Want to level-up your leadership? Follow Colossians 3’s to-do list

Tom Harper Feb. 24, 2025

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What if there were easy-to-understand instructions for building yourself up as a Christian leader?

While there are many places in the Bible with wonderful advice (like Proverbs), I've discovered a succinct checklist as good as any. Here it is, paraphrased from Colossians 3:1-17:

1. Think about the things of heaven.
2. Don't let these dominate your thinking: Sexual immorality, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, slander, or foul language.
3. If you're a believer, fully live out your new nature—let it be visible to all.
4. Be renewed by getting to know God better (primarily through his Word).
5. Be merciful, kind, humble, gentle, patient.
6. Be known for forgiving people who offend you personally. Remember, the Lord forgave you!
7. Live at peace. Be thankful.
8. Let the message about Christ fill your whole life (not just on Sunday).
9. Seek God's wisdom and share it with others.
10. Overall, whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.

Obviously, this list is about more than leadership. It reflects how Christ himself lived. Indeed, it helps us see how to live and lead in an integrated way.

While leadership is a job, it's also a tool Christ uses to sanctify us and others.

Do you feel called to leadership? If so, I have a recommendation for you … read fewer modern leadership books and more books of the Bible!

Reading with you,

Tom Harper
Founder, BiblicalLeadership.com
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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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