Who is the Christian leader? (PT. 1)

 Greetings,

Agreeably the Christian Leader is an educator responsible for teaching and leading, which is the objective of spiritual leadership to move people toward God's agenda (Temple, 2018). Leaders are designated as "servants of the Lord" (p. 300) and have the responsibility to follow a "divine agenda" (p. 300). The apostle Paul's example marks them as a noticeably specified mission (1 Corinthians 1:17), regular evaluation of the fundamental values and message (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and the ability to communicate the message to a diverse audience (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). 

Essentially, it solidifies the driving force in how leaders instruct and teach others in the body of Christ (Howell, 2003, pp. 300-301). 

                               Some individuals may ask, what is Christian leadership? 

Malphurs (2003) conveys Christian leaders as reliable and steady servants informing and instructing people in diverse religious settings as directed by God. The process is where leaders experience growth with their followers (Malphurs, 2003, p. 8). He asks the question, "what makes a Christian leader" (p. 8), echoing the answer comes back that leaders grow when they purposely follow after God (Malphurs, 2003). 

The topic is helpful because God, in 1 Timothy 3, laid the groundwork through leadership's foundation. The author uses this foundation to inform the reader that leaders instruct others but are also required to model Christlikeness. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul writes to the Christian church at Corinth, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (Malphurs, 2003, p. 10). God's original plan for Christian leadership is further impetus for the Christian educator, reflected in Psalms 51:10, the standard for behaving according to God's instructions, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a loyal spirit within me" Psalms 51:10 (New Living Translation). If Christian educators want to make a change in the way they represent God and those they are leading, remember they are "God's rescuers" and "God's tutors" given the responsibility to teach and bring back people to God's principles (Temple, 2018). 

The Christian Leader is a servant leader commissioned to lead from the examples of Jesus. Necessity mandates a biblical construct for effective decision-making, which provides a theological foundation for developing the Leader's integrity, and it is God's original plan for moral truth. The essential nature of the Christian Leader's spiritual practice (inward) and (outward) spiritual practice is essential to the Leader's ability to express God's identity in decision-making (Dunham, 2019). 

Advancing the thought expands the idea that one's identity as a Christian leader should inform and influence the Bible's moral truth rather than the moral truth of other perspectives. Without a biblical reference, Christian leaders are subject to unnecessary pitfalls and judgments that affect their followers (Dunham, 2019).

Three essential elements of being a leader of integrity are character, integrity, and reality, strengthening the Leader's personal and spiritual growth (Cloud, 2009).

Christian leaders are not exempt from experiencing ethical situations. While ethical decision-making constructs through other perspectives other than the Bible, four ethical paradigms, in particular, are addressed and noted as the ethics of justice, critique, care, and the profession (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016, p. 23). A biblical perspective stresses that service is the core of the Old and New Testaments and asks how leaders serve those they lead. (Temple, 2018). 

The Barna Research Group (2009) intensively interviewed thirty top leaders from various leadership sectors. Discovered that great leaders practice the art of power and use it to foster communication and respect for those they lead. Furthermore, revealing that power is about the correct use of authority and, when used according to the biblical standard, can provide consciousness of moral direction, providing people with a moral framework for their choices and activities (Barna Group, 2009).

The same standard for the Leader's purpose today is given to early church leaders. Timothy in (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17) is instructed by the apostle Paul to study the word of God, which is the undergirding to instruct, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness, leading to a leader's ability to properly lead the church (Howell, 2003, p. 2). Ezekiel provides the theology of leadership from older traditions; human leaders are "expected and encouraged" to lead from a God-centered perspective (Laniak, 2006, pp. 160-161). 

Supportive of a spiritual application, the following discussion notes the importance of "six musts"(discussed in part 2) for the Christian Leader, which fosters the Christian Leader's integrity and character when grappling with ethical dilemmas (Temple, 2018). 

Servant Leader,

Minister Sylvia Joyner

References

Barna Group. (2009). Thirty respected leaders weigh in on what it takes to be a master leader.

https://www.barna.com/research/ 

Dunnam, M. (2019). Christian leadership. 

https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/9423/christian-leadership

Howell, D. N. (2003). Servants of the servant: a biblical theology of leadership. Wipf & Stock Publishers. 

Laniak, T. (2006). Shepherds after my own heart: pastoral traditions and leadership in the Bible. 

(D. A. Carson) (Ed.), Intervarsity Press. 

Malphurs, A. (2003). Being leaders: the nature of authentic Christian leadership. Baker Books.

Shapiro, J.P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Temple, T. (2018). Presentation: Biblical models of servant leadership. 

[Video]. 

https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent

Temple, T. (2018). Presentation: How is ethical reasoning different for the Christian Leader?  

[Video]. 

https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent