By Michael C. Mack
Acts 20 contains 21 character traits of the apostle Paul. Look over this list, and then take time to assess yourself as a leader. Which three to five of these are you doing well? Now, identify three to five traits missing or in short supply with you. Huddle up with a few other leaders and share what you’ve discovered.
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Paul’s character traits:
1. Humility (v. 19).
2. Possessing a Servant’s heart (v. 19).
3. Integrity. Never hesitated to preach the Word, no matter what the consequences (v. 20).
4. Committed. Devoted to teaching God’s Word regardless of the venue (v. 20).
5. Not prejudiced. Taught everyone . . . both Jews and Gentiles (v. 21).
6. Compassionate. Had a heart for bringing lost people to Christ (v. 21).
7. Spirit-led. Not led by his own thoughts and plans (v. 22).
8. Fearless. Had total trust in God (v. 22).
9. Spirit-filled. Listened to the internal promptings of the Holy Spirit (v. 23).
10. Faithful. Had a proper perspective on life and death, and he persevered (v. 24).
11. Visionary. Could leave this earth knowing he had done all he could do, with no regrets (v. 26).
12. Passionate. Never held anything back. People received 100 percent of the good news (v. 27).
13. A shepherd. Cared for and invested into people (v. 28). (See their response to him in vv. 37 and 38!)
14. A shepherd developer (v. 28).
15. A realist. Understood the reality of spiritual warfare (v. 30).
16. A warrior. Cared about the church and wanted them to be protected against the evil one (v. 31).
17. Not greedy or even interested in the world’s riches (v. 33).
18. Diligent, not lazy (v. 34).
19. Responsible (v. 34).
20. Giving (v. 35).
21. A pray-er (v. 36).
Michael, it’s been close to 10 years since you wrote this, but it fits right in with some things we’ve been doing in the missional enterprise area. Thank you for taking the time to put these thoughts into writing!
What a great resource!
So glad I found this in the course of my study on Apostle Paul.
Here are Paul’s real attributes:
1) A liar (Romans 3:7)
2) A thief (2 Corinthians 11:8)
3) Boaster (2 Corinthians 11:5,16)
4) Unforgiving (Acts 15: 38-39)
5) Chameleon (1Corinthians 9:22)
6) Hypocrite (Acts 16:3, Gal 5:2)
7) Posessed(2CORINTHIANS 12:7)
8) Vengeful (1 Corinthians 5:5)
9) Confused / Bipolar (2 Cor 7:8)
10) Misogynistic (1 Timothy 2:11)
11) Chief of Sinners (1 Tim 1:15)
12) Deceitful(2 Corinthians 12:16)
13) Foolish (2Cor 12:11,2Cor11:1)
14) Practices evil (Romans 7:19)
15) Better than Christ (Col 1:24)
16) Bully (Philemon 1:19)
17) Boring (Acts 20:9)
18) Procrastinator (Gal 2:1)
19) Curses Otters (1 Cor 16:22)
20) Punisher (2 Cor 10:6)
21) Hate homeless (2 Thes 3:10)
22) People pleaser (1 Cor 10:33)
23) Blasphemer (1 Timothy 1:13)
Hannah’s comment is a good example of how the enemy always knows the Bible more than you and will twist it to waver your faith. But be encouraged! As long as you READ YOUR BIBLE yourself and pray for the Holy Spirit to help you understand the Scripture, you will be able to overcome the enemy just as Jesus did in the wilderness. Amen.
I agree with the business lady, the truth is that we all have good character traits but we also have bad ones too. Yet if we seek God and repent, we can be transformed, molded into better human beings. The love of Christ is in the scriptures and with the Holy Spirit’s help, each of us can be faithful to his word.