by Timothy Skinner, MLS
WCIU’s reference librarian has compiled a list of resources on the topic of leadership, featuring a variety of cultures.
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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 Moreby 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 Moreby 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 Moreby Beth Snodderly
I did a word study a couple of years ago on the words used for “servant” in the New Testament. One of those words, therapon, is used only once in the New Testament, and is applied to Moses. But this word is used quite a few times in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, also speaking of Moses.
Read MoreBy 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 Moreby 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 Moreby Beth Snodderly
Psalm 15 has a serious warning for all societies. Societies and organizations with leaders who are corrupt, undependable, and untruthful, will demonstrate the opposite of the stability and righteous living described in Psalm 15.
Read Moreby 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 Moreby 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 Moreby John Sheneni
In this blog entry, WCIU PhD Student John Sheheni shares some thoughts on the importance of mentoring fellow Christians based on examples found in the Gospels.
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