Context
Paul’s first-century context had certain well-developed institutions, each with its own leadership structures. These institutions presented Paul with a rich tapestry of leadership content which he seemingly freely borrowed from in developing his own leadership thinking. We will also take a deeper dive into the dynamic relationship that exists between leaders and their contexts.
Character, personality and style
Paul wrote a lot about the quality of a Christian leader’s character in his letters, with concrete implications for their personalities, as well as their life- and leadership styles. Values and norms played a pivotal part in Paul’s leadership thinking, and how this should impact leaders’ professional, personal and family lives. It still holds true for leaders today.
Calling and functions of ministry leaders
I next found that Paul was quite clear about what New Testament ministers should be able to do, i.e., his/her functions. To the apostle, all these functions were directly related to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which all leaders necessarily received in order to lead and minister in a Christian setting.
Competencies all leaders need
The fourth dimension concerns the need for leaders to have a plethora of general leadership and management skills and competencies. These were all designed by God and these skills develop as leaders remain willing to grow to maturity. Our “Power-dressing” activities will attempt to find analogous similarities between the ancient and the modern – a marriage of sorts; hopefully the age difference is not too great and the couple will turn out to be compatible!
Core metaphor of Pauline leadership
The last drawer of our Pauline leadership cabinet concerns the core metaphor that should characterize a leader’s work. Pauline leaders possess a secret super-power; servanthood! We will share many clarifying thoughts from the 21st century, helping us on our way to become servant-leaders like Paul. We will also update our definition of leadership as we rummage through these drawers, one after the other.
