Category: Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ And Leadership

Throughout the four Gospels, there is evidence of the different types of leadership styles that Jesus used. The style would change often between each interaction and encounter Jesus had with other people. By looking at each interaction Jesus had, we see his leadership style to be of the servant type. Servant leadership focuses on service to others. Each author of the four Gospels talks about a different type of leadership style that Jesus had. The four Gospels tell the story of Jesus. The story of his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus had the most exclusive style of leadership. The style of leadership that Jesus had paved the way for the Church.

There are four phases that Jesus used for His disciples to bring them into ministry. A study that was conducted by Bill Hull describes the four phrases that Jesus used towards his disciples. These phases correlate to repeating words that are seen throughout the four Gospels. These four groups of words are “Come and See Me.” The second one is “Follow Me.” The third phase id “Be With Me.” The last phase is “Remain in Me”. These are all words that Jesus spoke to his disciples throughout the Gospels. With these phrases, Jesus was trying to start a ministry. Jesus spoke the words “Come and See” throughout the Gospel of John. It is specifically used in John 1:38-39. By this verse, Jesus was showing his disciples what was taking place. He wanted his disciples to mirror his image, the watch was going on around them and to interact with others. This is how Jesus started his ministry.

Jesus used the phrase “Follow Me” in Matthew 4:19. This phrase is also used in the other Gospels as well. In this phase, Jesus was inviting his disciples to follow him. Through this phase, we discover that Jesus’ strategy was uplifting the disciples to embrace their skills. Through his phase, we are to be setting an example for others. Jesus uses the phrase “Be With Me” throughout the Gospel of Mark. We see it specifically in Mark 3:13-14. This is where we see Jesus go up to the mountain and called those to follow him. Jesus specifically selected twelve men to follow him. This phase is the next step to following Jesus in his footsteps. Jesus was creating a group that can lead others and also rely on one another. There are close connections in this phase.

The last phase is the “Remain in Me” phase. This phrase shows that Jesus was searching for a group of men that would be able to carry on his word and leadership to others after he enters the Kingdom of Heaven. Through this phase, we see why Jesus picked these men specifically. The disciples that he chose were not of high rank or were very sophisticated. They were not the group everyone thought Jesus would pick. These men were the faces of their society. Jesus had trust in them and they followed closely behind him in his style of leadership.

In this Gospel of Matthew, we see many different aspects of Jesus’ leadership. Jesus’ style of leadership was known to be servant-led. We see his servant leadership represented in Matthew 23:11, “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” This is one of the many verses where this type of leadership is seen throughout the Gospel of Matthew. In his ministry, Jesus was looking for humility and the strive for servanthood. Jesus was a servant as well. He was serving his disciples by helping them. He was serving his followers the word of his Father. Throughout his ministry, Jesus focused on servanthood. Keeping the focus on this certain type of attitude can not only bring those on the outside closer to Christ but also bring growth to your team.

Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, we see many different principles of Jesus’ leadership. Servanthood was the top one as that was what his leadership style was based on. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see Faithfulness, Honesty, and many others. We see Faithfulness in Matthew 25:20. In our life, God places many blessings upon us. Sometimes it can be more than what we can handle. Whatever God brings us in life, we are responsible for its growth and care. For example, we care for the teams that we serve on, our work environment, our home space. We are to be leaders and care for these environments. We see Honesty in Matthew 5:37. As leaders, we are, to be honest with God’s teaching. The Gospel of Matthew teaches us to be honest at all times. We are to be straight on with our answers. We can not jump around trying to find a simple conclusion.

Throughout his life, Jesus had foundational goals. These goals were to start a ministry, have followers, make disciples and entrust them to carry on his word and resemble his leadership. One of his goals was to create a group that could rely on one another. This was so that a certain individual would not have to carry most of the weight of the group with no support. We see all of these goals being carried out throughout the Gospels. There were many different strategies for Jesus’ leadership. Jesus had to train his disciples. Jesus’ methodology was to not train the disciples to become leaders. His methodology starts in the “come and see me” phase in John through the “be with me” phase. This last phase was where the disciples were fully committed to carrying on Jesus’ teachings. Jesus’ goals, motivation, and methodology were to lead many assemblages of people and create a group of disciples. His motivation was the love he had for every single one of his followers. Jesus wanted to change the world with men as the answer. They were the strategy for success for the future of the Church and the world. This was one of his goals, one of his motivations and a part of his methodology. We see this described throughout all four Gospels.

Jesus was a role model for the future of Christian leaders. By following Jesus’ leadership, there are certain points we are to live up to. As Christian leaders, we are committed to helping others and putting others before ourselves. We are to be an example for others. We are to lead strongly and show a true expression of serving. As leaders, we are to show our love for Christ and focus on him while staying focused on the task we are given. Growing with others is also a strong focus on Christian leadership. We are to not only help and encourage others to grow in our faith but also focus on our relationship with God as well. During servant leadership, it can be hard to get caught up in the moment and mainly focus on power. Every so often, we need to have a heart check to see where we are at with our faith from serving as a leader to others.

Jesus set a path for us to follow since from the moment we were conceived. He was designated for every single person on Earth. While Jesus is God, Jesus has done several things for us that tell us that we should follow him. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He surrendered his own life in the Gospel of John. Even though he was the strongest in power during his time, he still had a mission to serve. We see a significant sign of leadership in John 13:1-17. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus had much power that could not compare to any other leader on Earth. He had the power to drive out demons and send them away. He was able to heal the sick and raise people from the sick. For example, he raised Lazarus from the dead and cured the blind man. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He has set so many examples for us. He is a model for leadership. He taught the disciples and helped them grow in their skills. Every day, Jesus is teaching us new things. He is helping us with our skills. By helping us in our skills and teaching us new things, he is leading us down the path he has planned for us.

In conclusion, throughout the four Gospels, Jesus displays servant leadership. Jesus is the Son of God and had a high power standing in his time. He had a purpose to come to serve on Earth. He served his followers and entrusted them to follow in his footsteps. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He died for us to be free of our sins. That is the ultimate leadership. Jesus wants us to follow in his leadership and be an example to others. “Love one another as I have loved you.” That is the greatest commandment of all and we are to use that as a base for our leadership. We are to live our lives as Christ did.

Essay on Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership According to the Biblical Teachings and Headship of Jesus

Servant leadership entails a philosophical approach whereby the main attribute of the leader is serving. This form of leadership differs significantly from traditional forms of leadership which are mostly centered on the growth and profitability of an entity. A servant leader bears a number of key qualities such as putting the employee’s needs first, sharing power, and helping people, in general, to perform and develop according to their potential. According to Karatepe, Ozturk, and Kim (2019), servant leaders are humble, selfless, do not show the need to yield power unnecessarily, and think of others more than themselves. While this style of leadership was coined by Robert Greenleaf in 1998, the approach of servant leadership probably dates back to a couple of centuries, especially with the teachings and headship of Jesus. Through a review of current literature, this paper analyzes Jesus’s servant leadership approach with preliminary propositions regarding the intra-personal processes he imbued in his leadership style. The propositions will be helpful in guiding future empirical leadership studies to foster multilevel and integral theories on effective leadership. The exploration of Jesus’ servant leadership characteristics through extant literature is also conceptualized through empirical research and leadership theories. Jesus’ servant leadership approach entailed a multivariate process that intricately combined several hierarchical leadership processes.

The academic review of the literature regarding servant leadership involves a number of observations, key among them the apprehensions on reliable and valid theoretical approaches as well as leadership practice. Several chief approaches in research have been imbued in extrapolating leadership styles and approaches including the influence of power, behaviors, and traits as well as integrative and situational approaches (Correll, 2014). Further, in current literature, servant leadership is conceptualized at varying levels including group, individual, dyad, and organizational theoretical approaches albeit they lack of comprehensive theoretical frameworks that cover all approaches, as Burns, Shoup, and Simmons (2014) posit. Whittington (2017) calls for focal collaborations between neuro-cognitive scientists and social scientists as the main approach to establishing an integrated theory that entails servant leadership, albeit the key exclusion of biblical scholars and theologians from this contribution. Given the servant leadership qualities that Jesus showed in his missions according to the Bible, this study seeks to define a biblically-based archetype of Jesus’ servant leadership via integrated approaches that are encompassed in the study of leadership. As the main exemplary leader in the current world especially in participatory leadership, the ‘Jesus model’ has been highlighted as one that entails all conceptual levels that lack in individual leadership theories (Douglas, 2014). The propositions in this model are crucial in guiding future empirical research in servant leadership and especially in fostering integrated leadership styles in multivariate platforms of management.

Jesus’ Servant Leadership Characteristics: Framing Servant Leadership Qualities

Extant literature based on the life of Jesus is quite scanty. As such, several authors chose Jesus’ leadership style circuitously by studying the teachings, models, and examples that His followers, mostly Peter and Paul used (Kostenberger & O’Brien, 2017). Parallelism has also been justified by the sense that Jesus’ ministry happened in the same period that the church was formed (Valk, 2018). Despite the scantiness of leadership literature based on Jesus’ servant leadership, this study focuses on Jesus’ traits, power influences, and behavior in framing his leadership qualities and approach.

Traits and Behaviors

According to current literature (Dameron, 2016; Karatepe, Ozturk, & Kim, 2019), the trait approach in creating an understanding of servant leadership focuses on the individual attributes of a leader such as their motivations, skills, values, and overall personality. van Dierendonck and Patterson (2015) posit that this approach highlights the endowment of individual qualities which most other people lack. In Jesus’ context, he is viewed by many scholarly articles as unique especially owing to the fact that he is the “mediator of creation” (John 1:3) and the “Heir of all earth” (Mark 12). Accordingly, Jesus is highlighted as the combination of all Jewish heroes in one individual. van Dierendonck and Patterson (2015) further posit that such exceptionality can only stem from a charismatic personality, a trait termed as a unique gift that Jesus was bequeathed for the purpose of building and leading God’s overall intentions for humanity. However, according to Shirin (2014), Jesus did not lack in ego, but it was carefully channeled as a display of boldness and discernment, i.e. denoting God’s presence. Paul, who is highlighted by Douglas (2014) as Jesus’ biggest imitator, further underlines Jesus’ servant traits which include confidence, bravery, and boldness (1 Corinthians 2:6; Philippians 1:20). Further, in Matthew 10:19, 22, Jesus is seen teaching his disciples this focal trait of servant leadership; courage. Dameron (2016) also highlights incidences of Jesus’ courage while he was undergoing the tortuous period of rejection and suffering as scripted in Luke 9 -19. Another key trait associated with servant leadership, humility, is highlighted in Mark 14:36 where Jesus shows absolute humility via total obedience to God’s commands.

Jesus’ servant leadership approach has been viewed through the lens of charismatic behaviors. For instance, Mabey, Conroy, Blakeley, and de Marco (2017) assert that as a charismatic servant leader, Jesus portrayed the ability to communicate his vision clearly to his followers, thus acting as their motivation towards implementing His vision. Further, Jesus had the ability to utilize his persuasive skills, for instance in persuading his followers to believe in Him as he prepared them for greater service. Whittington (2017) describes a charismatic leader as one with the behavioral capacity to show sensitivity to the needs of the followers, foster trust towards achieving the highlighted vision, and articulate and formulate organizational goals. Jesus showed these behavioral traits by showing his sensitivity to His disciples, their needs, and abilities by posing the question, “who do you and others say I am?” By posing this question, He was in a better position to ascertain His disciples’ abilities in discerning the truth and the apparent need to train them further towards His cause. Whittington (2017) further proposes that Jesus showed empowering behavior through apprenticeship and his daily interaction with His apostles. He went further in assuring them of His support after commissioning them (Matthew 28:18-20) but also holding them accountable for the responsibility he gave them (Matthew 25:14-30).

The Power of Influence

According to Friedman and Fischer (2015), research on the influence of power scrutinizes the influences that exist between servant leaders and other types of leaders. Most of the extant literature does not show the direct influence of power-related processes, but most are insightful about the processes of influence and power in Jesus’ life and ministry. Mabey, Conroy, Blakeley, and de Marco (2017) highlight that the use of the designation ‘leader’ in the Book of Matthew connote a person who possesses a position of power and authority in Israel (Matthew 15:34 and Chapter 24). From a wider point of view, Friedman and Fischer (2015) define Jesus’ servant leadership as having ‘divine authority as opposed to the vast majority of the religious leaders of the time who didn’t have possession of that sort of power (Matthew 7:28-29). Jesus’ power, authority, and influence are further described as embedded in an unfathomable sense of calling, as stated in Luke 9:29. Conversely, van Dierendonck and Patterson (2015) highlight Jesus’ charismatic authority and influence power in comparison to Weber’s theorization of charismatic leadership.

Processes of Servant Leadership as Influenced by Jesus’ Leadership Style

Servant leadership can be conceptualized in several ways. These processes include servant leadership as a dyadic, intra-personal, or organizational process (Malakyan, 2014). From the intrapersonal perspective, while the number of theories in leadership that focus on a single person is rare, interpersonal processes such as self-leadership and cognitive decision-making theories have proved useful in extrapolating Jesus’ servant leadership approach. During Jesus’ era, most of the decisions were made at specific levels and according to certain laws. However, Jesus’ decisions were made on an Agapao basis, basically from his love towards others. This area however highlights a key research gap on how His intrapersonal approach to decisions framed his servant leadership qualities. The dyadic approach draws focuses on the relationship that exists between the leader and his followers. Notably, Jesus’ style of charismatic leadership created strong bonds between Him and his disciples and other followers. John 16:13 highlights this dyadic form of leadership whereby church leaders gained their eminence (Shirin, 2014). The organizational aspect of Jesus’ servant leadership is still scanty in current literature, although it can be discoursed via the lens of how vast the church became through His disciples and followers.

Conclusion

Servant leadership has become a crucial leadership approach in contemporary settings. As such, this study has analyzed the servant leadership style of Jesus that imbued a variety of leadership behaviors, traits, and influential power during His life and Ministry. As a model leader for the current world, Jesus serves as the apposite person in elaborating the different theoretical conceptualizations that frame servant leadership. The study also highlights some key gaps in research and literature such as the organizational context of servant leadership based on Biblical teachings. However, by basing the study on Jesus’ approach to servant leadership, this paper serves as a crucial contribution to literature in defining effective and influential leadership approaches for the modern day.

References

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