We live in a time filled with conflicting visions of leadership. In both the marketplace and the church, countless books are published each year offering strategies for success. At the same time, many in the church have grown wary of importing leadership models from the business world. After all, a church isn’t a corporation, and a pastor isn’t a CEO.
But it’s not enough to define church leadership by what it’s not. Saying that spiritual leadership is different from business leadership doesn’t tell us what it actually is.
Many theologians, pastors, and scholars have rightly worked to articulate a distinctly Christian view of leadership. This article is a small contribution to that effort—specifically from the perspective of Calvary Chapel. Some may assume that Calvary Chapel has already defined leadership through what’s often called the “Moses Model.” But the Moses Model speaks to the number of leaders, not the nature of leadership. It tells us how many lead, but not how they lead.
So what does Calvary Chapel believe about how a leader should lead?
While more can—and should—be said, I want to suggest three defining components of a Calvary Chapel philosophy of leadership: charismatic leadership, teaching leadership, and servant leadership.
Charismatic Leadership
In Calvary Chapel, leadership is fundamentally charismatic—not in the pop-cultural sense of charisma as charm or magnetism, but in the biblical sense of charisma, the Greek word Paul uses for the spiritual gifts.
Leadership, according to Scripture, is one of those gifts. Romans 12:8 and Ephesians 4:11 remind us that church leadership is a Spirit-empowered calling. It’s not something we earn but something we receive. It’s not a natural talent but a divine entrustment. And it’s never a license to dominate, but always a call to steward.
This understanding reframes the journey into church leadership. It doesn’t begin with aspiration or appointment—it begins with the gift: a Spirit-given ability to lead, recognized both inwardly and by the church community. That gift gives rise to a role—shaped not by title, but by opportunities and invitations to serve. Over time, as faithfulness continues and fruit becomes evident, godly leaders and the surrounding fellowship acknowledge what God is already doing by appointing the individual to the office—a public recognition to shepherd and oversee God’s people.
That’s why Calvary Chapel has historically emphasized that a seminary degree doesn’t qualify someone for ministry—only God does. We believe in the value of theological education (I’ve given my life to it), but we don’t confuse preparation with calling. The role of the church is to discern where God has gifted and called, and to come alongside those individuals with encouragement, training, and trust.
In short, for Calvary Chapel, leadership isn’t to be achieved or aspired to—it must be gifted.
Teaching Leadership
For Calvary Chapel, pastors lead primarily by teaching the Word of God. The pulpit is the platform of leadership.
Yes, administration and strategic planning have their place. Every church needs structure and stewardship. But in our philosophy, the primary leadership of the church isn’t administrative, visionary, or executive—it’s teaching. In Scripture, it’s the elders who teach who are “worthy of double honor” (1 Timothy 5:17), and it’s through the ministry of the Word that the church is nourished, corrected, and built up.
In other settings, leadership might flow from the boardroom or the branding agency, from the strategist or the organizational architect. But in the church, leadership begins with those who open the Scriptures and rightly divide the Word of truth. To lead is to teach, and to teach is to lead.
At its core, this is a statement about authority. Scripture functions as the church’s supreme rule of faith and life. So pastoral leadership isn’t about personal vision or persuasive personality—it’s about faithfully opening the Scriptures and letting God speak.
It’s also a statement about effectiveness. We believe that the Word of God does the work of God. It convicts, converts, and transforms. Our leadership isn’t primarily about innovative ideas or compelling strategies. It’s about sowing the seed of the Word and trusting God to bring the growth.
This commitment to teaching leadership isn’t limited to the pulpit. It continues in counseling, discipleship, and spiritual guidance—wherever the Word of God is brought to bear on real lives. Whether in a counseling room or a coffee shop, Calvary Chapel leaders view teaching the Word as their central task.
In practice, this makes church leadership a matter of patient cultivation. It’s more like gardening than manufacturing. We look first for transformation in the church before transformation in the world. We don’t drive ministry by force of will—we feed the sheep and let ministry grow from health.
Borrowing a metaphor from The Trellis and the Vine, we might say that wise pastors prepare the soil with the Word of God, watch for ministry to sprout, and then build the trellis structures to support what’s already living and growing.
Servant Leadership
Jesus made it clear: “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them . . . but it shall not be so among you” (Mark 10:42–43). In the church, leadership isn’t about privilege or power. It’s about responsibility and service.
Leaders are stewards. They’ll give an account for how they’ve cared for those entrusted to them (Hebrews 13:17). That means leadership is ultimately about serving Christ—and, like Christ, serving others.
This service isn’t a tactic to win influence. It’s not a strategy. It’s the shape of Christian leadership. In the church, people are not “resources”—they’re brothers and sisters. They’re the body of Christ.
In Calvary Chapel, leadership happens shoulder-to-shoulder. It’s not just “management by walking around”—it’s management by ordinary, intentional acts of love. It’s not leadership by executive command but by personal example (1 Peter 5:3). We don’t call others to make great sacrifices for our vision. We offer ourselves in sacrifice for their good.
Together, these three convictions form a Calvary Chapel approach to leadership:
- We recognize those gifted by God and depend on the Spirit to empower them.
- We lead by opening our Bibles, not just casting vision.
- We take the towel, not the throne—serving with humility and love.
These convictions don’t exclude the helpful insights of other leadership models. But they anchor leadership in what matters most. And in a world of shifting strategies and trending techniques, that’s exactly what the church needs. When these convictions are lived out, the result is a church led by shepherds, not celebrities—where the Word is central, service is joyful, and the Spirit is trusted to lead.
To learn more about these principles in action and connect with like-minded leaders, join us this June at the CGN International Ministry Conference. Register now at conference.calvarychapel.com.
