Leadership in the Greek New Testament is more of a motif than anything else. This is illustrated by the fact that there is no Greek word that means “leader” in the English language. However, poimaino appears eleven times in the Greek New Testament. When it occurs, it is used to refer to “shepherding” or “to care for.”
While the term “leader” is not overtly stated in the Greek New Testament, the concept of a leader and their requirements are treated. Also, considering that essentially what leadership boils down to is influence, then leadership has been happening for many millennia. Having a specific word in Greek is not needed to prove that leadership was happening in New Testament times or that it was happening in the Christian church. Though, leadership obviously was occurring within the newly born church. Though the Greek New Testament, for the most part, does not deal with the issue of leadership, there is the passage in Matthew 20:21-28, specifically verses 25-28, where Jesus says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must become your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become 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.” Jesus was the perfect example of what leadership in the kingdom of God is to look like. Though, it is contrary to the world’s understanding and practice of it. Some of the themes of leadership from New Testament times that will be examined to gain a clear understanding of how it is to be done in these modern times are: leadership in the kingdom of God, Christ over culture, quality of leadership, and conflict resolution.
Theme One: Leadership in the Kingdom of God
Leadership is to be viewed through the lens of discipleship. This is because Christian leaders are first and foremost followers. Specifically, followers of Christ. As Stacy adeptly explains the concept of leaders being followers,
They are first followers in that they have no independent authority or power; rather, their authority is delegated authority, a reality made necessary by the fact of Jesus’ departure. Disciples, therefore, become his “presence in the absence.” Continuing his kingdom ministrations. They are not “leaders” in their own right or by their own power. Indeed, they are followers, not “leaders.” Jesus never called “leaders,” he called “followers.”
While Stacy may seem to take the concept of disciples being followers and not leaders a bit far by overemphasizing the follower aspect in this statement, he makes an important point that leaders in the kingdom of God are first and foremost followers of Jesus. Whatever power and authority that a Christian leader has comes from the Lord. With that said, two important aspects of leadership in the kingdom of God should be noted. First, an inherent characteristic of the kingdom of God is that of service. It is required, not suggested, or optional. The second is connected with the paradox between servanthood and leadership. In the kingdom of God, leaders do not happen to serve; it is servants that happen to lead. In Lead Like Jesus, on the topic of who leads and who follows, Blanchard & Hodges state, “Throughout His life and leadership, Jesus affirmed that God is not looking for leaders but for servants who will let Him be the Leader and who will focus first on the kingdom of God.” It is evident that leaders in the kingdom of God, on a hierarchical system, are not the leader. Only God is the leader. Leader’s in the kingdom, are seen as leaders in the church on this side of heaven because of their influence over other believers. But, true leadership always will belong to Jesus. It is His church, not ours.
Theme Two: Christ Over Culture
The world is full of many countries. More so in modern times than in ancient times. However, the point is the same. There are many countries, and every one of them has its own distinct language and culture. Though, those cultures are man-made. There may be certain aspects of each culture that would be considered amoral from a Biblical standpoint. Considering that the kingdom of God is the true reality, albeit an alternative reality from the perspective of this world, it has its own culture. It is that culture that is the true culture and which oftentimes is contrary to human culture, which is found in every country of the world.
The clash that happens between Kingdom culture and human culture is not a new problem that has arisen in modern times. It was occurring from the very beginning of the church. In Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem had to deal with this type of issue. If it had not been dealt with properly and according to God’s will, there may have been a high probability that the early church would have experienced a schism. Fortunately, this hypothetical scenario never occurred. However, some important principles can be gleaned from the Jerusalem Council that are applicable today in resolving cultural conflicts in the church.
Consensus in leadership is the first principle that appears. Whether a church or ministry has one main leader, or many, this principle applies. In the case of a small church or ministry, it is still possible to gain a consensus by seeking godly counsel from other leaders in other churches and ministries or from the lay ministers that serve with them. The second principle is that Scripture should always be consulted. It needs to be the basis for deciding the matter, and it is the final source of authority. The third and final principle is that cultural sensitivity needs to be conserved. The Jerusalem Council did this by commanding that Jewish Christians were to not impose their cultural traditions on Gentiles, and likewise, Gentiles were to not look down on Jewish Christians that continued to practice Mosaic customs.
It should be stated that Christ and Kingdom culture supersedes any and all human culture that contradicts it. This includes the culture of the leaders in the Kingdom, as well. Though, it can be, and often is, difficult for the leader to know at any given time if they are deferring to their cultural norms and traditions that they were raised in instead of to Kingdom culture, which is Christian dogma as laid out in Scripture, Kingdom culture must be placed ahead of their own culture.
To conclude the topic of leadership in the New Testament, the next and final post in the series will cover the themes of Quality of Leadership and Conflict Resolution.
. Robert Wayne Stacy, “A Concept Study: Leadership in the New Testament Greek,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2017), 296.. Stacy, 289.. Ibid., 300. . Ibid.. Stacy, 320. . Ibid., 329. . Ibid. . Blanchard, Ken and Phil Hodges. Lead Like Jesus. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 47.. Rene A. Lopez, “Mission and Ministry of the Early Church: Leadership in Acts,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2017), 373. . Ibid., 371. . Ibid.. Ibid.