Joshua D. Henson - Biblical Organizational Leadership: Principles from the Life of Jesus in the Gospel of John

This book series is designed to integrate Christian faith-based perspectives into the field of leadership and business, widening its influence by taking a deeper look at its foundational roots. It is led by a team of experts from Regent University, recognized by the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities as the leader in servant leadership research and the first Christian University to integrate innovation, design thinking, and entrepreneurship courses in its Masters and Doctoral programs. Stemming from Regents hallmark values of innovation and Christian faith-based perspectives, the series aims to put forth top-notch scholarship from current faculty, students, and alumni of Regent's School of Business & Leadership, allowing for both scholarly and practical aspects to be addressed while providing robust content and relevant material to readers. Each volume in the series will contribute to filling the void of a scholarly Christian-faith perspective on key aspects of organizational leadership and business such as Business and Innovation, Biblical Perspectives in Business and Leadership, and Servant Leadership. The series takes a unique approach to such broad-based and well-trodden disciplines as leadership, business, innovation, and entrepreneurship, positioning itself as a much-needed resource for students, academics, and leaders rooted in Christian-faith traditions.

More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15425

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Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.

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Both sacred and secular theories of leadership have long considered Jesus as an exemplar of effective leadership. Yet, there is no consensus on Jesus leadership style. Some pose that Jesus was a servant leader: pointing to Greenleafs (1977/2002) and Wilkes (1998) exploration of the life and leadership of Jesus. Others point to the spiritual and ethical aspects of Jesus leadership (Bass, 2008), while some researchers and authors have attempted a more holistic perspective of Jesus leadership.

Since the early 2000s, Kousez and Posner have published a series of books related to their seminal work The Leadership Challenge published in 1987. In 2004, they published Christian Reflections of the Leadership Challenge. In this book, they partnered with Christian leaders to explore leadership from a Christian perspective. In their introduction, the authors spoke directly to the problem: Jesus has been called the greatest leaders of all time, but his leadership strategyif you could even call it thatturned conventional wisdom on its ear (Kouzes & Posner, 2006, p. ix). While Kousez and Posner also leaned toward the conceptualization of Jesus as a servant leader, they recognized the difficulty of defining His leadership.

In this book, we argue that the Divine nature of the incarnate Jesus lived-out among humanity makes it virtually impossible to fully grasp the depth of Jesus leadership and message to the world. The Apostle Paul wrote of this limitation: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known (English Standard Version, 2001/2016; 1 Cor. 13:12). On this side of eternity, we will always be limited by human understanding. To borrow from a familiar metaphor, the person and work of Jesus Christ is like a masterful painting: there is depth, texture, color, and perspective. With a small change of light or shift in ones viewing angle, the masterpiece yields new awareness.