Christian Leadership Principles

 Leadership entails the process of influencing individuals’ commitment and compliance with specific behavior to achieve the intended objectives (Sadler, 2012).  Malik, Jayed, and Hassan (2017) affirm that leadership has become a critical component in an organization’s quest to achieve success in the contemporary era. The importance of leadership in fostering organizational success is not limited to profit-oriented entities but also non-profit entities and society in general. Therefore, leaders must possess the relevant skills and knowledge on leadership. This arises from the fact that the contribution of leadership to organizational success depends on the quality and form of leadership that has been adopted. Different forms of leadership have been developed to assist organizations in coping with challenging situations.

Christian leadership is one form of leadership that can be adopted in steering organizations towards achieving success. Christian leadership is based on Bible teachings. Dockery (2011) emphasizes that Christian entities are characterized by distinctive identity and mission. For example, Christian organizations are focused on ensuring that their operations evidence the faithfulness that is underlined in the gospel of Christ.  Dockery (2011) cautions that the efficacy of Christian organizations in achieving their mission in line with the intended level of faithfulness can only be achieved if they are steered by well-equipped and godly leaders. Thus, leaders in Christian organizations should focus on developing the requisite skills and knowledge.  Malik, Jayed, and Hassan (2017) accentuate that Christian leadership is a unique form of leadership because it is based on the leader being a servant, as underlined in Matthew 20 25-27. In his teaching, Jesus emphasized becoming a slave to be considered great.  Jesus further provided an example that He did not come to the world to be served but to serve (Tidball 2012). This indicates that Christian leadership is based on selflessness.

         To understand the context of Christian leadership, this paper involves a critical reflection on the knowledge, skills, and characteristics of good Christian leaders and flourishing institutions. In the analysis, an evaluation and critique of the personal practices, perspectives, beliefs, and assumptions of Christian leaders have been taken into consideration.  The research purpose is achieved through a synthesis of current research on Christian leadership. 

Christian Leadership

The centrality of leadership is underlined in the Bible. The Old Testament accentuates that leadership is an essential element in the health of every society (Huizing, 2011). As one of the leaders in the Bible, Moses prayed to God to appoint a leader who would direct the Israelite community in achieving success over other communities that would come before them (Tidall, 2012).  Moses was cognizant of the fact that the absence of a leader might result in chaos and a weak society (Tidall, 2012). The metaphor of the shepherd is widely used in the Bible to depict an individual who has authority, leads, protects, and rules over a flock.  Leadership is also widely outlined in the book of Acts, whereby the Apostles were guided and led by the Holy Spirit. In his effort to establish the Church, Paul appointed deacons and elders who were charged with the responsibility of leading the ancient church (Starling, 2014).  Paul encouraged the followers of the ancient church to be submissive to their local church leaders (Tidall, 2012). This illustrates that leadership is considered an essential aspect in the success of the church as an institution. Sinclair (2005) affirms that Christian leadership involves a dynamic and relational process in which individuals partner towards achieving a common goal. The leader accomplishes the intended goal through serving others and leading by serving (Huizing, 2011). The partnership is facilitated by the Holy Spirit.  Thus, Christian leadership is based on the servant model as articulated in the gospel of Christ. Even though Jesus is God, His mission to save mankind demonstrated the utmost level of servant leadership. During his role in the world, Jesus lived a life of servitude (Huizing, 2012).

It is important for leaders intending to employ Christian leadership within organizational settings to develop the requisite knowledge and skills. Some of the fundamental skills and knowledge that should be entrenched are evaluated herein.

Spirituality and wisdom

The fast-paced economy requires organizations to focus on improving their level of innovation and productivity and innovation (Center for Creative Leadership, Wei & Yip, 2011). Leaders should have the ability to apply wisdom in dealing with emergent situations. Leaders face a challenge in making decisions.  Banke, Maldonado, and Lacey (2012) emphasize that leaders are faced with a complex situation that entails making decisions fast and ensuring that the decisions are appropriately made. According to the Center for Creative Leadership, Wei and Yip (2011), wisdom is a crucial element in an organization’s quest to succeed in an environment that is characterized by an increased level of competitiveness. Sadler (2012) asserts that leadership wisdom involves the capability of an individual to judge, consider diverse points of view, and weigh options. Leadership wisdom emanates from an individual’s capability to apply the knowledge and skills derived from an individual’s reflection and personal inquiry.

Considering that Christian leadership is based on the Bible teachings and the fact that the Holy Spirit plays a central role in the administration of Christian leadership, Christian leaders must be spiritually healthy.  This will enable the Christian leader to apply Bible teachings in making decisions. Spirituality is an intrinsic component of an individual and manifests itself via one’s outward actions. Spiritual development positively contributes to an individual’s capability to engage in continuous improvement.  Leaders who intend to promote organizational spirituality cannot, therefore, ignore organizational spirituality (Banke, Maldonado & Lacey, 2012).   Sinclair (2005) argues that wisdom is an essential element in leadership because it enables leaders to effectively deal with complex tasks. However, the leaders’ capability in applying the bible teachings is influenced by the extent to which the leader is spiritually healthy. Christian leaders must possess Godly wisdom to make decisions that are guided by the Holy Spirit.

Cultivating vision and faith

Leaders have a responsibility to cultivate a sense of vision among their followers. Leaders should focus on developing a shared view among their followers. Kouzes and Posner (2009) argue that the capability to create a shared vision differentiates leaders from non-leaders.   Leaders who are capable of creating a sense of vision can influence their followers to pursue the intended goal. Malik, Javed, and Hassan (2017) emphasize that creating a shared vision enhances the followers’ commitment towards achieving stipulated goals.

 In driving their followers towards achieving the intended goal, Christian leaders should influence their followers by inspiring them to perform up to the intended standards. One of the unique features of vision relates to the fact that it entails a belief that individuals pursue. Thus, the achievement of a vision is based on faith in God. In influencing their followers, Christian leaders should have the capability to instill faith in their followers and to ensure that they trust in God’s providence (Newman 2010).   Nehemiah is one of the notable leaders in the Bible who succeeded by creating a common vision and by entrenching faith. In his leadership, Nehemiah was a man of conviction and faith, which enabled him to complete the assigned tasks. Moreover, he was a man of prayer and developed a strong,ong Godly character. His faith in God enabled him to overcome difficult situations (Irvin, 2013). Additionally, he was able to make and pursue difficult decisions based on faith. His deep faith in God enabled Nehemiah to succeed in inspiring his followers to accept his God given ideas and vision until the intended outcome was achieved.  For example, he was able to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem despite encountering resistance.

 In his leadership, Nehemiah was capable of motivating his followers during difficult situations.  This was made possible because of his faith in God (Carey, 2008). Similarly, Christian leaders should have the skills to ensure that their followers do not give up but are committed to accomplishing the desired vision.  Moreover, he was also able to promote the ideas of his followers to pursue the intended vision.  Irvin (2013) opines that Nehemiah can be defined as an excellent leader because of his capability to set high goals, take charge of the goals, and accomplish huge visions. Thus, Nehemiah’s leadership success emanated from his deep faith in God, courage, vision, and action (Irvin, 2013).

In addition to his skills in accomplishing visions, Nehemiah also had developed effective organizational skills and the capability to strategize, hence successfully coping with changing situations. Christian leaders should therefore have the skills and knowledge on how to enhance acceptance of a common purpose and vision among their followers.

Communication and building relationships

Developing soft skills is essential in leaders’ quest to steer their institutions towards achieving success. One category of soft skills that leaders should possess entails international skills, viz., communication and the capacity to build and sustain relationships (Riggio, 2013). To be a good Christian leader, one needs to develop competency in communication. The significance of developing communication skills is underlined in the fact that it enables leaders to develop relationships with their followers (Carberry, 2013). By promoting communication, Christian leaders can gather relevant information from the followers that can be used in making leadership decisions. This perspective is supported by Riggio (2013), who affirms that servant leaders gather substantial information that they use in providing better service from their followers. 

Banke, Maldonado, and Lacey (2012) argue that servant leadership theory is based on the premise of caring for others. Therefore, Christian leaders must focus on building relationships with followers to successfully undertake their job roles.  In building relationships, the leaders must respect the contribution of their followers. This culminates in the creation of a strong bond between the leader and the followers because of the development of the perception that their views and input are respected (Blanke, Maldonado & Lacey, 2012). Building relationships is fundamental in minimizing the likelihood of an organization becoming dysfunctional. Burch, Swails, and Mills (2015) argue that the disconnect between the followers and leaders reduces the level of morale among the followers. The subsequent outcome entails the occurrence of miscommunication and misunderstanding among the followers. Building relationships is essential in leadership because it enables the leader to develop insight into the issues that have to be taken into account to succeed in leading (Carberry, 2013). Understanding the followers’ needs is vital.   

Characteristics of a good leader

Institutions operate in an environment that has become very uncertain. Therefore, leaders must have be capability to cope with the prevailing uncertainty. According to Clampitt and DeKoch (2001), embracing uncertainty has become one of the foundations of leadership.   Apart from uncertainty, the complexities associated with leadership require leaders to develop relevant/appropriate characteristics. Leaders’ success in directing their organization towards achieving excellent performance is influenced by the quality of their leadership (Peterson & Seligman, 2004).  Christian leadership is founded on the values and personality of the leader. Some of the key characteristics of a good leader that Christian leaders should seek to develop are expounded herein.

Integrity

The successful implementation of Christian leadership depends on the values of the leader. Washington, Sutton, and Feild (2006) emphasize that integrity is one of the core values of servant leadership. Integrity is concerned with developing or building the credibility and trust of an organization. Washington, Sutton, and Feild (2006) caution that an organization derives integrity from its leader’s actions. To achieve organizational integrity, leaders need to ensure that their leaders possess the value of integrity. Leaders who possess integrity ‘walk the talk’. Thus, their actions are aligned with their words. Integrity is greater than honesty because while honesty entails telling the truth, integrity entails the virtue of conforming one’s words to reality. To be a successful servant leader, one must depict a high level of integrity by telling the truth at all times, despite the situation faced. This cautions the followers from developing undesirable attitudes.  Lack of integrity impedes leaders’ success in implementing change because of a lack of trust amongst the followers.

Humility

Good Christian leaders should depict humility in undertaking their roles and responsibilities.  In their servant role, Christian leaders should apply the upside-down approach. This means that all their undertakings should be geared towards the fulfilment of others. However, to do so, servant leaders must be humble.  The significance of humility as one of the characteristics of Christian leadership is well underlined in the gospel according to Paul. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul advised people who would like to be great to imitate Christ, who became great because of his service. The significance of humility as a virtue that leaders should develop is further emphasized in the gospel of Luke, in which Luke stressed that if one intends to be greatest among people, he or she must become the youngest and a leader who is committed to serving (Kay, Francis & Watson, 2003). Therefore, a good leader should not overvalue oneself but should rather be concerned about the well-being of other people. In addition to these qualities, a good leader should respect others and value their worth. In exhibiting humility in their leadership, good Christian leaders should listen to the advice of other people. Thus, leaders should not restrict their followers from sharing their ideas and opinions on different issues related to leadership.  

Competence

Effective leaders should be capable of influencing followers. Nevertheless, to agree and to trust in the leader’s cause, the followers must sufficiently believe in the leader’s competence (Washington, Sutton & Field, 2006).  Subsequently, the leader must be competent in undertaking his or her leadership roles.  The level of competence in a leader can be judged by evaluating their abilities, knowledge, and skills.  Kouzes and Posner (2009) argue that the leader must possess an adequate level of technical competence to enable him or her to complete the intended tasks.  The leaders’ level of competence has an impact on the extent to which the followers develop trust in the leader.  Therefore, the importance of leaders exemplifying competence to successfully build and maintain their followers’ trust is critical.

Courage

Leadership involves making decisions that might, in some situations, be unpopular to the followers. Thus, the need for Christian leaders to be courageous cannot be underestimated.  Courage as a quality of a good leader is well articulated in 1 Corinthians 4:1, in which Paul emphasizes that leaders must be prepared to face humiliation, ridicule, l, and hatred from their followers. A good leader should be capable of overcoming such issues (Chandler & Pickrel, 2007). The significance of courage in a leader is underlined in the fact that it enables the leader to take risks, which is an essential element in achieving the intended goals.  Washington, Sutton, and Feild (2006) emphasize that organizational leadership involves dealing with uncertainty. Thus, courage is an integral leadership quality that all leaders who are committed to steering their organizations towards achieving success should consider developing. Moses is one of the leaders in the Old Testament who depicted a high level of courage in his leadership.  As a result of his courage, Moses was able to successfully lead the people of Israel out of Egypt despite facing numerous difficulties both from the Israelites and the Egyptian government. His ability to lead the Israelites was further emphasized by the fact that he was a man of persistence, faith, and patience (Chandler & Pickrel, 2007).  To have true courage, leaders must anchor their courage in Jesus Christ.  

Conclusion

Leadership is central for organizations that intend to achieve success.  However, the impact of leadership on an organization’s success is influenced by the type of leadership that an organization adopts.  The type of leadership adopted determines an organization’s capacity to deal with the uncertainty and dynamism that characterizes the market. Thus, leaders have a responsibility to ensure that they select the most appropriate leadership style. Christian leadership constitutes one form of leadership that both profit and non-profit organizations can adopt.  The analysis shows that Christian leadership constitutes a distinct type of leadership in that it is based on the Bible teachings.

The successful implementation of Christian leadership depends on the knowledge and skills of the leader. Among the essential areas that Christian leaders should develop skills and knowledge in relates to the ability to apply spirituality and wisdom in making decisions. About these areas, Christian leaders should focus on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to enable them to deal with challenging situations that might be encountered in the course of leadership. Cultivating a sense of vision and promoting faith among followers is also critical. This skill will enable the Christian leader to succeed in ensuring that their followers are focused on achieving the desired organizational goals. The ability to communicate and build relationships is also critical for leaders. Christian leaders’ ability to communicate is not only essential in informing the followers of the intended aspects, but also in enhancing the sharing of ideas and opinions with the followers.

 Successful Christian leadership is also determined by the leaders’ effectiveness with which the leaders establishing and sustaining relationships with their followers.  Apart from knowledge and skills, good leaders should possess the appropriate qualities.  The analysis identifies integrity, competence, courage, and humility as some of the fundamental skills that leaders should possess. Christian leader should possess these skills, which should be anchored on the teachings of the Bible, to succeed in directing their organizations towards achieving success.   The Bible provides classic examples of leaders who achieved notable success by applying the virtues and values of Christian leadership. In summary, the analysis reveals that an individual’s personality is central to becoming a successful leader.   

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