20-21; Titus 2:11-14).
Security of Identity in Christ-Ephesians 1:3-14
God’s grace is all-sufficient because it not only provides redemption but also sanctification. Sinners are transformed into saints, the unrighteous into righteous, and the ungodly into godly as adopted children in the family of God (2 Cor.5:17). The believer’s spiritual identity “in Christ” liberates him from feeling inadequate, insecure, and inferior to face the inevitable challenges of life (Eph.1:3; 2:6; 5:8). This truth sets the believer free from falsehood that enslaves to become in practical experience all which God has called them to be “in Christ” and to do all which God has called them to do through Christ (Jn.8:32; 1 Cor.6:9-11; Eph.2:10; Phil.2:13). Leadership action must be free from the debilitating chains of guilt, legalism, and self-effort otherwise it will not be sustainable when the breakers of life come crashing in.
Primacy of Marriage and Family Life-Ephesians 5:15-6:4
The practical reality of Christ’s indwelling life as demonstrated through marriage fidelity and family vitality is yet another truth at the bedrock foundation of convictional leadership (Gal.2:20; Ps.127:1; Pr.24:3-4). Godly character lived out at home is central to being qualified to lead in and through the context of the local church (1 Tim.3:1-15; Titus 1:5-9). This is not a peripheral issue because family is the first and foremost of God’s divinely ordained institutions which also includes the church and state or civil government (Gen.2:24; Matt.19:4-6). Leading well at home is a precursor and a prerequisite to leading well beyond home. The legacy of leadership impacts not only our lifetime but also future generations (Deut.6:1-7; Ps.78:1-8).
Mission-Driven Engagement of Church and Culture-2 Timothy 3:16-4:5
Convictional leadership begins at home, builds the local church, and proactively engages culture. This trust is a stewardship responsibility before God that intentionally builds the Body of Christ in both health and numbers (Eph.4:11-16). In other words, evangelism and discipleship is central to the mission, vision, and strategy of the Church (1 Tim.2:3-5). It requires substantial investment, sacrificial commitment, and unflinching determination to biblical priorities that shape the lifestyle of faithful Christians (Acts 20:24; Phil.1:20-21).
Bold preaching and teaching of God’s Word with timely application to the culturally relevant issues of our day is central to convictional leadership. As the pillar and ground of doctrinal truth in the community, local churches must champion the absolute authority of Scripture, creation order truths of gender and sexuality, the exclusivity of Christ, and the necessity of world evangelization (Jn.14:6; Acts 4:12; 2 Cor.5:18-20; Phil.2:9-11; 2 Tim.3:16-17).[ii]
Biblical Virtues that Drive Convictional Leadership
Leadership in general is defined as a process through which the leader’s influence propels people forward to accomplishing the group’s targeted goals.[iii] Convictional leadership is gripped by and built upon biblical bedrock. It is driven in practical reality by three biblical virtues: 1. Wisdom, 2. Vision, and 3. Courage. Wisdom to understand the times through the lens of a comprehensive Christian worldview, vision to see beyond what is to what ought to be by the transforming power of grace, and courage to proactively step out in faith to make an intentional difference in the world to the praise of God’s glory in Christ Jesus.
Wisdom to Understand the Times
This foundational virtue begins with a reverential fear of the vertical reality of the Lord God Almighty’s sovereign majesty (Pr 1:7; 9:10). It is from this vantage point that the Christian worldview rooted in God’s Word derives its absolute authority in the marketplace of ideas (2 Tim 3:16-17). An intelligent understanding of the times in which we live historically, culturally, and dispensationally fuels the urgency to wisely invest our time, treasure, and talent in eternity for the transcendent cause of life to which we have been called (1 Chron. 12:32; Eph.5:15-17; 2 Tim.1:8-11).
Vision to See Beyond What Is
In tandem with wisdom goes the vision needed to see beyond what is to what ought to be. This is what Yahweh provided for Isaiah the prophet after King Uzziah died. There was apparently no godly leadership in sight who could replace him and it was only a matter of time before the hammer blow of God’s judgment would fall so Isaiah in effect went to church, as it were, to seek out the necessary wisdom. It was at this point that Yahweh revealed Himself to Isaiah in such a dramatic fashion that the experience shaped the rest of his life and ministry (Is.6:1-8). Vision is critical to convictional leadership because understanding who the Lord Almighty is ignites an insatiable optimism in the goodness of His hand and the greatness of His outstretched arm in any era of history (Is.40:28-31). He is not limited by the trend-setting winds of a pagan culture that include the likes of secular humanism, progressive liberalism, woke neo-Marxism, and LGBTQ perversity. Visionary leadership built upon the bedrock of biblical conviction understands that this generation could very well be the Body of Christ’s finest hour (Eph.3:20-21 cf. Pr.29:18).
Courage to Proactively Step Out in Faith
Having wisdom to understand and vision to see is incomplete apart from the passion to courageously initiate decisive action as a concrete step of faithful dependence on the Lord (Rom.13:11-14; Eph.2:10). Since convictional leadership is defined by action, agents of change must possess the heroic resolve to valiantly chart the course forward and invite others to follow in suit. For example, Joshua was God’s man responsible for leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land after the death of Moses. On the heels of such epic leadership, he understood the enormity of the shoes that he was filling and therefore his desperate need for the courage to step up into such manly responsibility. He was reminded that whenever the Lord calls you to service, He also provides the power of grace to do it (Josh.1:9 cf. 1 Cor.16:13-14). At the heart of courage is the biblical reality that God is looking for faithful servants who are crazy enough to trust Him to use them as catalysts toward positive change in their generation (Heb.11:6 cf. Pr.3:5-6).
What Will They Say?
Imagine a conversation that your grandkids may have one day with their grandkids. What will they say about your leadership? What will they say about the kind of man, husband, and father that you were? What will they say about the kind of woman, wife, and mother that you were? What will they say about the difference you made in the life of your family? What will they say about the difference you made in the life of your church? What will they say about the passion of your life? What will they say about the zeal of your heart? Convictional leadership will have something to do with whatever it may be that our progeny will tell the generation.
By the grace of God, cultivate convictional leadership in the depths of your soul and be a catalyst toward revitalizing church and family with bedrock biblical truths that grip the heart and direct the life. This is the kind of passion that Al Mohler declares must be at the forefront:
“When a leader walks into the room, a passion for truth had better enter with him. One of the most amazing truths revealed in Scripture is that God’s people, from Israel to the church, require leaders. Those leaders, if genuine and faithful, are driven by conviction. And one of those convictions is that God sovereignly determines both the ends and the means. In other words, God intends for human leaders to be necessary to the accomplishment of His own ends through His own people for His singular glory.”[iv]
May it be so indeed for the sake of the Church, the Body of Christ, and the Christian home and family in this portion of time and space and history. Soli Deo Gloria!
[i] R. Albert Mohler, Jr., The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2012).
[ii] It should also be noted that mission-driven engagement through the lens of a dispensational understanding of Scripture upholds the integrity God’s character especially regarding His covenants of promise made to the patriarchs of Israel which are yet unfulfilled (Rom.11:25; Eph.2:11-12). At the heart of God’s prophetic program was to reach the nations through the direct instrumentality of Israel as the channel of blessing whereas today in the dispensation of grace He is reaching the nations in spite of them and through the Body of Christ (Eph.2:13-18). This departure from prophecy was a secret kept hid in God Himself until He made known to Apostle Paul “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery” (Rom.16:25-27; Eph.3:1-9; Col.1:24-27). Central to this body of truth is the responsibility of ministry leadership in the Church to preach and teach Christ’s person, work, and wisdom for the blessing of people and the glory of God (Col.1:28-29). See W. Edward Bedore, Unlocking the Scriptures: The Key to Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth (West Bend, WI, Berean Bible Institute, 2018) for more information on the dispensational framework of God’s Word.
[iii] Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice. 6th ed. (Washington, D.C.: Sage Publications, 2013), 5.
[iv] R. Albert Mohler, Jr., The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2012).
