Christian Leadership: Principles and Practice

The Bible teaches only one philosophy of Christian leadership. Christ Himself modeled and summarized it in Matthew 20. The principles of service and suffering form the basis of the leader's relationship with their subordinates. The leader also embodies equality and mutual respect towards their colleagues in ministry.

The philosophy of Christian leadership in the modern world is deeply affected by the hierarchical-administrative customs of business corporations. Many Christian leadership books are merely a remedy of American corporate culture expressed in religious language. Christians who have succeeded leading businesses in the secular environment imagine that they can have the same "success" in the church and thereby make the Kingdom of God efficient... as if efficiency had much value in the Kingdom of God. If so, that of the church could be increased, but at the cost of the same abuses that exist in secular world businesses. With a hierarchical way of thinking, these writers lose Christian concepts in a labyrinth of worldly administrative techniques.

The goal of this course is to train leaders, not to fill students' minds with notions about the subject. Therefore, it is not self-taught. Nor is it primarily academic. The mature teacher must be willing to play the role of mentor to their students, not just a communicator of information. The number of students in the class should be small, to allow for the establishment of relationships between students and the teacher. The ideal number would be eight to twelve students.