Colossians 3:23–24 (New Revised Standard Version): Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.
The workplace is a foundational life domain ordained by God to facilitate humanity’s stewardship and dominion over the world. Humans are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), and God is a creator of the good, a master artisan of the universe, calling believers to shape the world for the good through servant leadership (Roberts 2014, 2015). Work is a major component of the dominion mandate, as reflected in the Adamic covenant “job description” to tend the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15) and name the animals (Genesis 2:20). When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:6) and were expelled from the garden (Genesis 3:23), one of the consequences of the fall was a change in the nature of work. Work remained a foundational life domain in which man develops and achieves his nature, calling, purpose, and gifts, but work itself became more effort-laden and burdensome (Genesis 3:17). Humanity’s vocational pursuits are flawed and imperfect, but are a major component of the redemptive work of Christ through the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. How can work become redemptive? One important avenue is through the embrace of servant leadership, the Christ-modeled means for serving others (Blanchard and Hodges 2005; Wilkes 2008).
Why is servant leadership the foundation for this book? There are many approaches to leadership, but only servant leadership emphasizes the necessary balance between morality, mission achievement, and promoting the best interests and well-being of the key stakeholders (employees, clients, customers, and the community) (Northouse 2013; Roberts 2014). Like yeast infusing bread, servant leadership influences the entire culture of an organization, promoting favorable outcomes on all levels. In essence, it is the Golden Rule in practice. The dual foundation of servant leadership is stewardship, which is achieving the mission by using moral power sources, motives, means and ends, and servanthood, which is promoting the best interests and needs of the key stakeholders (Roberts 2014). Servant leadership manifests both religious and secular roots (Bekker 2010; Sendjaya 2010). It is the foundational leadership principle of Christianity as exemplified in the Old and New Testaments with the culmination in the ministry of Jesus as elaborated in the works of Wilkes (2008), Blanchard and Hodges (2005), and from a more secular perspective in the works of Greenleaf (1977). From an ethical standpoint, the foundation of servant leadership is the integration of the three key ethical domains, that of deontological principles (moral laws), aretaic or virtue elements imbedded in moral character, and teleological or utilitarian principles that assess consequences (promote the greater good). Chapter 2 explores the conceptual and empirical foundations of servant leadership.
Hence, servant leadership enables believers to achieve key elements of their general and specific calling and life purpose, a means to promote the Great Commandment and Commission experiencing Christ’s redemption. Servant leadership is not only for those with official leadership titles, but a general calling for all Christians in all life domains. The workplace presents great opportunities and challenges to the integrity of Christian servant leader witness and walk at every level, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. God has placed eternity in human hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), generating an instinctive and inherent need to experience transcendent meaning and purpose in life. Given that a majority of working adults spend most of their waking hours on the job, their experiences at work exert a profound impact on growth toward Christ-likeness. As Christians, two of the key servant leader attributes to pursue are godly intelligence and wisdom. The goal should be to manifest the godly wisdom and intelligence of Daniel, an Old Testament prophet and exiled Jewish governmental official known for his excellent character and competence, shining like a light in the dark places of the Court of Belshazzar, the Babylonian King (Daniel 5). Daniel was more intelligent and wiser than all of the king’s Babylonian advisers, not because of his greater natural mental ability, but because of his faith in God, his surrender of his will to God’s purposes, his humble character, his commitment to the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting, and his connection to God’s spirit, providing the discernment and spiritual gifts needed for effective decision making. This uncommon level of excellence led King Belshazzar to state in Daniel 5:13–15 (NRSV): “Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, ‘So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you’.”
How can believers gain this level of workplace wisdom and intelligence? The answer is in pursuing the ongoing transformational sanctification growth through the Holy Spirit, producing Christian servant leader spiritual intelligence (CSLSI). What is CSLSI? At its foundation, CSLSI consists of integrated reasoning, analytical, and emotional intelligence capacity under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. CSLSI is an important element in the success of the sanctification process. Chapter 2 provides a more detailed overview of the research literature on servant leadership and spiritual intelligence, but a clear conceptual definition is important. The conceptual definition of CSLSI employed is based upon the work of Emmons (2000) and is composed of seven factors: (1) to view work as a means to worship God by promoting the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36–40) to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves (subordinates, peers, customers, clients, and the larger community); (2) to manifest and model authentic and contagious Christian love (1 John 4:11) to make disciples and evangelize in both word and deed, promoting the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20); (3) to relate work to God’s greater will and purpose (Ephesians 2:10); (4) to experience God’s presence at work through the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:26); (5) to apply Christian moral, ethical, sanctification, and relationship building principles to solve work-related challenges and problems and promote the well-being of others (Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:3–4); (6) to engage in God-honoring virtuous conduct that develops Christian character (James 1:22); and (7) to promote holistic health of mind, body, and spirit (1 Corinthians 16:19–20).
CSLSI is a subset of the larger spiritual intelligence domain, thereby manifesting an inherent and fundamental relationship with the Christian values of religious faith, servant leadership, family, work/life balance, and servanthood given its foundational principles of scriptural sanctification. It is consistent with the heart and letter of Christian theology as it emphasizes the importance of the Christian worldview deontological harmony of goals, motives, and actions (Takamine 2002). For example, learning to practice transparency and humility in the workplace enhances interpersonal problem-solving skills transferable across a variety of life domains (Roberts 2014).
This book does not embrace a specific denominational or theological perspective, but espouses the foundational ecumenical Christian worldview elements that unite most Christian denominations. The author’s personal journey of faith entails a variety of denominations including mainline Protestant (Presbyterian), Pentecostal (Assemblies of God), neo-Charismatic (Vineyard), and liturgical (Greek Orthodox). Hence, this approach may raise issues with denominational purists, but the goal of this book is to present the enduring universal principles for genuine transformation of mind, body, and spirit.
An integrated life of faith requires overcoming the traditional barriers that contribute to compartmentalization and the associated negative consequences of “church on Sunday,” and living a worldly life Monday through Saturday. CSLSI consists of an overall life orientation that is in harmony with the will of God, a love-based, altruistic work motivational system, God-honoring, golden rule work behaviors, and the employment of scriptural humility-based job and career “performance” standards to assess motives, behavior, and performance (Roberts 2015). The global CSLSI hypothesis predicts its positive influence over a range of desirable employee attitudes and behaviors including servant leadership and followership, organizational citizenship, and positive stress coping and adaptation strategies, among others (Roberts 2015).
1 Objectives of CSLSI
The first and most important objective of CSLSI is to serve as a systematic development program to support the growth of servant leaders. As the scriptures state, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6, NRSV). From personal experience, there is a huge gap between being a saved but wounded Christian and being a Spirit-filled, sanctified believer. These principles are universal gifts of God to the body of Christ, validated by scripture and millions of transformed believers throughout the ages. For example, perfectionism enslaves with demands for victory in every situation and creates endemic insecurity based upon inappropriate interpersonal comparisons (generates pride when deemed “superior,” and envy, insecurity, and fear when the evaluator does not measure up to others). This produces a loss of joy and an aversion to creativity and risk taking given the paralyzing fear of mistakes and failure (Burns 1999). The result is clear diminution of life quality, inhibiting a closer communion with the Lord. A fundamental CSLSI principle is that problems are learning opportunities based upon scriptural teachings, illustrating that the Lord transforms evil into good (Genesis 50:20) and that all things work out for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Work trials serve a greater purpose by inculcating elevated levels of faith, self-knowledge, and problem-solving ability, thereby equipping believers for greater Kingdom service, enriching their coworkers by sharing the comfort and knowledge they are given—a knowledge dissemination approach (2 Corinthians 1:4). The ultimate product of CSLSI is the generation of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22).
A second objective is to promote the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20). Demonstrating to a skeptical world the empirically verifiable benefits of Christian servant leadership will serve as additional evidence to the “honest doubter,” the person who is searching for truth. Many atheists and agnostics are being led closer to salvation by the findings of the natural, medical, and psychological sciences (Koenig et al. 2012; Koenig 2012), and this line of research possesses the potential to evangelize employees and managers in business, government, and nonprofit organizations.
A third objective is to provide preliminary CSLSI measurement scales to support future research. Clear conceptual and operationally defined measures are essential for the legitimacy of CSLSI research in the larger scientific community. From a measurement standpoint, CSLSI exerts its maximum beneficial influence when the employee understands the principles (knowledge), believes in their efficacy, and actively applies them. A related promising line of research is to identify the barriers to developing and applying CSLSI. The explicit meta hypothesis is that higher levels of CSLSI are associated with a range of positive attitudinal (higher levels of job satisfaction, commitment), behavioral (lower rates of absenteeism, turnover, grievances), and performance and employee well-being outcomes (physical and mental health) (Roberts 2015). These include beneficial consequences at the employee and organizational levels. At the individual level, CSLSI should be associated with improved rates of mental and physical health and lower levels of dysfunctional work stress. At the work group level, it should enhance organizational citizenship (helping others, working diligently to achieve goals) and servant leadership practices (empowerment, forgiveness). Several potential moderator variables can attenuate or accentuate the hypothesized effects. They include the organization’s culture (a Theory X management motivational system versus Theory Y), organizational policies and practices that support or inhibit the “religious-friendly” workplace, and other relevant person characteristics (Christian denomination, for example).
This book provides conceptual definitions of key CSLSI attributes, offers relevant scriptural and research support for the specific attributes, presents application examples from interviews of Christians illustrating how they apply CSLSI in the workplace (the interview methodology is discussed in Chap. 2), and, most importantly, enables readers to self-assess their present level of CSLSI, to identify areas of strength and weakness and develop a foundation for an action plan for growth and development. How should the reader approach this book to gain maximum value? One key scriptural principle is the employment of patience, and gradual but measured exposure and growth (Habakkuk 2:3; Galatians 6:9; Ephesians 4:1–2). Given the breadth and depth of the subject area, it is recommended that the reader read one or two sections at a time, reflect on the content, complete the self-assessment, and then consider and seek God’s guidance for follow-up action. There are nine CSLSI attributes with specific sub-attributes, and each contains a narrative summary followed by a diagnostic survey instrument. The reader can follow the book’s prescribed order, or scan the table of contents and selectively focus on the attributes desired. The instrument generates data for personal reflection and growth and is not a clinical diagnostic tool. Please consult a pastor, mental health professional, or physician with specific concerns.
As with any diagnostic survey instrument, there are limitations. The various components of CSLSI are complex human attributes, and survey instruments provide a helpful, but limited, perspec...
