How to build leadership authority

Tom Harper June 21, 2021

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When Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me," he acknowledged that even he – the Son of God – had to receive his authority. He didn't assume it or take it.

Authority is tricky because most people think it means "authoritative." If someone is authoritative, he must be a leader, and therefore must be obeyed.

But this kind of leadership doesn't last, because true authority is spiritual. It's a matter of the spirit, not the job.

Spiritual authority is derived from worship. Who or what we worship has our permission to rule our hearts and give us power. Our deep-set desires spring from the object of our worship. And these desires always come out in our leadership. Sometimes in destructive ways, sometime productive.

Let me illustrate with the five objects of worship:

Worship of self – Your power and authority come from your ego; you become a prideful leader. This is short-term leadership that never ends well.

Phil. 2:3 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Prov.16:18–Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Worship of others – Your authority comes from the permission of other people; you become a passive leader. Your lack of initiative may eventually disqualify you from leadership.

Acts 5:29– Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than human beings!"

Worship of sin (and Satan) – Your power comes from your lusts and desires driving you to satisfy them; you become a slave to sin, a power-hungry and immoral leader.

Luke 4:5-7 – The devil led Jesus up to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

Worship of money – Your power grows the richer you get; you become a fearful leader, anxious about losing your treasure.

Matt. 6:24 – No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Worship of the Lord– Your power comes from God; you become a humble, authoritative leader.

Ps. 149:4 – For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

Followers grant the leader authority first because of position, then continue following if their own interests are served.

Followers may not immediately see the source of the leader's own authority – thinking it's only because of position – but over time it becomes evident. When they realize the source (see the list above), our leadership is either diluted or cemented.

Think of a general who wins victories, but who is later found out to be a self-serving megalomaniac who sacrificed the lives of his soldiers in order to claim victory for himself. What becomes of his leadership then?

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, our Lord made a statement that should define our own leadership and the source of our authority: "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019).

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Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More »

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