Christian Egalitarian Leadership

Empowering the Whole Church according to the Scriptures

Aída Besançon Spencer, William David Spencer

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781725270558
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Much has been written on servant leadership, but it is not always tied to egalitarian leadership. Sometimes authority and power instead of God's love are presented as the core of the Christian faith. The church at times derails, imitating worldly culture, emphasizing entitlement that relies on an innate or permanent human hierarchy of rank. Responding to today's conflict over leadership, Christian Egalitarian Leadership calls us back to its biblical roots: what is Christian egalitarian leadership? Why is it biblical? How does it work? Thoughtful and devout Christian leaders carefully explain how sharing leadership follows God's intentions and is crucial to implement today.The theoretical and practical ramifications of these concepts are extended to many areas of the Christian life by numerous qualified individuals, women and men of different races and economic and social classes. Chapters overview New Testament teachings, biblical authority, Old Testament and contemporary examples, God's intention at creation, pagan philosophy's influence on Christian hierarchal leadership, multicultural and multi-ethnic leadership in the United States and Africa, marriage, rearing children, equipping youth and laity, church planting, retirement, and missions, from the cradle to the mission field.

Part 1

Theory

1

An Overview of the New Testament Teachings on Christian Egalitarian Leadership

Aída Besançon Spencer and William David Spencer

Paul tells the Christians of the first century to remember the good news that he proclaimed to them. This good news has as of first importance that “Christ died for our sins . . . according to the Scriptures” and that he was buried and raised on the third day “according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3–4). Paul’s good news has many ramifications for leadership. We propose that leadership, especially in the church, should be Christian egalitarian servant leadership. A leader is someone who guides, directs, advises, commands, or shows the way.1 This leadership is also “according to the Scriptures.” The ramifications are extensive. This volume is introductory, summarizing the scriptural teaching on the topic and suggesting some practical ramifications. This whole topic should be an obvious and basic one for all believers, but the church has sometimes become derailed, imitating its worldly culture. Our goal is to remind the church of its scriptural teachings about equality as shown by the themes of servant leadership, mutual submission, impartiality, spiritual gifts, the priesthood of all believers, and the New Covenant, and to urge the church to refocus on its scriptural roots, God’s revelation.

What Is Christian Egalitarian Leadership and How Does It Relate to Servant Leadership?

Egalitarian leadership is an intrinsic aspect of servant leadership. Egalitarian leadership includes the equal leadership of men and women, Gentiles and Jews, rich and poor, slave and free, and the lack of permanent or/and innate human hierarchy except between God and humans. It is mutual service between partners in ministry for Christ’s sake. As its opposite, hierarchy is an “arrangement of persons or things in a graded series, as by rank or ability” or “a body of persons having authority.”2 The definition of egalitarian Christian leadership begins with Jesus’s teachings, especially to his twelve disciples in response to the Zebedee family wanting James and John to take the two most highly ranked positions: right and left of Jesus in glory. From Jesus’s response, we learn what Christian leadership should be and should not be. It should be Christlike and sacrificial for others’ good (Mark 10:37–45),3 service-oriented (diakonos, doulos), humble, without hierarchy of rank except between humans and God. It is not ruling as the Gentiles did in an abusive and harmful use of power (Mark 10:40, 42–44). For instance, almost every Roman emperor, including Augustus, took over power, not by vote, but by overpowering their opponents. They did not rule to serve the people but to gain power, money, and prestige. Procurators in Judea became so oppressive that eventually they caused a revolt (AD 66–74). Pontius Pilate, for example, was considered by the Jews as unbending and callously hard, “a man of inflexible disposition, harsh and obdurate,” greedy, vindictive, and cruel.4

In contrast, Christlike leadership is not self-centered nor self-seeking actions, competitive with others, pushing oneself forward or bossing others for one’s own benefit only.5 The sacrificial aspect of Christlike leadership, directly enjoined in Mark 10:45 (“the Son of Humanity did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many”),6 includes the principles of mutual service and partnership, including the equal partnership and leadership between men and women, rich and poor, powerful and less powerful, and old and young. For instance, welcoming a child is a model for affirmation. A child is a model for adults in God’s kingdom.7

At the Last Supper, Jesus dramatically demonstrates and teaches sacrificial service when he washes his disciples’ feet, just as a slave might do, and commands them to do likewise (“Therefore, if I myself wash your feet, the Lord and the Teacher, also you yourselves ought to wash one another’s feet,” J...