God's wildlife leadership model

GOD’S WILDLIFE

LEADERSHIP MODEL

A model of leadership for Christian Educators as taught through the animals of the Bible

Unexpected Teachers

Generally, when people think of “leaders” in the Bible, the words: “wildlife” or “animals” do not come to mind. However, the Scripture presents leadership lessons through both man and beast that can be applied in the educational setting.

God’s Wildlife Leadership Model (GWLM) encourages Christian educators to take a Biblical “walk on the wild side.”

A Quick Overview of GWLM

Introduction

Bible / Leadership /

Animals

Leading Animals

ants, deer, donkeys,

serpents, doves,

ostriches, hens, and lions

How the Model Works

Conclusion

God’s Word and

Leadership Development

The word “lead” in all forms (ex. leadership, leaders, leading, etc…) appears 403 times in the NIV Bible.

Leadership is clearly a key issue in Scripture.

Leadership training in the Bible is more caught than taught.

Leadership lessons in the Bible are mostly implicit over explicit.

Leaders of all kinds appear in the Bible.

There’s a leader - man or beast - that you can connect with.

So what’s up with Animals,

Leadership, and the Bible?

Just as God often uses mankind in Scripture to illustrate a leadership lesson, God sometimes uses animals in the same way.

Over 100 different animals are listed in the Bible. Some simply appear in a story, while others are used to make a point.

GWLM Leadership Traits:

Negative leaders:

are wild, unyielding, and disobedient.

are careless and isolating.

abuse their power.

Positive leaders:

exhibit a passionate longing for Jesus.

are faithful workers.

are wise.

are gentle.

are submissive and obedient to God’s guidance.

are unifying.

demonstrate a healthy use of authority and power.

Deer are both “Jesus”

driven and satisfied

Psalm 42:1

GWLM requires us to first long after God. Many leaders mistakenly place their leadership position over God’s leadership position through their actions.

Illustration: Deer trails lead to water. A deer is never more than 3 miles from water.

Ants work hard and so should leaders!

Proverbs 6:6 & Proverbs 30:24-28

Many use their position of leadership as a way of avoiding getting their hands dirty. Ants work as a team, strategically, faithfully, and diligently. GWLM encourages us to do the same.

Illustration: Poking holes in ant hills as a kid.

Wise as Serpents

Matthew 10:16

Wisdom is best understood as applied knowledge. Fools have application without knowledge or knowledge without application. GWLM requires both knowledge and application, just as the word “wisdom” is Biblically defined.

Illustration: Snakes are arguably the most successful predators on the planet. Their knowledge alone will not keep them fed, but their wisdom (applied knowledge) will.

Harmless as Doves

Matthew 10:16

The word “harmless” is often translated as “innocent” and “gentle.” The idea here is that just as the Holy Spirit, often represented as a dove in Scripture, gently leads us as believers, we as leaders are to gently lead those we are responsible for as well.

Illustration: Doves are literally found all over the world and are generally recognized by people of all nationalities as an example of grace and peace.

Delicate Dove

GWLM Counterpoints

Numbers 22:28 –“Then the LORD

gave the donkeythe ability to speak. ‘What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?’ it asked Balaam.”

Genesis 16:12 – “This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey!”

Domesticated

Donkey

Wild

Donkey

GWLM Counterpoints

Lamentations 4:3 –

“They ignore their

children’s cries, like

ostriches in the desert.”

Matthew 23:37 –

“How often I have

wanted to gather your

children together as a

hen protects her chicks

beneath her wings.”

Bad Bird -

Ostrich

Cool

Chicken -

Hen

GWLM Counterpoints

1 Peter 5:8 – “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

Revelation 5:5 –“Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Good

King

Bad

King

How the GWLM works

The 4 Cs of Leadership

Calling

Ex. deer

Competence

Ex. snake

Confidence

Ex. lion

Character

Ex. ant

Each of the animals mentioned in this presentation speak towards one or all of these core characteristics.

By and large, people love animals… This model makes leadership development fun for all.

GWLM Do’s and Don'ts

Do:

Take the time to learn from God’s creation in the area of leadership.

Apply the constructive qualities from God’s creation to your life.

Do Not:

Acknowledge God’s creation as the source of authority instead of the Scripture in all areas, especially in the area of leadership.

Lead like the wild donkey, ostrich, or the prowling lion.

Conclusion

Leadership is great! Animals are great! God’s word is great! The power of the GWLM is discovered when one synergistically pulls all these topics together and integrates these components into his or her educational setting.

So go ahead… Take a walk on the wild side!