Copy of LEADERSHIP

Leadership

What principles of godly leadership can help demonstrate the presence of the Kingdom of God?

Photo credit: US Embassy - Flickr

Rehoboam’s Syndrome: The Loss of Unity in Israel and Lessons for Fruitful Negotiations between the Government and Special Interest Groups

by Moussa Bongoyok, PhD

Our contemporary societies have beaten all the speed records of previous generations. However, these apparent achievements hide a weakness that deserves attention: the slowness to draw lessons from the past in order to prevent or solve social conflicts. Yet King Solomon, whose wisdom is legendary, seems to continue pointing his finger at a salutary path through this profound verse: "What has been, that is what will be, and what has been done is what will happen, there is nothing new under the Sun.” (Eccl. 1:9).

Let us examine together one case, drawn from among many others, on which the Bible speaks powerfully: the hesitation of Rehoboam, described in 1 Kings 12:1-24, which resulted in the division of the kingdom that he inherited from his father. It is full of lessons for our contemporary communities. We will approach this story from three angles: first, we will revisit the historical facts narrated by the Bible, then we will identify some principles, and finally, we will propose some avenues of application with particular emphasis on the negotiations between the government and corporatist groups.

Read More
Transitions to Second-Generation Leadership in Faith-Based Agencies

by Darrell Dorr

Faith-based agencies in the throes of transition from the founder to second-generation leadership can glean much from reviewing literature such as that summarized in this article. No formulaic or glib answers suffice, but a careful and selective adaptation of insights from the literature can be helpful. Hopefully agencies will excavate the transferable lessons now buried in their archives, thereby adding to a common pool of knowledge to be utilized by “sodalities” so instrumental to international development in the 21st century.

Read More
Reflection: Servant Leadership in Times Like These

by David Gyertson

If Jesus is the gold standard for servant leadership, then we will obey Him by serving faithfully those He has entrusted to us. Often we will work within the strengths He has provided. Like Moses, the skills and experiences symbolized by the shepherd’s staff can become the “rod of God.” However, we must not be surprised or unprepared when the Master asks us to minister out of frailty and discomfort. Being forced to cast down our rods of ability and stability periodically ensures that we are operating not by our own power and might, but by the Spirit’s (Zech 4:6). For it is primarily when we have nothing left but Jesus that He becomes everything. When Jesus is our only thing, as well as our everything, the excellence of the power is seen by all to be of Him and not of us. In the end, the only star will be Christ Jesus the Morning Star (Rev. 22:16). Such is the servant leadership needed for times like these.

Read More
Who Decides and How? The Challenge of Decision-Making in Intercultural Ministry Teams

By Donald Moon

Members of intercultural teams bring with them their cultural preferences or biases about many things, including leadership styles and how decisions are made. Misunderstandings and conflict were nearly inevitable when team members operate, often unknowingly, from their cultural preferences. Their different ideas about what they consider the correct way to make decisions is a key indicator of their cultural type.

Read More
Mentoring Insights from the Book of Titus

by John Sheneni

Like mentor, like mentee. In this paper, I explore the qualifications of mentors, the profile of mentees, and the duties of mentors and mentees that we can see in the epistles to Titus. Our hope for producing a viable pastoral team for the future is in doing what Paul and the early Christian leaders did so well—discipling and mentoring the youth for ministry and for church membership.

Read More
Biblical Models for Christian Leadership

by David Gyertson

It has been helpful, in my goal to understand the impact of Christian leadership on organizational mission and identity, to explore four basic Scriptural models, or what I characterize here as motifs, of leadership style and motivation. It is important, however, to underscore that models are almost always artificial and as a result incomplete. No leader fits fully into any one of these characterizations due to the raw materials of personality, experiences, motivations, and skill sets each individual brings to the specific situation. Current institutional needs and emerging opportunities also influence the tailoring of these off-the-rack suits to fit the person with the place.

Read More
Christian Mentoring: Its Significance and Implications for Leadership

by John Sheneni

In my research I have investigated the state of mentoring in Nigeria, which approaches to mentoring are effective for Christian leaders, and what suggestions can improve mentoring in leadership.

This study addresses the role of pastors as mentors in the church’s leader development process. It examines biblical and other studies on senior leaders mentoring emerging leaders to determine the components of mentoring and its benefits in the church and other organizations. This study demonstrates that teaching, coaching, counseling, advising, and discipling are valid mentoring activities and as such should be included in the church’s leadership development and become expected behaviors by senior leaders.

Read More
A World-Changer's Profile

by David Gyertson

The author provides a succinct list of Christ-centered leadership principles from a biblical perspective. Two examples:

• Christ-centered leaders embrace a Great Commandment motivation that compels them to address poverty, illness, exploitation, discrimination, and oppression in the world. They possess a burden for those who—for reasons of culture, social position, political oppression, economic condition, race, gender and ethnicity—are denied the basics of life’s opportunities. (See Luke 4:18)

• Christ-centered leaders’ learning and serving reflect the major biblical themes of justice, mercy, and humility (see Micah 6:8). All three of these are evidence of the transformation that comes when the mind is challenged to see and serve the world like the Christ.

Read More