Biblical Models of Leadership

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2023) | Viewed by 1160

Special Issue Editors

School of Divinity, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA 23464, USA
Interests: the gospels; biblical models of leadership; hermeneutics; Pauline literature; ecclesial leadership
Department of Ministry & Leadership, Toccoa Falls College, Toccoa Falls, GA 30598, USA
Interests: organizational leadership; ecclesial leadership; follower development; mentoring; discipleship; exegetical studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is surprising, with the relative increase in scholarly focus on the phenomena of leadership, to see how leadership scholars in modernity have largely ignored the topic of religious leadership. There has been little advance in theoretical perspectives on the processes of religious leadership in the twentieth century beyond the pioneering sociological studies of Weber and Wach. However, the turn of the century and the accompanied turn to spirituality have produced a focused return to the scholarly study of religious leadership, particularly on Judeo-Christian leadership. This special edition of Religions invites proposals exploring leadership models grounded in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Submissions from various methodological approaches are encouraged: exegetical, historical, sociological, and theological.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors (clbekker@regent.edu; rhuizing@tfc.edu) or to the Religions editorial office (religions@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Prof. Dr. Corné J. Bekker
Dr. Russell L. Huizing
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • leadership
  • organizational leadership
  • biblical leadership
  • ecclesial leadership
  • church leadership
  • religious leadership
  • moral leadership
  • values-based leadership
  • Christian leadership
  • ministerial leadership

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 317 KiB  
Article
Judge Deborah and Pastor/Teacher Priscilla: Templates for Contemporary Biblical Women’s Leadership
by Jill E. Nelson
Religions 2024, 15(4), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040397 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 238
Abstract
Based on the examples of Judge Deborah from the Old Testament and Pastor/Teacher Priscilla from the New Testament, this paper contends that women have a biblical responsibility to lead in any vocation for which God has called and anointed them, and the Christian [...] Read more.
Based on the examples of Judge Deborah from the Old Testament and Pastor/Teacher Priscilla from the New Testament, this paper contends that women have a biblical responsibility to lead in any vocation for which God has called and anointed them, and the Christian church has a biblical responsibility to accept and encourage them. Women leaders offer valuable leadership qualities, as illustrated by Deborah, the prophetic judicial/governmental/military leader of a nation, and Priscilla, the theologian, educator, missionary, and pastor in the nascent church. This paper further argues that leadership structures are not complete or fully effective without feminine inclusion and participation. The church and the world have historically deprived themselves of rich resources by curtailing women’s leadership roles. The need for rediscovering and recovering women’s leadership gifts and styles has never been more urgent or appropriate in the current cultural atmosphere requiring an emphasis on collaboration and cooperation (relationality), emotional intelligence that seeks transformation rather than transaction, and servant leadership, as manifested in Deborah and Priscilla as leaders. The church would be wise to embrace the Deborahs and Priscillas, as well as other types of women leaders whomGod has placed in her midst, thus creating strong, responsive, and nurturing communities that reflect Jesus to the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biblical Models of Leadership)
12 pages, 1174 KiB  
Article
Servant-Leadership as a Model for Christian Community: A Subversive Rhetoric and Ideology in Luke 22:23–27
by Godwin A. Etukumana
Religions 2024, 15(4), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040391 - 24 Mar 2024
Viewed by 250
Abstract
This article carefully examines the meaning of servant leadership as embedded in Luke 22:23–27. We believe that servant leadership as taught by the Lukan Jesus is an ideal leadership style suitable for anyone who aspires for any leadership position. To examine this topic, [...] Read more.
This article carefully examines the meaning of servant leadership as embedded in Luke 22:23–27. We believe that servant leadership as taught by the Lukan Jesus is an ideal leadership style suitable for anyone who aspires for any leadership position. To examine this topic, this article adopts subversive rhetoric to interpret the text in Luke 22:23–27 to understand the embedded ideology within the text. The application of subversive rhetoric and ideology in reading Luke 22:23–27 provides insights into the leadership problems faced in Christian community today. Using subversive rhetoric and ideology as a means of interpretation, this article emphasises that the Lukan text is an invitation to the Christian community to model their leadership style based on the premise of the Lukan Jesus since leadership is the centre of every good governance. The Lukan Jesus instructed his followers not to follow the empire’s leadership style of ruling over people without caring for their wellbeing. However, the article acknowledges that the disciples were instructed to subversively change the leadership style and implement the one that would be of benefit to the entire humanity—the servant leadership model. It concludes that the Luke text aims at introducing a servant leadership system that was against the Roman Empire for the new Lukan community and invites the present Christian community and world leaders to imbibe the ideology of servant leadership style as introduced by the Lukan Jesus and practised by Nelson Mandela. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biblical Models of Leadership)
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