The Jews knew all about oppression by figures of authority.
Their history was filled with incompetent kings, selfish priests, conquering nations, and stifling leaders. In the first century, the Jews experienced a unique form of oppression. The presence of the Roman government on the streets of Jerusalem was a reminder that meeting in the synagogues, worshipping Yahweh, and carrying on Jewish life wasn’t true freedom.
The Jews remained controlled by the presence of Centurians, soldiers, prefects, taxes, and the fear of stepping outside the bounds they were allowed to live within. People in positions were revered as powerful rulers rather than protectors, allies, or providers. It was understood these authority figures held the lives of their people in their hands.
In his writings, Paul often avoids vocabulary commonly used to reference leadership because of the negative perspective the Jewish people had of the Roman authorities (Tidball, 2012).
For this reason, some followers of Jesus Christ have concluded the exercise of leadership authority is not scriptural and should not be practiced in the modern church. Some pastors and ministry leaders have gone so far as to shun the development of leadership practices and the exercise of leadership authority.
One thing that cannot be denied from an honest study of scripture is the presence of leadership as a central theme. In fact, leadership is a topic that Jesus spoke on quite a bit. In fact, Paul builds on Jesus’ teachings of leadership in his letters to the early church.
Paul, having been educated and deeply knowledgable of Jewish history, understood the necessity of good leadership. Much of his understanding would have been derived from his study of how leadership affected the history of his own people.
A look through the Old Testament makes it apparent that effective leadership was “essential if any society is to be healthy” (Tidball, 2012, p. 33). The twenty-first chapter of Judges ends with an indictment against the lack of leadership by stating “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Crossway, 2012).
Paul’s understanding of leadership may have contributed to his vehement persecution of the early church. His quest to eradicate the Jewish community of Jesus followers was an exercise of authority. Paul exercising his leadership and the leadership of the Sanhedrin as a way of protecting the Jewish people from heresy. Paul’s leadership before his conversion oppressed the people.
However, his leadership is also what compelled him to lead with such passion after his Damascus Road experience. After Paul encountered Jesus, he focused his leadership on advancing the Gospel and the message of Jesus. He used his influence to guide the early church and bring the story of Jesus to Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire.
Later, in Acts 14:23, we even see Paul training and mentoring new leaders. This act serves as an example of how important he felt leadership was. Paul knew leadership was valuable, and even necessary, for effective change and Kingdom advancement.
Leadership is neutral and is shaped by the person exercising it. Paul wanted the early church, and us, to understand that followers of Jesus Christ were meant to be approach leadership differently. Christians are supposed to be leaders, but they are supposed to be servant leaders (Tidball, 2012, p.31).
Paul’s perspective of leadership was also heavily influenced by the words of Jesus. In Matthew 20:25-27, Jesus draws a contrast between the authoritative leadership seen in the Gentiles and what he expects from his followers. Jesus calls his followers to break from the authoritative dictation of behavior and lead through service (Crossway, 2012). This is compelling for Paul and he encourages the receivers of his letters to exercise leadership, even going as far as listing it as one of the spiritual gifts in Romans 12:8 (Tidball, 2012, p. 34).
One of the breakdowns of leadership occurs when positional authority is given to those who have never fully learned to serve. Servant leadership is anchored in followership, which is also a theme we see throughout scripture.
Scripture has countless opportunities for us to observe followership through submission to authority. In Genesis 16:9, Hagar is commanded by God to “Return to your mistress and submit to her” (Crossway, 2012), while Hebrews 13:17 instructs Christians to “Obey leaders and submit to them” (Crossway, 2012).
Followership is essential to leadership, and leadership is essential to the health and well being of any group, organization, or people group.
As pastors and ministry leaders, we have to develop as leaders. Though the local church is led by the Holy Spirit, he leads through the availability of growing ministry leaders. When a faith community stagnates, begins to decline, or becomes a country club of believers where other believers migrate to, then there are some serious leadership issues.
For those of us who are sitting at the helm of these local faith communities, it is our responsibility to either become intentional about our leadership growth and development or step aside and allow someone else to take the helm.
The local church does not belong to us, it belongs to God. We are simply stewards and we must steward what has been entrusted to us or give it to someone else to steward it for God.
References
Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version (ESV text ed.). Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles.
Tidball, D. (2012). Leaders as Servants: a Resolution of the Tension. Evangelical Review of Theology, 36(1), 31–47.