How to Launch a Successful Leader

Authority and power are exciting. We all want them on some level. It’s thrilling to lead, but it can also be terrifying. For some of us, we long for the mantle of leadership to rest on our shoulders, but when it does, we discover how deeply unsettling it can be. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

In this talk, we'll examine David’s leadership as he hands the kingdom over to Solomon. Solomon would lead Israel to the height of its glory and success. He is widely regarded as the wisest king who ever lived. He started out strong, but as we’ll see, he also planted the seeds of the kingdom’s eventual downfall.

Whether or not you hold an official leadership role, you are still the leader of your own life. You’ve been entrusted with a certain amount of time and resources. You are responsible for how you steward them.

In 1 Chronicles 28, we’re invited to listen in on a coronation ceremony. King David wanted to move worship from a tent—the Tabernacle—to a permanent Temple for God, but the Lord wouldn’t allow it. Instead of throwing a fit, David raised funds, made plans, and gathered materials so his successor could succeed. That’s what a good leader does. In this passage, David commissions Solomon, showing us how a faithful leader prays for and empowers the next generation.

The first key to being a successful leader is to seek God and know Him, as David tells Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9.

You need this to succeed in what matters most to God. This is the priority. You may lead, but there is a greater Leader over you and the whole earth. Your power is derivative and subordinate. God works all things according to the counsel of His will. It would be wise to know what His will is. 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 reminds us of God’s ultimate authority. Someone else is in charge—and it’s not you.

The second key is not only seeking God but also serving people.

In 1 Chronicles 28:10, David tells Solomon to build a sanctuary for the Lord. The Temple became a place of human flourishing because it gave the people a way to know God, understand His character, and worship together. Every nation needs a shared story and values. A good leader recognizes this and uses it to serve their neighbors. In Luke 22:25-26, Jesus reinforces that a good leader is one who serves. You don’t have to give everyone everything they want, but you are called to serve them.

The third key to leadership is recognizing the weight of responsibility and following David’s charge: “Be strong and courageous and do it” (1 Chronicles 28:20).

How can you keep from discouragement or fear? God is with you. Don’t look within yourself to accomplish a God-sized vision—you don’t have it. Instead, submit to God, seek Him, serve Him, and move forward. In 1 Chronicles 29:18-19, David tells Solomon to seek God with his whole heart, then prays that God would give Solomon a whole heart to do so.

Of course, Solomon eventually failed, just as all people do when they try to lead in their own strength. But through the prophet Jeremiah, God promised a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The Old Testament tells the story of God’s faithfulness and humanity’s sinfulness, but Jeremiah gives us hope. The New Covenant is God’s work of changing us from the inside out—writing His law on our hearts so that we will know Him personally. He forgives our iniquity and wipes away our sin.

This promise is fulfilled in Jesus. On the night He was betrayed, He took bread and wine and made it clear that He was establishing the New Covenant (Mark 14:22). Jesus is the one building an eternal Kingdom. Through His sacrifice, your iniquity is removed, His Spirit fills you, and your heart is transformed from the inside out.

You are meant to seek the Lord because He first sought you. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. You are meant to serve, just as He said He came to serve (Mark 10:45). You are called to seek and serve, supplied by His strength. His Spirit lives in you. You will rise up and lead successfully to the degree that you bow your knee to the right throne.