Theology of Credible Leadership - Lesson 4

Dr. John Johnson
Theology of Credible Leadership
Theological Definition of Leadership
Lesson Transcription

So let's review for a moment. We we're in this, subject of definition and we're saying with definition, it is a challenge, to define. It's a challenge because, context and gives some impact to definition, the kinds of leaders, their personalities, their traits, the times in which one lives.   

And then looking at the plethora of definitions we find in leadership books. They all tell us that this is a really complex, subject to define. There is no simple definition. But as I came to the end of the last lecture to point out, as I've looked for common threads in all of these seem again, to be, at the core, what defines a leader. A leader is someone with followers.   

A leader is someone who has influence, who impacts. And a leader is someone who has direction, which again, makes logical sense. People aren't going to follow someone who says, I have no clue where to go. People see someone who knows where he or going, and they like where he or she is going, are going to follow.   

That's a leader. But what I'd like to do now is, step back from all of this and try to address the question. Can theology help us here with this complexity? With maybe get us out of a little bit of the fog? So here's what, as I, as I thought through different theologies, different, people who've written theologies from Donald Blush to Elwell to, to many others, to this question of, of, of definition, which, again, is not easy because a lot of theology books don't have leadership sections per se.   

I do find, this in common with what we have just looked at that from a theological side.   

It too is complex and challenging. Scripture does not give a clear statement. It would be wonderful if somewhere there was a verse that said, leadership is, but it's, again, it's not that simple. Why? Because first of all, there are multiple kinds of leaders in Scripture. And leadership takes many forms and many roles.   

There are, I mean, think about it for a moment. When we think about leaders in Scripture, what do we see? We see different roles. We see different titles. We see different types. We see different traits. There's pharaoh, there are warlords. There are kings, there are generals. There are governors, there are priests, there are prophets, there are sages, there are pastors, there are apostles, there are elders.   

They're a mix of male and female. Godly, pagan, young, old. So when we look at leadership in Scripture, again, defining it is complex because all of these leaders I've mentioned, all in a certain sense, had a different definition. God himself takes upon, himself multiple definitions.   

We see God as king. We see God as Lord. We see God as sovereign. We see God as head, God as father. There is no one size fits all definition that biblical leaders were forced to squeeze into. So think about it this way, s Samson, Raum, Jonah, Peter, all were leaders at, at times who in this case acted sometimes like incorrigible, delinquents, or you have Moses and Daniel.   

These were extraordinary models of capable leadership. There's Gideon who was more of a transactional leader versus Paul who was more transformational. Some leaders were impulsive, like Jehoshaphat, who seemed to decide first and pray later. Others were, were more methodical.   

Is there anyone more methodical than Nehemiah, who you see himself was himself an amazing leader, but very different from some of these other leaders. Some were austere, like, Elijah or John the Baptist, but others were more ostentatious like Solomon or Herod. Some were vain like Giah. Some were humble, like Moses. So what defines a leader?   

Well, good luck defining leadership scripturally, at least on the surface. 'cause we see many kinds of leaders and we see multiple words for leadership. If you were to look, in the Bible and say, is there a word for leadership? Well, there are words that point to leadership. There is hagas, which comes from hadas, a, a way that is used, as a word for leadership.   

That is, it tells us leadership, at least by looking at the term speaks of direction. Someone who is guiding, showing someone the way. There is also, the word Aon, which speaks of someone who is first, someone first in rank, a commander, a ruler, which comes from, again, arche, which means beginning. So what is leadership?   

Leadership is a way. Leadership is, someone who is first rank one at the start. Again, we're looking for clues, thinking theologically, as I, as I worked on this book, so I looked at many different models. I tried to look at the vocabulary itself, the words, and went back to the Old Testament rowa, which is translated head, someone who has precedence over others.   

So I looked at terms, then I looked at metaphors, and the Bible uses lots of metaphors for leadership. The chief one being shepherd. It's the dominant, metaphor that is found all through Scripture from Genesis 48, that describes God as a shepherd.   

Psalm 23, John 10, one Peter five refers to those who are under shepherds leading the church. And Jesus, who again, likened himself, as a leader, but again, notice the metaphors. He used metaphors like guide, like a gate, that forms an entry, or shepherd, which Jesus used.   

Paul, was perhaps, more than anyone else prone to use metaphors to define leadership including, ambassador nurturing parent priest, underscoring that leadership is again about protecting and providing and guiding. So we again, step back, and I think it's fair to say, if I go back here again, if I take all of these leaders in Scripture and all of their multiple roles and places and times, and think about leadership in terms of the words itself, I come back to this, that what I find is that leaders in Scripture have followers, leaders who, really counted in Scripture, had influence.   

They brought change.   

And without exception, leaders, had direction. But, but even still, coming, through all of these, I still ask myself, but is there a more centering definition? Is this all I have? Is Scripture in a certain sense? Is theology in common with secular theory, leaving us with the same definition, and we would fall short if we said yes. Because actually, what really begins to define leadership is by looking at God's son. Jesus, who I believe as we look more deeply at his life, gave the most centering definition of all. The moment, God took on flesh, the meaning was settled as, as one put it.   

And I believe that's true. So think about when Jesus came and began to live out leadership and began to define leadership. That's what we want to think through for a moment. So the first thing we see him doing is addressing, the common assumptions of what constitutes leadership. That is, put it, maybe a little bit clearer here.   

You come to a passage like Matthew 20. You remember in Matthew 20, Jesus is with the disciples, and the disciples are in enamored. They're impressed with the leadership of the world. They want to be like them. So, the Jesus points to these contemporary norms, these suppositions of what defines a leadership and, and, and, and, and Jesus, notes their tendency to get their definition of leadership from the world around them.   

So the disciples define leadership as those at the top. So we look at Matthew 20, and let me just point to the text itself for just a moment where we see Jesus and the disciples and the disciples, of course, they're tripping all over themselves to be the leaders, the alpha in the group, if you will.   

What's informing them about this definition of leadership? Well, it's because again, of the world, around them. So, we come to this text in Matthew 20 where in the context, the mother of Zebedee's sons, verse 20, come and ask a favor, grant that one of, these two sons of mine may sit at the right and at the left in your kingdom.   

What is she consumed with? She's consumed that her, her sons are the leaders, the ones who sit at the top. And so Jesus, said, you don't know what you're asking. Can you drink the cup? To which they answered, we can. And then Jesus said, we, you will indeed drink from the cup, but to sit at my right or my left is not for me to grant.   

And when the others heard this, of course, they were indignant. And Jesus went on to again, to underscore here that, that they don't really get the definition of leadership. Jesus called them together and listened. What he says, verse 25, you know that the rulers of Gentiles lorded over and their high officials exercise authority over them.   

Well, they knew that, of course, because that's how they define leadership. That's where they got their cues. This is what they wanted to be. They wanted to be those who Lord it over those at the top. But Jesus said, not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great, whoever wants to be at the top, must be your servant.   

And whoever wants to be the first must be your slave, just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Now, what Jesus did then in defining leadership is he, he flipped present assumptions. He turned, these entrenched assumptions upside down.   

He turned the organizational chart upside down, if you will. He pierced through their misperceptions and egocentric and said these words, not so with you. And so what Jesus does, I believe in this moment, is he redefined leadership. He actually, maybe it's not redefine, he pointed to the definition that's been there all along that they had missed. In the biblical definition of a leader, a leader is manifested not in command and control, but in sacrificial service.   

A definition that was and is, and is still today profound and paradoxical, for violates cultural norms, especially those of a society steeped in fear and power and honor and shame. So what Jesus did is hit, he modeled leadership's true meaning.   

And I think about this for a moment. I mean, I think with me, when you look at, let's say, let's think, let's take the political realm today. Here we are in election cycle, and I watch those who want to be seen, want to, in a sense, affirm, I'm your leader. I'm your best answer. It's all about trying to get the voice, trying to get the stage, trying to get the attention, trying to assert.   

We've, it's our culture. It's how we're wired. But when I look at Jesus and what he's saying and what he's doing here, he, he's doing something profoundly different. Jesus says, look at my life. He came as a servant. He submitted to his earthly parents. He yielded to the spirit. He served the needs of others. He went to the cross to pay the price for our failures.   

He was obedient, as he says in John 17, to every purpose of the Father, at every point he countered common assumptions. And he redefined leadership by modeling the definition of a true leader, a leader. He says, you want to define it. You want to distill it down to its essence. A leader is a servant. He serves, he comes not to control, but to serve people.   

And so he could say, after correcting their misperceptions, just as the son of man came, not to be served, but to serve. And so Jesus comes, he welcomes the lowly, he welcomes the vulnerable. He comes not as some demanding autocrat, but as a suffering servant.   

As we see going back to Isaiah 53, Jesus could have certainly could have made his leadership defining his leadership as about showcasing his authority. He could have come and spent most of his time asserting his power. He could have demanded that subjects serve his needs, wash his feet.   

He could have reminded everyone at every turn, just how great he was. But notice Jesus did just the opposite. Everywhere he went, he did what servants do. He saved a family from embarrassment by providing wine. He offered living water to a woman who was thirsty. He raised a paralytic who could not stand on his home. He fed a desperate crowd.   

He gave side to the blind. He replaced grief with joy, and he laid down this life for a world lost in sin to say, this is what leadership does. And what we're going to look to next is Jesus's most dramatic display of the definition of leadership, of all As a pastor or leading elder in a church. How do you live out servant leadership by setting a direction and making decisions for the group without becoming, oppressive or overbearing Or or so conciliatory and so servant oriented that he's not even giving direction.   

Yeah.   

Right? Yeah. And what we find is that, and I don't know if this is a fair way to put it. There is a, a certain tension and balance in it all. A pastor or leader who is serving the people isn't saying, I'll just go where you want to go and I'll serve your needs, whatever they are. That would be one extreme. The other would say, I'm the leader.   

I'm in control. This is what you are to do. There is something in servant leadership that brings, brings together a collaborative sense of I'm serving the needs of my people, and it's important. I really hear their needs, and understand where they are, but also understands, the need to lead and, and not to avoid at times saying, I've heard your hearts and voices and this is where we need to go.   

I've waited, patiently to make sure we're all on board, but there's time that the train has to leave the station, so to speak. So it, it is a tension. You ask yourself always as a leader, and is what I'm, I'm doing, serving, the people, because that's, as I'm my point is that's what defines the leader.   

At heart, he or she is a servant. But that can be misunderstood as not giving leadership, as not ever asserting oneself. There are times you do have to assert. There's times you have to make the hard decision. There’s sometimes you just have to say, this is what we must do.   

But, but if that's done too much, that that is a reflection of poor leadership itself. If you're constantly asserting yourself, if you're constantly seeking to, to control the situation, there's a certain failure of leadership just as if you are serving to the point that people are saying, but where are we going? What are you calling us to?   

That's a failure of leadership itself. There has to be sort of living in the tension between the two.