Christ-like leadership: Considering the Question of Character

In the recent Singapore General Election, the concern was about electing the “right” political leaders to govern the nation for the next five years. As Christians, what are biblical qualities of leadership that God would deem essential for those who are followers of Christ. Dr Lewis Winkler, an EAST resident faculty who teaches theological studies, shares his thoughts from the Scripture.

“Leadership is influence”(Maxwell 2007, 13). John Maxwell’s well-known dictum captures a profound but simple truth: People who influence others are leaders. For Christians, two crucial questions arise. First, what kind of influence are we talking about? Is it coercive and manipulative or persuasive and empowering? Is it accidental and piecemeal or thoughtful and intentional? In short, what kind of influence is exercised upon others, from where does it come, and how it is properly obtained and developed?

This leads us to a second and more important question for Christian leaders. What does Christ-like influence look like? The church talks a lot about leadership but too often takes its models from primarily non-Christian sources. Christians can glean wisdom from such sources, of course, but failure to give adequate attention to specifically Christian concerns regarding leadership can end up diminishing or even opposing a biblical vision of what a Christ-like leader should look like.

Read more