David was chosen by God at a young age to be the next king of Israel while tending sheep. Though anointed, he did not become king until age 30 after years of experience, including time in Saul's court, fighting in battles, and living as a fugitive from Saul. The Bible teaches that leaders should not be novices and need time and experience to gain wisdom. David continued growing as a leader throughout his life through personal growth and learning from challenges.

1. Case Studies in Biblical Leaders

2. Psalm 78:70-72 (NKJV)
70 He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following the ewes that had young
He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the
integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his
hands.

3.  David was “anointed” to be the next king of
Israel while he was still young.
 He served in Saul’s court for a short time
 He was on the run from Saul for a long
time (5 years)
 He led a group of men as a fugitive
 He would not kill Saul
 He eventually became the king at age 30
approximately in about 1030 B.C.

4. Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel.
But Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen
these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the
children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest,
and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said
to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down
until he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in

5. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome
appearance. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for
this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and
anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit
of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day
forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 1 Sam
16:10-13
David was anointed, but he wasn’t appointed until
he was 30 years old and after years of experience in
various situations.

6. In 1 Timothy 3:6, the apostle Paul gives the
following guideline concerning the leadership
position of bishop in the church:
6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with
pride he fall into the same condemnation
as the devil.

7. Leadership is more than principles and
practices. It takes time and experience to gain
the wisdom to be an effective leader
 Growing leaders must also be training others.
 Growing leadership is not dependent upon
any particular spiritual gift.
 Growing leaders have increased pressures on
their time as their leadership influence grows.
 Growing leadership are sometimes tempted
to believe they have arrived.

8. Despite its challenges, leaders need to be
committed to a personal and ongoing growth
plan.
Without growing and learning the Peter
Principle kicks in and they rise to their level of
incompetence and stagnate unless they begin
to grow again.

9.  Anointed but not appointed
 Killed Goliath
 Was brought on to Saul’s court
 Won military victories
 Became very popular among the people
 Was opposed by Saul who tried to kill David
 Lived in the wilderness
 Became king and restored a united kindom

10. A personal growth plan is not an option, for a
leader to succeed it must be a priority.
1. Set a personal goal to become all the leader
you can be for God
2. Identify your personal strengths and gifts
as a leader (lead from strengths, and
strengthen weaknesses)

11. 3. Be diligent to present yourself approved to
God, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth (2 Tim. 2:15, NKJV)
4. As you grow take periodic personal
inventories to identify progress and plot
personal growth strategies for continued
growth. You must keep pressing toward
the mark . . .