What Can We Learn From Paul on Leadership?

Can we learn how to be better leaders by implying ancient wisdom? The Book of Acts provides a detailed account of Apostle Paul’s leadership journey. His mission-driven mindset enabled him to stay focused on his calling and triumph over adversity. Apostle Paul used what the enemy meant for evil to use it as a pedestal to share his testimony and to be a witness for Christ. Let’s dive into a few chapters from the book of Acts and draw out some pointers on how Paul modelled leadership.

1. Courage and perseverance

At this point in the book of (Acts 21), Paul is not a favourable man to some of the Jewish people. Some of the Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple, so they formed a crowd and dragged him outside of the temple, beating him and plotting to have him killed. After the appearance of the commander with his soldiers at the scene, the Jews stopped beating Paul, and the commander ordered Paul to be arrested and put in chains. Paul could have taken many different approaches that would have better served him. He was a Jewish citizen, and at this moment, he could have appealed directly to his Roman citizenship and emphasized his rights as a Roman citizen to avoid punishment. He could have engaged in a theological debate to make a case for his belief or remained silent and waited for a formal trial where he might have had a more controlled environment to present his case. Perhaps he could have highlighted his zeal for Jewish law, which might have made the audience more sympathetic to his new perspective.  

Instead, Paul chose to live out (Romans 5:3-5): “³ Not only so, but we^[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. In the darkest times, when Paul faced adversity, he displayed courage and perseverance. Even when he was arrested, falsely accused and imprisoned, Paul did not waiver in his faith or his mission. Instead, we read in (Acts 22:1-21) that he uses what was meant to break him as a platform to share his testimony on how he had encountered Jesus and how that encounter has transformed his life.  

2. Focused on the call

 ²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city, the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace (Acts 20:22-24).

In these verses, Paul expresses his determination to go to Jerusalem despite knowing he will face hardship and imprisonment. He is willing to endure these trials because he is focused on fulfilling his mission to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. Paul was so laser-focused on what he was called to do that he refused to be deterred from his God-given task even when facing personal hardship and potential danger. He emphasizes that his life is worth nothing to him compared to completing the task given to him by Jesus.

It was at the end of 2016 that I decided to follow Jesus and pursue ministry wholeheartedly, as I knew that that’s where I was called. The next thing I did was to start attending Bible College, and shortly after, I married the love of my life. While attending Bible college part-time, I ran my own business full-time, and shortly after, we welcomed our first-born son, Enzo. In 2022, while continuing my studies, fulfilling my husband and father’s duties and running my business full-time, I was given the opportunity to do part-time ministry at our Burnaby campus. As you can imagine, life quickly got really busy, and I could feel the pressure of fulfilling my call as a husband, father and minister. There were days when I felt like I couldn’t take another step or hand in another assignment. In those days, I had to remind myself of my purpose and calling and switch my focus from hard times to the destination. Now, I’ve finished my master’s in Ministry and full-time in ministry, and what helped me persevere and get to where I wanted to be seven years ago is the strength of the lord and my laser focus on getting to where God had called me.

One of the most profound quotes comes from Bruce Lee, a master of martial arts, actor, and filmmaker. He said, “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” It’s a simple yet deeply meaningful statement.

Paul was able to confidently say that he had fought the good fight, run the race, and kept his faith because of his laser-focused mind on the calling.

3. Engaging in respectful dialogue.

In (Acts 26), Paul is brought before King Agrippa to defend himself against all the Jews’ accusations. In this chapter, Paul displays a tremendous amount of respectful dialogue and makes his appeals to those in positions of power. He begins his defence by respectfully addressing King Agrippa, acknowledging Agrippa’s familiarity with Jewish customs and controversies. Rather than resorting to confrontation or aggression, he seeks to reason with his accusers and presents his case in a measured and thoughtful way. Throughout his defence, Paul maintains a demeanor of calmness, confidence and integrity, which strengthens his credibility. Paul had every right to be angry at everyone because of how he was treated and represented, but rather, he chose to be a difference-maker by doing the opposite of what everyone else thought he should be doing. Instead, he decided to reflect Jesus in his hard times. 

Apostle Paul has set a great leadership example on how to face hardships in every area of life. He encourages us not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be the salt and the light by being laser-focused on who we are in Christ and what work he has set out for each of us to fulfill.

I want to leave you with this quote: “We must learn from those who came before us and strive to leave a better world for those who will follow.”- (Anonymous)