Leadership as a Virtuous Practice

Skip Bell, a professor of Christian leadership and director of the Doctor of Ministry program at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, provides a major contribution towards having a solid biblical theological foundation of Christian leadership. The book can be said as currently the dominant scholarly study on leadership from a biblical perspective. The editor through this compilation examines both the Old Testament and the New Testaments to affirm the biblical theology of leadership, and addresses the foundational theological meaning that the Bible has to offer concerning leadership. Servants and Friends: A Biblical Theology of Leadership provides a helpful resource for pastors and religious leaders who in quest are seeking to find scriptural foundation for leadership. The book comprises of four sections (the Old Testament, the New Testament, Selected Biblical Narratives, and a Biblical Theology of Leadership) which is of great importance due to their interwoven nature of presenting biblical leadership from a theological perspective. It is indeed significance for the current study of leadership , of usefulness to the area and well-crafted out. This theologized concept of leadership book provides all the important and essential tools every person should know concerning leadership from the biblical point of view. Devoid of the secular approaches to leadership concept, the book also challenges the cultural understanding of leadership to come out with a well-defined perspective of how cultural and environmental influence are essential to leadership. The four parts style is considerable resources for gaining a theological foundation of leadership. The first two parts examines the Old Testament and New Testament portrayal and purposes of showing leadership principles in the scripture. The diversify nature of the Bible books provides leadership themes in an extremely amusing and multifaceted way. The authors deals with this diversity in different forms and ways in coming out with the leadership principle that the text projects. Under this section, the author deals with the study of key words in the Hebrew and Greek and their relation to leadership then proceeds to the exegetical aspects of the passages. All these are aligned in a way to providing a comprehensive understanding of Biblical leadership. The third section also encompasses the study of some biblical character and their contribution to leadership. The analysis and synthesis of the narratives where these passages appear

This paper presents key aspects of church leadership as taught by the Apostle Paul in the second chapter of his second letter to Timothy. Other references pertaining to Biblical teaching on church leadership, which are greatly needed in the church today, are also included.

2018

The nine articles of this issue of <em>Jnanadeepa </em>focus on Christian<br> leadership. The various dimensions of a Christian leader would<br> necessarily be different from those trained with purely secular<br> understandings. Some dimensions include acts of stewardship<br> (leadership) servant leadership roles, the importance of values or<br> character strengths, kingdom-oriented action and discipleship.<br> These dimensions of a Christian leader arise at points of interaction<br> between faith and secularism. Leaders have different personalities<br> and styles of functioning and therefore operationalize their decisions<br> in different ways. They develop their organizations or institutions<br> according to their perspectives. Therefore, for a Christian leader,<br> models and theories need to be developed that address leadership in<br> Christian ways to influence the functioning of all leaders in ...

This article responds to the assertion that the New Testament model for leadership is corporate, which consists of a group of elders for each local church leadership structure and emphasizes that, there is no biblical basis for a ‘senior’ pastor whom alone shepherds the church. This view asserts itself to the view that there has been an evolution in church leadership from the NT until now. Although, we ultimately agree with this view, we will however share some of our own insights in this regard.

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership, 2011

The church’s leadership experience spanning the centuries places it in a unique position to contribute to leadership studies. Any contribution should grow out of the development of a theology of leadership. Consideration of that development should be informed by general leadership studies while uniquely drawn from its faith. Its primary elements should include a Scripture-based, God-governed, Christ-centric reflection on the use of the gifts that the Holy Spirit has empowered all believers with in order to accomplish His mission in and for the world. A theology of leadership must constantly balance the biblical narrative and contextual application. This leads to both ecclesiology and practical leadership being advanced simultaneously. Research can be furthered through greater analysis of both scriptural and historical leadership contexts.

2019

2019

African Journal of Biblical Studies, 2014

Leadership is an integral part of every organization or institution. If an institution is to grow, mature and achieve its desired objectives, it cannot afford to toy with the issue of leadership. It is a true saying that behind every successful organization is a committed leadership and the church is no exception in this regard. Today however, certain observable phenomenon within the church calls for a rediscovery of the biblical pattern of leadership. The work of the ministry is becoming quite attractive. It is becoming quite prestigious to be a church minister, and many people are continually being attracted into it. Closely observed however, it seems the bulk of those who are in the ministry or who continually rush into it, either does not consider the series of challenges which the positions present or are probably oblivious of them. This is because only a negligible few have been observed to live up to these challenges. This paper is a reflection on the biblical pattern of leadership, making suggestions as to how this can be appropriated by contemporary church leaders.

2020

Northouse identifies six key leadership traits: intelligence, confidence, charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity. With the traits, leaders can enhance their influence on fulfilling the vision of institutions. But Northouse's discussion of the traits is based on the worldly world. The leadership in the worldly world is primarily concerned with the relationship between the people, and that between the people and nature. It is concerned with the relationship between people and God. In the spiritual area, however, it seems that the leadership traits different characteristics. The paper tries to explore the theological rationale of the six key traits and their application in Christian leadership.

Something that is done surprisingly rarely within Christian leadership literature is the attempt to draw together biblical raw materials into a grand biblical theology of leadership. Similarly, it is astounding how little the various theologies of Old and New Testaments have to say about leadership as an aspect of biblical theology. This article seeks to answer the question then, what does a biblical theology of leadership look like? I will be looking for the broadest possible brush strokes yet taking care with the text that it is allowed to speak on its own terms within its own cultural and theological urgencies. The outcome will doubtless affirm many existing teachings on religious leadership, such as the time honoured emphasis on issues of personal integrity and servanthood, yet there may also be a few surprises or reminders, especially when we come to consider the outspoken ministries of the Old Testament prophets. In sketching out such a theology I will suggest some possible reasons why, despite our professed expertise at it, we as Pentecostals and Charismatics have such a poor track record of leadership within our churches, denominations and organisations, and to recommend what might be done to better train the Pentecostal leaders of tomorrow.