Trust the Bible: A chapter from Wisdom in Leadership

This is chapter 2 from Wisdom in Leadership by Craig Hamilton.

This almost feels like a silly chapter to write. It feels like saying, “A foundational leadership principle that will ensure that you succeed as a leader is to make sure you breathe and keep breathing for as long as you can. Your improved and consistent breathing will ensure your longevity as a leader and you will also notice a direct correlation between consistent breathing and an increase in the sheer number of things you will be able to achieve.” It feels patronizing and maybe a tad condescending.

Of course we know that the Bible has always been, and should always be, our number-one authority and the grid through which we view and evaluate everything else. The Bible is the cornerstone and touchstone of everything that we do. We want to line ourselves up with God’s word and we never want to get too far away from it. It’s God’s revealed word about who he is, where we are, what’s wrong with the world, what he’s done to fix it, what time it is, what we’re waiting for, what we should be doing, and what the point of the whole thing is. It’s full of stunning poetry, profound rhetoric, complex narratives, memorable sayings and mind-stretching imagery; and, above and beyond all that, it is the very word of God to us. What the Bible says, God says. Why would we not trust it and build upon it and hold to it? It’s a simple choice, really.

But it’s not that simple, is it? In the midst of life it’s a constant battle to trust the Bible and build on it and hold to it. Worldly wisdom often contradicts the Bible and pushes us to not trust Scripture. Advice from wise friends and family can sometimes contradict the Bible and push us to not trust Scripture. Books from ‘great ones’ who ‘know their stuff’—particularly in the leadership arena—can sometimes contradict the Bible and push us to not trust Scripture. Even our own experience can—for a season, and when Scripture isn’t allowed to interpret that experience—contradict the Bible and push us to not trust Scripture.

More than foundational

But at the core of Christian leadership—as an extension of Christian life and faithfulness—is your constant commitment to trust the Bible. Will God’s word shape your life and your leadership? Will it shape how you view everything else you encounter and how you evaluate every new insight or development or movement? Or will it be but one vitally important component amongst many? Where will the authority lie?

The degree to which your leadership is built on, shaped by, conforms to, and is accountable to God’s word is the degree to which your leadership will be Christ-honouring and kingdom-building—regardless of how successful it looks at the time. Having Scripture as the basis and foundation of your leadership isn’t enough. Everything you build on that foundation must also be informed by Scripture and line up with it. We cut out and ignore any secular wisdom that contradicts the Bible. It’s a process that requires us to be discerning and gospel-focused.

Bible alone, not Bible only

Trusting the Bible doesn’t mean it’s the only authority you can trust, or that you cannot learn or benefit from any other source. Far from it. So much of what we know to be true doesn’t come from the Bible. Gravity and quantum physics and sausages and the internet are all real and true and part of genuine knowledge about the world, but the Bible (to my knowledge) mentions none of them. It would be hopelessly naïve to suggest that the Bible should be the only source of knowledge or the only authority when it comes to life and leadership. Everything that the Bible says is true, but not everything that is true is in the Bible. So while the Bible, the word of God, is the primary authority, it’s not the only authority. We do need to examine every other source and piece of knowledge in the light of the Bible. When there’s a contradiction we should carefully re-examine our understanding of Scripture to make sure it really does say what we think it says. And if it does and the contradiction remains, then we should hold to the Bible as our number-one authority. When there’s no contradiction, we’re free to pursue the truth wherever we find it.

In Peter Jensen’s lecture introducing the thought and ministry philosophy of Broughton Knox—one Moore College principal reflecting on another—he summarizes Knox’s view of Scripture this way: “Broughton argued that as long as the central theological foundation, that the Bible is God’s very word, is secure, all else can minister to the discerning mind”.¹ As long as our trust in the Bible as God’s very word is secure and unassailed, we should seek to learn from as many sources as we can. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain” (Ps 127:1). Trusting the Bible is the number-one leadership lesson and very little else matters if we get this one wrong. And we need to commit to an ongoing process of reflection and repentance to keep on course.

The number-one question for any Christian leader in any circumstance should be this: What does the Bible say? From there we proceed with prayer and discernment.

If you enjoyed this chapter, then check out the rest of Wisdom in Leadership.

1. D Broughton Knox, Selected Works, vol. 1, The Doctrine of God, ed. T Payne, Matthias Media, Sydney, 2000, p. 29.