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Contents

Introduction 1

Servant Leadership: Christ in the Gospel of Mark 3

Structural Leadership: Leadership in the Primitive Church 5

Conclusion 7

Bibliography 9

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Introduction

Challenges and pressures in leadership keep growing as society and church cultures change. Christian leaders are conflicted with the choice of applying biblical or secular leadership models in work and ministry. Christian leaders are both Christians and leaders. Christian values and conduct cannot be left out of every-day life. Christians must show a godly lifestyle in all aspects of life. Spiritual formation must be the cornerstone of the lifestyle of a Christian leader in work and ministry.

A major aspect for a Christian leader’s credibility is to remain true to faith and Scripture in all areas of life. A leader who only applies biblical leadership principles to church leadership will harm those who follow him and will confuse non-believers. A Christian leader must be a committed disciple of Christ. All Christian leaders must apply and execute Christ’s commands in all areas of life. A Christian leader shows commitment by putting their lives under the complete lordship of Christ.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Co., 2003), 15.]

Christians must walk in Christ and demonstrate His line in all areas of their own lives, even at the work place. Witnessing begins with the daily aspects of life; emulating Christ’s character. Isaiah 55:11 teaches, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”[footnoteRef:2] A believer’s actions and leadership style must point a way to God’s presence. Christian leaders are to help others grow and mature towards the stature of the perfect man. God’s plan and will is a priority for a Christian leader, this implies that they must rely on His power, grace, and Scripture knowledge to lead. Believers are to influence and impact the lives of others by using Christ’s gifts, the power of the Holy Spirit, and Scripture. This paper will describe leadership themes in the lives of influential leaders from the New Testament and how they can be applied to daily lives. [2: Unless otherwise note, all Scripture passages are in the New International Version,( Biblica Inc, 2011).]

The synoptic gospels focus on a disciple-teacher leadership style. The teacher is the one that possess the knowledge, skills, and truths, while the disciple learns and puts into practice these skills. Benjamin Forrest explains that “Disciples as leaders function as first followers; that is, they exercise no independent authority. Rather, their leadership derives exclusively from their role as kingdom guides.”[footnoteRef:3] A disciple, then, exercises a dual role in the leadership process. The disciple learns, but also witnesses Kingdom life. [3: Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden, Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2017), 332. ]

The Gospel of Mark, the first of the synoptics to be written, focused on establishing Jesus’s sacrifice and faith in Him as the way to be reconciliated with God. Mark 10:45, Mark introduces Jesus as the servant leader by stating, “for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus, in the gospel of Mark, was presented as servant leader who prepared the disciples for ministry, more so than the other gospels.[footnoteRef:4]  Mark 3:14-15 demonstrates how Jesus was investing in His disciples so they could practice what He did and teach others what He taught them. Leading by example and service, Jesus trained them for their future ministries. [4: Thomas D. Lea and David A. Black, The New Testament: It’s Background and Message (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1996), 143.]

Jesus is the perfect example of servant leadership. The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus as the leader who lowered Himself from divinity, became a man, so he could serve humanity bey teaching them, sacrificing himself for them, and bringing hope to all generations to come. Jesus is described as a caring teacher, who focused on teaching and guiding His disciples to the end-goal. The synoptic gospels, especially Mark, paint a picture of a Jesus who walks side-by-side with His disciples and leads them towards His plan. By leading with compassion, love, mercy, justice, and truth He led men and women back to God, through Himself, and left a team of men and women who continued His work through service.

Structural Leadership: Leadership in the Primitive Church

The New Testament brings to light various leadership models. As the first Christians grew so did the different leadership structures. The book of the Acts of the Apostles presents a dynamic leadership model which begins as a structural leadership style. According to Donald Clark, “Structural Leaders focus on structure, strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation, and adaptation.”[footnoteRef:5] Acts 1:21 describes how the apostles developed a leadership system for the early church. Their main concern was to witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to all who listened. “Christ initially chose the first twelve leaders that would guide the new organization called the church.”[footnoteRef:6] Following Christ’s command and guided by the Holy Spirit, the apostles began create a structure and system for the emerging church. [5: Donald Clark, “Leadership Models,” in Big Dog and Little Dog’s Performance Juxtaposition, August 15, 2015, accessed June 21,2019, http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadmodels.html.] [6: Forrest and Roden, Biblical Leadership, 366. ]

According to Acts, the first leaders of the church were the chosen twelve. These men continued to share the Gospel in an organized manner. As the meetings grew, so began the need for greater service and community impact. The twelve organized a group of deacons who would serve in the church and for the church. The twelve became elders and apostles, believers began to organize churches and programming. Pastors, evangelists, teachers, missionaries, those who give, or do mercy; all ministries began to develop into a ecclesiastical system focused on building the body of Christ.

All ministries, including leadership, are gifts given by Christ to equip the church and help it grow to the image of the Perfect Man. True to Paul’s style, the letter to the Ephesians marks the need for structure within the church. It also reveals an important truth; all ministries are given with the sole purpose of bringing glory to God through the development of the Body. Paul writes his pastoral letters to encourage, admonish, and teach. He also used his letters to mentor, and create leadership structure and teachings within the new churches. Paul helped establish structural leadership systems within the new churches. He understood that these ministries, gifts, and structures were given by Christ and led by the Holy Spirit.

While Paul was given the divine task of creating structural leadership systems in the gentile churches, Peter was establishing structures within the Judeo-Christian churches. The letters that are accredited to Peter, not only bring structural leadership in the form of ranks within the church’s leadership, it also established the profiles or conditions to serve within that system. Peter mentions a list of characteristics that those who desire to lead a church must have. It is important to notice that the lists are virtually the same for bishops, pastors, elders, deacons, and other who serve in the church’s leadership structure. Those who sere, even within structures must always do so as for the Lord.

Conclusion

Leaders are men and women who have been given a gift by Christ to equip the church and help mature through service and structure. The apostle Paul explains in the letter to the Ephesians that the church must be an instrument of reconciliation within itself and with God, using the gifts of Christ to equip others to do the same and to mature to the full stature of Christ. Even if it is clearly a concorporate task, Church maturity comes from individual maturity. Richard L. Strauss explains that “the maturing of Christ's body will come through the maturing of its individual members.” [footnoteRef:7] As we serve others and build others up we are also being build and we experience growth. This is why the Master said that the greatest amongst us is the one who serves. [7: Richard L. Strauss, “Like Christ: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:13,” Bibliotheca Sacra 143, no. 571 (1986): 262, accessed June 16, 2019.]

The New Testament brings to attention the process of Christian leadership, its main purpose and style, and its process towards formality. Leadership standards, styles and characteristics were given by Jesus, the Apostles, Paul, and Peter. Jesus established the basis of Christian leadership by making servant leadership its cornerstone. The disciples, elevated to the status of teachers, executed the servant leadership style and began to use the structural leadership style as the church grew. Paul explained that Christian leadership relies on structural and servant leadership with the purpose of building up the church and helping it mature to the stature of Christ. Finally, Peter explains to the Judeo-Christian church that the Christian leadership structure must grow and diversify, only if the leaders commit to a godly lifestyle.

As believers learn and understand the leadership themes within the new testament, so will they become better leaders in all areas of life. All must exercise servant leadership and structure in order to be effective in ministry and work. Above all, Christian leaders must always lead like Christ. Believers are always in a position of influence. They must use their position to establish a Christian leadership model everywhere. Robert Mounce suggests that biblical leadership is carried out for the benefit of others.”[footnoteRef:8] Jesus served humanity by sacrificing Himself for the forgiveness of sin, we must serve others in all areas of life so that through us they can see Christ and His love. [8: Robert Mounce, Romans, vol. 27 of New American Commentary (Nashville, Tenn.: Holman Reference, 1995), 234-36.]

Bibliography

Clark, Donald. “Leadership Models.” In Big Dog and Little Dog’s Performance Juxtaposition, August 15, 2015. Accessed June 21,2019, http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadmodels.html.

Forrest, Benjamin K. and Chet Roden. Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader. Grand Rapids, MI : Kregel Publications, 2017.

Lea, Thomas D. and David A. Black. The New Testament: It’s Background and Message. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1996.

Malphurs, Aubrey (2003). Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership. Grand

Rapids: Baker Book House Co., 2003. ISBN: 9780801091438.

Mounce, Robert. Romans, vol. 27 of New American Commentary. Nashville, Tenn.: Holman Reference, 1995.

Strauss, Richard L. “Like Christ: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:13.” Bibliotheca Sacra 143, no. 571 (1986).

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