LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Assignment Title: Biblical and Theological Themes Regarding Leadership in the Church
Course: CHMN 699 - Internship
Student: Kristine Sage
Date: January 29, 2022
Professor: Dr. Joel Breidenbaugh
The seven significant biblical and theological issues listed below should serve as the framework for
any study on Christian leadership.
1. What is the church's mission?
Any organization's mission and purpose are instantly questioned when defining leadership within
that institution. The Bible poses and responds to two crucial questions regarding the church in this
particular circumstance.
Whose mission is it, first? not ours but God's. The mission is not created by the church. God's
mission for the church is laid out in the Bible. What is the church's mission, secondly? The Bible makes
numerous references to the church's mission. Take into consideration Matthew 28:18–20, Colossians
1:15–20, John 17:20–23, 1 Peter 2:9–11, and Ephesians 4:11–13. It's beneficial to think of these multiple
church mission statements as various facets of a single diamond, each enhancing the other.
God's purpose for the world may be summed up as follows: Christ is God's means of making
everything right with himself. The church is the body of Christ in the world; it is the channel through
which the world will come to know that Jesus Christ is Lord and the means by which all Christians will
unite in their understanding and growth in their faith in Christ. God sends the church into the world to
spread the gospel, evangelize, proclaim the good news of God's kingdom, and embody the message of
reconciliation in its corporate existence in order to carry out his purpose to reconcile all things to
himself.
(Note: "Vision" typically relates to how one plans to carry out their mission in the future. "Mission"
typically refers to one's fundamental purpose or belief. The debate over whether the mission or the
vision comes first is still going on. The texts above undoubtedly represent the church's mission and
vision according to these definitions of "mission" and "vision."
2. What does the phrase "the body of Christ" in the Bible mean?
Understanding the odd and enigmatic truth that the church is the body of Christ is essential to
comprehending leadership in the church. The church is not compared to or compared to a body in the
Bible. According to 1 Corinthians 12:27, the church is how Christ manifests himself in the world. Four
characteristics of the church as the body of Christ need to be understood while thinking about
leadership.
The head of the body is Christ.
Christ is clearly referred to as the head of the church throughout the New Testament.
Christ's headship refers to the source of the church's life rather than to authority and the right to
control. Christ provides all the body requires to live and sustains the entire body (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16;
Col. 1:18).
The church is a dynamic entity.
Christians are not part of a dead institution, but rather a live body (Eph. 4:12-16). Christ alone is the
source of the vitality of the church. This suggests two ideas: The church is a living organism that is
continually evolving and adapting to the world around it. This is what being alive is all about. "Dead" is
the phrase used to describe a creature that has stopped evolving. Second, the church is not an
autonomous closed system that is only accountable to itself. It is dependent and conditional. The church
is inextricably linked to and dependent upon Christ for its basic existence, much like the vine is to the
branch. As a living entity, the church is more interested in what Christ is doing in and through them than
in what they desire to do. How is the life of Christ actually manifested in the church we attend?
The various components of Christ's one body form an organic whole (1 Cor. 12:12-31).
According to First Corinthians 12, every body part is necessary for the proper operation of the
entire body. Because of this reciprocal interdependence, all members of the body of Christ, especially
leaders, are held accountable to both Christ and to one another.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given by God to the church (Rom. 12:3–8; 1 Cor. 12:7–11; Eph. 4:11–
13). These "gift passages" make it very obvious that everyone in the body receives spiritual gifts from
God, not just a few chosen leaders. Furthermore, God grants certain gifts to specific believers. But it's
important to balance a focus on specific gifts given to specific members of the body with a focus on the
talents the body as a whole possesses as a result of the presence of the Holy Spirit in Christ. According
to Paul, spiritual gifts are bestowed for the benefit of society. In fact, when different members of the
body of Christ become aware of their capacity to assist one another and those outside the church, gifts
manifest, are acknowledged by the body, and are reinforced within it. It's crucial to strike a balance
between a person's unique talents and their physical gifts.
3. What is "servant leadership" according to the Bible?
The Bible has a lot to say on the character and attributes of Christian leadership. The most thorough
understanding may come from Christ's life and his explicit teachings on servant leadership. The epitome
of servant leadership is Jesus. Christ is the living example of the teachings of servant love. The cross is
the most powerful illustration of selfless love (Philippians 2:1–11; John 13:12–17). In the New
Testament, leadership involves both power and service. Both are demonstrated by Jesus Christ, who is
"far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" (Eph. 1:21) yet nevertheless humbles himself
to wash his followers' feet (John 13). Parenting serves as a powerful example of how authority may
coexist with service. Parents have power and authority in their relationships with children; good parents
also love their children with a servant's love and exercise their power via this love. When properly
understood, authority, power, and servant love are not in opposition to one another in the New
Testament and should not be in opposition to one another in debates of leadership (Matt. 20:25-28).
Leaders are reminded to handle power and authority with caution by the New Testament's
emphasis on servant leadership. Leaders must be aware of the ways in which their roles as servants of
the One in charge of all authority and power might naturally lead to an imbalance of power. They must
also take seriously their obligation to exercise that power.
One way Christians "put on" Jesus Christ is via the exercise of servant leadership.
If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet, Jesus says
in John 13:14, making it clear that people who follow him must demonstrate his servant love. "Therefore
be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God," writes Paul in Ephesians 5:1-2. The "lording it over" style of
leadership practiced by Gentiles must not be applied to the leadership of Christ's church. By assisting
their followers in discovering and effectively utilizing their gifts in the body's ministry, servant leaders
seek to love and serve people they are in charge of. It is really and fundamentally a question of
servanthood, love, forgiveness, redemption, sacrifice, justice, and obedience to lead in the church.
(Note: Lawrence Richards and Clyde Hoeldtke's 1980 book A Theology of Church Leadership by
Zondervan contains a more in-depth treatment of these and other biblical topics relevant to church
leadership.)
4. How do effective leadership and reconciliation relate to one another?
The above summary of God's mission in terms of reconciliation reads as follows: Christ is God's means of
making everything right with himself. As a result, the church is called to embody the message of
reconciliation in its corporate existence. In order for the church to fulfill God's objectives in the world,
barriers between different individuals and groups must be removed.
The desire for racial harmony is one of the most pressing issues in the world today, both in North
America and elsewhere. The ability of a community to overcome racial and ethnic boundaries is one of
the greatest indicators of whether it is truly Christian. One of the greatest examples of the gospel's
power that the church can provide is deep racial reconciliation. When individuals "from every tribe and
language and people and nation" are assembled around the throne, as described in Revelation, effective
Christian leadership entails the deliberate pursuit of such reconciliation (Rev. 5:9). Racial harmony is but
one indicator of a genuine Christian community. Examples of alienation within a community include the
dissolution of marriage and families, social and economic divides, political and ideological
disagreements, and enmity amongst members of the body of Christ. The pursuit of reconciliation at
every level of community is one of the most fundamental motivations and values of Christian leadership.
5. What do the Scriptures say about leadership and suffering?
Christians suffer, according to the unambiguous teaching of the New Testament (1 Peter 3:8–22;
4:12–19; Rom. 5:1–5; 2 Timothy 1:8–12), not only because they inhabit a fallen world but also because
following Christ and the gospel invites animosity and opposition and activates the forces of evil.
Christian leaders ought to anticipate suffering. In fact, someone who want to lead in the church or the
kingdom but has a severe intolerance to pain should search for employment elsewhere. It's fascinating
to note that biblical figures like Moses, Joshua, David, Esther, Deborah, and other "heroes of faith" [Heb.
11]—characters we frequently connect with great leadership—often endured hardship. Their suffering
was sometimes self-inflicted. All leaders do, in fact, battle temptations, and many leaders make grave
mistakes that cause both themselves and the people around them great misery. However, suffering is
frequently a byproduct of doing good; it is the natural or supernatural opposition and antagonism to the
gospel that results in harm and suffering. The good news is that almost every New Testament passage
that discusses Christian suffering is tinged with hope. This hope stems from the positive, character-
building, and community-building effects that can result from suffering when it is accepted with faith as
well as from the forward-looking, "not-yet" perspective that is made more apparent in suffering.
Christian leaders are aware that Christ will triumph and that his purpose will be fulfilled.
For the Christian leader and community, one significant implication of the reality of suffering is that
"success" and "failure" are never as black-and-white as one may be tempted to think. Sometimes, the
most difficult period in a church's history ends up being the period in which God most shaped, led, and
formed that church into its most dynamic and vigorous period of ministry. In the words of Jesus and
Paul, churches are continually dying and emerging. If churches and their leaders are to rise up and
scatter many more seeds, they must be prepared to undergo sorrow and suffering and to be the seed
that is sown and perishes. Jesus said these things as he prepared for his own suffering and death, and
they must be regularly remembered by every Christian leader (and congregation): I can assure you that a
grain of wheat will remain a single grain unless it falls to the ground and dies; but, if it does, it will
produce a large amount of fruit. People who cherish their lives lose them, while others who despise
them will keep them for all eternity. Anyone who serves me must do so in my footsteps, and my servant
will go where I go. Whoever serves me will be honored by the Father. (John 12:24-26)
