The need for convergence of theology and leadership has gained greater significance in the leadership domain, yet the two fields remain largely apart. The Journal of Biblical Perspectives on Leadership (JBPL) was formed to bridge the gap between the two fields and in the process enhance the underlying concepts and practices. The attempt to converge the two fields, however, must overcome significant challenges including issues of methodology, focus, and strategy. This paper presents a qualitative meta-analysis of biblical perspectives on leadership using articles from the JBPL in an attempt to propose the next steps in methodology, research focus, and strategies. The paper identifies that theological considerations of leadership are not penetrating the literature of leadership. The articles published in the JBPL and reviewed in this meta-analysis indicate that theological perspectives of leadership give insights on the styles of leadership, such as transformational, traits of leadership such as cultural leadership, and the challenges of leadership such as change management. However, as much as the theological perspectives of leadership encompass most of the advancements in the field of leadership, they have been ignored in leadership literature because as this paper demonstrates, there is a lack of methodological validation, which is consistent with the contemporary scientific management approach.
Studies Included in the Meta-Analysis
Included studies in this meta-analysis are obtained from the electronic JBPL, and are searched using ‘theology and leadership’ as the key terms. The studies were then filtered according to the focus on the topic of study. Specifically, the cited studies only focus on the theological models of leadership. In addition, the included studies show a transition from the field of management research through incorporating all the issues in each of the volumes from volume one to five as published in the journal. Therefore, the following studies are included in this meta-analysis.
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| Author | Year of Publication | Title of Study | Volume and Issue | Objective |
| Ayers | 2006 | Toward a Theology of Leadership | 1(1) | To study the reality and propose a common language that would converge leadership and theology through applying the convergence realized to the transformational style of leadership and the social leadership definitions |
| Barensten | 2011 | Stephanas as a Model Leader: A Social Identity Perspective on Community and Leadership mis (formation in Corinth . | 3(2) | To study the recommendation of Paul of Stephanas as a leader against the community background of Corinth and the challenges it posed to the leadership. |
| Gray | 2007 | What would Jesus Lead: Identity theft, Leadership Evolution, and Open Systems | 1(2) | To evaluate a public theory debate that concerns what Jesus would drive as a leader if he were present in the world characterized by modernity through the examination of different typologies of leadership that Jesus used. |
| Gray | 2008 | Christological hymn: The Leadership Paradox of Philippians 2: 5-11 | 2(1) | To apply a cross-disciplinary approach to the integration of contemporary social definitions as well as theories of leadership in the demonstration that the Pauline leadership models, exhibited in his letters to the Philippians, as a valid model the study and application of leadership |
| Green et al. | 2009 | Assessing the Leadership Style of Paul and Cultural Congruence of the Christian Community at Corinth Using Project GLOBE Constructs. | 2(2) | To analyze the six leadership dimensions as well as nine cultural and leadership dimensions to determine the type of leadership that Paul would have depicted as well as the cultural dimensions of the Corinthian community at the time. |
| Hoehl | 2011 | The mentor relationship: An exploration of Paul as loving mentor to Timothy and the application of this relationship to contemporary leadership challenges | 3(2) | To demonstrate that mentorship is an effective method of the development of good leaders using the biblical illustration of Paul and Timothy |
| King | 2013 | Leadership for the body of Christ: Developing a conceptual framework of spiritual leadership from 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 and Titus 1: 6-9: Identification and explanation of a spiritual leader’s priorities, fidelity of authority, and community responsibility | 5(1) | To provide a conceptual framework that would be used in the re-examination of spiritual leadership. The framework used has there components, community responsibility, community, and authority and fidelity. |
| McGee and Hantla | 2012 | An intelligent critique of multiple intelligences: a Christian review for leaders | 4(1) |
To trace the existence of multiple intelligences by use of several scriptural characters and stories and assert that the Bible upholds plausibility of the theory of multiple intelligences proposed by Howard Gardner |
| Oginde | 2011 | Antecedents of Christian leadership: a socio-rhetorical analysis of 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 | 3(2) | To demonstrate the effective leadership traits come from biblically inspired virtues. |
| Vondey | 2013 | A Biblical–Theological Aesthetic of Imagination and Creativity and Its Application for Leaders. | 3(1) | To demonstrate that leaders in the contemporary complex organizations need to have a creative imagination if they have to be successful and that such abilities are God-given values. |
Analysis of the Results in the Included Studies
The included studies indicate a great convergence between concepts of leadership and theology. Specifically, the studies elaborate different aspects of leadership ranging from the individual traits of the leaders (e.g. McGee and Hantla, 2012 and King, 2013). McGee and Hantla (2012) elaborate that leaders need be intelligent, which in the theological interpretation, relates to the God-given abilities such as the gifts. Intelligence, however, from the theological standpoint, is not limited to the model of multiple intelligences proposed by Howard Gardner, but encompasses other abilities that the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) developed by Gardner could not measure. In addition, King (2013) suggests that the preference for modern leadership styles for approaches that reduce the power distance between leaders and followers is inspired by the theological teachings contained in 1 Timothy and Titus. It means, therefore, that modern leaders are required to have personal traits, which are firmly rooted in theological teachings.
It is also found from the reviewed studies that the modern styles of leadership such as transformational leadership are firmly founded on theological grounds (Oginde, 2012; Huizing, 2011; Barentsen, 2011). In fact, literature is consistent in reporting that transformational leadership has a close relationship with spiritual leadership since considers morality as the legitimate antecedent of effective leadership (Oginde, 2012). Christian leadership, for example, is associated with high levels of involvement of the followers in the process of management, which could also compare to other models of leadership such as authentic, legacy and others (Huizing 2011). As Hoehl (2011) suggests, transformational leadership entails a great deal of mentorship from the leaders, which makes the followers develop self-capacity to leader others. Like other fields of managerial leadership, Christian leadership requires the leaders to have high levels of commitment to self-control and the mastery of passions as well as a proven record of accomplishment both domestically and within the public arena. The studies also related the emergence of the modern styles of leadership, which are scientifically inspired, is related to the possession of different personal traits of the leaders. The studies specifically report that leaders have to possess different traits such as creativity if they are to deal with the challenges of the workplace (Vondey, 2011). The cited study indicates that creativity is inspired from theological foundations through the analysis of some of the biblical stories that exhibited great creativity such as the parables of Jesus. The paper demonstrated that the leaders were required to inspire their followers to think creatively as they did themselves.
The studies reviewed in this paper also highlight the challenges that modern leadership is supposed to confront and overcome. Specifically, the study points to the fact that successful leaders are those who are able to manage the challenges of cultural diversity among their followers (Green et al., 2009; Gray, 2008). Gray (2008) reports that Paul, one of the most cited leaders in the Biblical context and a model of modern leadership, was a situational leader. The paper posits that his success in the leadership sphere resulted from the fact that he was able to match his leadership approach according to the cultural ideals of the immediate society. In most cases, leaders who cannot manage multicultural contexts are less suited to the modern era of management. Green et al. suggests that successful leaders do not have a fixed style of management that they prefer. Instead, the leaders are supposed to have a variety of strategies, which should be greatly inspired by their experience of leadership. This finding coincides with the findings of Vondey (2012) about the usefulness of creativity in shaping effective leadership approaches.
The reviewed studies (e.g. Gray, 2007) suggest that leaders have to be concerned with the problems of their followers. Gray (2007) specifically indicates that demands for leadership change greatly, which is why other studies such as Ayers (2006) suggest the need for leaders to transform their approaches to leadership to suit the current situations. Jesus, according to Gray (2007), like Paul, should have been a situational leader. Literature suggests that because of his utilitarian perceptions, Jesus would have been concerned with the problems caused by climate change in the world, economic recessions, and other problems afflicting the modern generations of humankind (Gray, 2007). In most cases, as demonstrated, creativity is subject to effective leadership. The story of Biblical Paul and Stephanas indicate that change management could prove a difficult problem for managers in the present world regardless of their industrial specialization (Barensten, 2011). In most cases, change management arises from a shift in the traditions of a given society, organization or group of people that are used to a different style of leadership. During such situations, the leaders are required to be as creative as possible for them to avoid too much criticism that would hamper their motivation to be in charge of their group of followers.
Discussion of the Findings
The reviewed literature in this meta-analysis indicates a convergence between leadership and theology. It is reported that Biblical backgrounds inspire the styles of management, such as transformational leadership, situational leadership, legacy, and authentic leadership. Particularly, transformational leadership is posited in the included studies as having the biggest orientation to the biblical teachings. However, the styles of leadership in extant literature pay a little tribute to the biblical background. Instead, researchers have been mostly concerned with the ideals of scientific management and have related such revolutions to the changing demands of the workplace (Ayers, 2006). However, a consideration for the styles of management common within the present workplace reports them as being deeply rooted on biblical virtues. For example, the objectives of scientific management include raising the levels of productivity through the use of appropriate tools and means of production, reduce the costs of production, eliminate wastes, control quality, hire the right people for work and offer incentive wages (Taylor, 2004). According to the virtue principle, scientific management practices ensure that the workplace caters for the needs of the broader society through catering for the welfare of the workers, the community, and the investors. Other approaches to leadership such as the utilitarian approach consider a common benefit for a majority of the people whom the leaders control. It means, therefore, that utilitarianism, one of the approaches to management that have appeared over the past centuries is founded on the biblical virtues of goodness and commitment to serve others.
The emergence of special consideration for talent in the field of management in the recent past is another indicator of how the styles of management have moved from dictatorship to transformational and others. According to the reviewed studies, talents are gifts, which modern researchers such as Howard chose to call multiple intelligences measured in IQ terms (McGee and Hantla, 2012). Whatever they might be, talents and intelligence are now components of efficient management, and they are biblically inspired. For example, leaders in the modern era are supposed to use their talents to deal with the challenges of their workplace and to ensure the resilience of their organizations is sustained for better profitability. In addition, the emergence of modern styles of leadership indicates that personal traits are some of the critical contributors to effective management and that leaders who care for the well-being of their followers are most desirable nowadays just as it was in the biblical era.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Included studies indicate a strong convergence between leadership and theology. Specifically, the studies report that the modern styles of management, though scientifically inspired, conform to the biblical teachings. The teachings on the traits of effective leadership draw examples from contextual analyses of biblical characters such as Jesus of Nazareth and Paul among others. However, the theological perspectives of leadership have not been paid tribute by most of the researchers in modern management since their research methodologies are somewhat scientifically unproven. The fact that theology does not have a means of scientifically confirming hypotheses means that theological perspectives will remain in the shadows of modern management even while they inspire modern management styles.
References
Ayers, M. (2006). Toward a theology of leadership. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 1 (1), 3-27.
Barentsen, J. (2011). Stephanas as Model Leader: A Social Identity Perspective On Community And Leadership (Mis) Formation In Corinth|. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 3 (2).
Gary, J. E. (2007). What would Jesus lead: Identity theft, leadership evolution, and open systems. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 1 (2), 89-98.
Gray, D. R. (2008). Christological hymn: The leadership paradox of Philippians 2: 5-11. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 2 (1), 3-18.
Green, M., Kodatt, S., Salter, C., Duncan, P., Garza–Ortiz, D., & Chavez, E. (2009). Assessing the Leadership Style of Paul and Cultural Congruence of the Christian Community at Corinth Using Project GLOBE Constructs. Journal of Biblical Perspective in Leadership , 2 , 3-28.
Hoehl, S. E. (2011). The mentor relationship: An exploration of Paul as loving mentor to Timothy and the application of this relationship to contemporary leadership challenges. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 3 (2), 32-47.
King, S. M. (2013). Leadership for the body of Christ: Developing a conceptual framework of spiritual leadership from 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 and Titus 1: 6-9: Identification and explanation of a spiritual leader’s personal priorities, fidelity of authority, and community responsibility. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 5 (1), 3-40.
McGee, D., & Hantla, B. (2012). An intelligent critique of multiple intelligences: a Christian review for leaders. Journal Of Biblical Perspectives In Leadership , 4 (1), 3-16.
Oginde, D. A. (2011). Antecedents of Christian leadership: a socio-rhetorical analysis of 1 Timothy 3: 1-7. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 3 (2), 23-31.
Taylor, F. W. (2004). Scientific management . Routledge.
Vondey, M. (2010). A Biblical–Theological Aesthetic of Imagination and Creativity and Its Application for Leaders. Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership , 3 (1), 3-12.
