A fun model of leadership for those in Christian Education : )

1. GOD’S WILDLIFE
LEADERSHIP MODEL
A model of leadership for Christian Educators as
taught through the animals of the Bible

2. 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.”

3. A Quick Overview of GWLM

Introduction


Leading Animals



Bible / Leadership /
Animals
ants, deer, donkeys,
serpents, doves,
ostriches, hens, and lions
How the Model Works
Conclusion

4. 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 training in the Bible is more caught than taught.


Leadership is clearly a key issue in Scripture.
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.

5. 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.

6. GWLM Leadership Traits:

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.


Negative leaders:
are wild, unyielding, and
disobedient.
 are careless and
isolating.
 abuse their power.


7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

11. GWLM Counterpoints

Numbers 22:28 –
“Then the LORD
gave the donkey
the 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!”
Wild
Donkey
Domesticated
Donkey

12. 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.”
Cool
Chicken Hen
Bad Bird Ostrich

13. GWLM Counterpoints

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.”

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.”
Bad
King
Good
King

14. How the GWLM works

The 4 Cs of Leadership

Calling


Ex. snake
Confidence


Ex. deer
Competence



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.

15. 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.

16. 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!