What is leadership? Let us look at some of the definitions given by leadership gurus.

 Leadership is an art of influencing people or getting things done through people (Anonymous).^[1] 

True Christian leadership is investing one’s life in guiding a group towards worthy Christian ideals and accomplishment (Mary Frances Johnson Preston).

One who guides activities of others and who himself acts and performs to bring those activities about (Ted W. Engstrom).

A leader is one who guides his followers towards desired ends (Weldon Crossland).

Leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come to find desirable (Ordway Tead). 

Leadership is an art of combing ideas, people, things, time, leadership and faith to achieve predetermined objectives (Peter Wiwcharuck).

A leader is a man who knows the road, who can keep ahead, and who can pull others after him (Anonymous).

A Christian leader is someone gifted and called out by God to be a servant guiding towards Christian ideals and equipping them for ministry (Anonymous).    

The skills of influencing people to enthusiastically work toward goals identified as being  for the common good, with character that inspires confidence (James Hunter)  

Leadership is the capacity to influence others through inspiration, generated by passion, motivated by vision, birthed from a conviction, produced by a purpose (Myle Munroe)

From the above definitions, leadership can be summarised in one word - "influence". Leadership has to do with the ability to "influence" or to "lead" others. Without that quality, that person cannot be legitimately called or claimed to be a leader. The stronger the influence, the greater the leadership. The weaker the leadership, the weaker the influence.

We need a more comprehensive view that is informed by Scripture [not limited to the book of Nehemiah], shaped by biblical values and applicable to current situations. It is my conviction that Biblical models of leadership are timeless for today’s leaders. That means that any definition of leadership needs to maintain a biblical and practical equilibrium. In our view an excellent definition of leadership is given by Anthony Yeoh in his doctoral dissertation entitled, "Pastoral Leadership: Ramifications of Nehemiah 1-6 for Singapore Context". 

A leader is a Spirit empowered servant with a sense of destiny backed by a call from God to use his/her God-given ability and responsibility to influence others towards God's purposes for the good of the followers and the glory of God.^[2] 

Let us unpack the definition.

1 The Person - Leadership begins with a person and not a committee. To do God's work effectively and lead the people, divine empowerment from above is sine qua non. Anyone who has read the Scripture would not deny this.  Notice that a leader is a servant. He or she is one who "serves" rather than "rules". It is not easy to be a servant. There is a difference between secular and spiritual leadership. The former puts more premium on charisma than character, ability more than availability, doing more than being, ruling more than serving, methods more than metamorphosis, and human empowerment more than divine empowerment. Whereas the latter emphasises more on the latter though it recognises the need for equilibrium between the two.  

2 The Power - Serving the Lord requires the power or unction of the Holy Spirit. Genuine leaders depend on the unction [aka anointing] of the Holy Spirit to do their tasks. It is presumptuous to serve without divine empowerment.

In the Old Testament, we find expression like “the Spirit of the Lord” coming upon certain individuals who were craftsmen, judges, leaders and prophets. They include:  Bezalel (Exod 31:3, 35:30-31), Moses (Num 11:17), Joshua  (Deut 34:9, Othniel  (Judg 3:10), Gideon  (Judg 6:34),  Jepthah (Judg 11:29), Samson  (Judg 14:6, 19; 15:15), David (1 Sam 16:13), Saul (1 Sam 10:10; 11:16; 19:23), Seventy Elders (Num 11:25) , Balaam (Num 24:2), Messengers of  Saul (1 Sam 19:20), Amasa (2 Chron 12:18), Azarash, (2 Chron 15:1), Zechariah  (2 Chron 24:20), Isaiah (Isa 61:1) and Ezekiel (Ezek  3:24; 11:5).

Consecration leaders like the prophets, priests and kings in the Old Testament was done through anointing them with oil - a powerful symbol divine empowerment.  We read  in  1 Sam 16:13, "So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power..." (NIV).^[3] The unction or anointing of the Holy Spirit is so important in David's ministry in his lowest period he prayed, " Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me ( Psa 51:11).

Zurabbabel who oversaw the rebuilding of Jerusalem temple was told the secret of accomplishment of the project by prophet Zechariah when he told him, "It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies" (Zech 4:6). Elisha the prophet who succeeded Elijah prayed for double portion of Elijah's spirit. When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor”( 2 Kings 2:9). This integral relationship between the work of the Holy Spirit and leadership cannot be cannot be overemphasized.^[4]

In the four gospels, we read about the empowerment of Jesus Christ. At his baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon him (John 1:31). Later, he was led into the wilderness to be tempted and "armed with the power of the Holy Spirit, returned to Galilee " (Luke 4:1,14; NEB) where he began his ministry. He entered the synagogue in Nazareth and read opened the scroll of Isaiah and read "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me..." (Luke 4:18; REB). His preaching and deliverance ministry were in the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt 12:18; Luke 10:21). Peters sums it best the ministry of Jesus when he declared, "You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power..." (Acts 10:38; REB).

In the New Testament, the word “power,” and “Holy Spirit” often go together.^[5]   Where you find the word “power” you will also find the person of the Holy Spirit when the context is about preaching.^[6] It seems clear from the Scripture that without the work of the Holy Spirit, there can be no conviction of sin, conversion of sinners or consecration of the saints (John 16:8-11). It was Jesus who said, “It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh can achieve nothing” (John 6:33; cf. John 3:6; REB).^[7] Even Jesus Christ himself needed power to minister effectively to others.^[8]

Yes, a leader who seeks to lead and serve the people need divine empowerment to accomplish his or her task.

Interestingly, we have heard of projects being abandoned because of lack of funds or unsuccessful bids. But we do not hear of projects being abandoned because there is no divine favour from God.