[Leadership] Discussion post: "Compare the Secular Vs. Christian Leadership Approaches" (100/100 mark, 3/27/2025)

Secular leadership usually entails status, fame, wealth and power...

Before I heeded the warning/calling of God to come to seminary as a full-time (residential) student some years ago, I previously worked as a mid-level manager (boss of my own department) at a big automobile parts manufacturing plant, a long-time top executive for a successful family-run small company which consistently provided top-notch maintenance/janitorial services to its civic and private clients in regional markets encompassing multiple states/cites; furthermore, I was an entrepreneur owning my own business in Quick Service Restaurant Sector at one point as I broke into the business world in my early 30s.

Back then my main focus in the secular business/corporate world was set on achieving financial gains, first and foremost; providing good services/products to our long-term and prospective clients/customers while making (good) profits for myself and companies for which I worked. There are no ifs, ands and buts about my ambition and goals back then. Exhibiting honorable, honest, hard-working (leadership) for sure--from business/worldly perspectives as a leader of purchasing department, a top executive leader for my family-owned small company, and a lone decision-making businessowner. And I worked EXTREMLY hard towards achieving such stated goals. I prided myself in boasting that I was one of the hardest workers around in my city surpassing the typical workhours of even the medical professionals (All those experiences gained in the business world would later prompt and motivate me to enter a business school in pursuit of an MBA over other educational options available which I mulled over seriously when I decided to sever my relationship with the world of business for good.)

Furthermore, when possible and able/affordable I also wanted to take good care of the people who were below me in the company hierarchy. Sometimes willingly or unwillingly I interacted with those in local community, local schools, and contributed my time and money to good causes, etc. Putting on a good face and being a good neighbor, you know, I think that I was an effective leader with good sets of morals, ethics being considerate and caring et al. I carried a good reputation around me. I wasn’t an overly greedy individual nor the companies I worked for were.

I’m sure that most employees, if not all, would have identified me as a good boss to work for; when I met some of my former employees after years having gone by between us, they still fondly recognized and embraced me in some strange places such as in a medical clinic where I was a medical-care seeking outpatient, for example, and some of my former employees as medical staff after graduating from high school, college (nursing school), etc. I was so overjoyed and proud.

However, as I am writing this thread and contemplating on things which transpired in my previous business world, I wonder whether all my/our intentions and plans were (perfectly) aligned to our utmost/ultimate purpose and reasons for living on earth, which is to emulate Jesus as we become more like in His likeness glorifying and honoring God for everything we did or not. Of course not. Not that I did anything which would be deemed outright unethical, malicious or wrong, but that is not how the business world rolls, you know. And I went along with it. (there is a great value in what Liberty is trying to build here; making us champions of Christ in the real world) I’m not trying to be unfairly overly or undeservingly critical of myself or anyone else in my previous surroundings or not, but the focus and purpose of the secular leadership is vastly different that from a biblical leadership.

Secular leadership worships those that are efficient, financially savvy, motivational, streamlined, intelligent, knowledgeable, transformative, unapologetic, encouraging; these are good qualities which the Christian leadership can incorporate into its own life and emulate. Secular leadership could be also in a form of (tyranny) a tyrant or a team player as long as it suits the purpose and goals of a secular organization and make it function at its optimal speed, level and capacity.

One of the leading theories regarding the secular leadership is named ‘Situational Theory’ and is defined as “Situational theories suggest that effective leadership is contingent upon the specific situation or context. These theories argue that different leadership styles should be adopted based on the characteristics of the followers and the demands of the situation.” (Simplilearn). Many a time the end justifies the means, sort of like that all-too-familiar mantra saying “Win baby just win (at all costs)” culture which is deeply embedded and pervasive in our pop/sports/organizational culture. It is unconsciously and universally endorsed and condoned as long as the means appear (outwardly) legal or legally-binding. Or until one gets caught.

On the other hand, “Servant Leadership” which is the crying rally in a biblical sphere, means “Servant leadership theory proposes that leaders should prioritize the needs of their followers above their own self-interest. They focus on serving and supporting their team members, fostering a sense of community, and promoting personal growth and development.” (Simplilearn)

As many members of one body in Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Romans 12:4-5), we ought to place the premium value on Godly living and faith in bond of Christlike love and sacrifice for one another in communal spirit; the characters we’d develop, build and emulate as biblical leaders are honesty, welcoming & friendly, positive leadership at home; sexual integrity, not only talk the talk but walk the walk faithful lifestyle inside-out, being respected/revered by the outsiders et al as outlined in ‘The Three Dimensional Leader” (Dempsey, Earley & McClendon, pp. 24-33). Why?

Because the devil is cunning, and first thing he’d love to do is attack, erode, handicap, compromise, contaminate and destroy the Christian leadership so that the Christendom as a whole will suffer and won’t be as effective as God’s righteous soldiers of the Light. Let’s not forget that it is a spiritual warfare in which we are engaged in as written in 1 Peter 5:8-8; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 6:11-17. At the heart of all our biblical leadership endeavors lies the Servant Leadership spirit as in becoming the image-bearer of Christ, who served and gave His own life unto the crucifixion on  Calvary so that we His followers would live being redeemed  as described in Mark 10:45 (“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many).

[Sources]

Rod Dempsey, Dave Early & Adam McClendon, The Three-Dimensional Leader, Kirkdale Press, 2023.

Simplilearn, “The 10 Major Leadership Theories for Effective Management”, https://www.simplilearn.com/top-leadership-theories-every-manager-should-know-article

Servanthood leadership is service to others in likeness of Lord Jesus who gave His life as a ransom for many...

**My reply to a post by someone named Chris:

Absolutely Chris. I want to harp on “may or may not coincide with biblical standards” and a “means to an end” which you alluded to; it is possible that some secular organizations could have a set of approaches/goals which are in line with those of a biblical leadership. There are endearing and lasting biblical leadership characters and attributes which the secular leadership knowingly or unknowingly might have “copied” from the Christianity, and have used them as their own code of conduct and whatnot. Well, I used to have a distant relative who was a hard core Confucianist, and he used to say to me (whenever I tried to evangelize to him) that the core values of the Confucianism weren’t much different from the Christian values such as honoring the elders, being kind and generous et al. What he didn’t quite understand/know was that there was an issue of sin/redemption and glorifying God as a servant leader/servant neighbor instead of trying to do good deeds which is never enough to save our own skins (against the myriads of sins we do commit throughout our lives). Yes, a means to an end culture/mindset prevalent in corporate world cannot justify all the circumstances which might go against the Word of God. Biblical leadership goes beyond such selfish and hurtful intensions. In essence, secular leadership and its dwellers within the corporate management setting is trapped in such a self-indulgent motives so that even  “Many Christian workers today are enamored of the latest trends marketing models, and bestselling books by leadership gurus; they aspire to a sense of greatness and success that exalts human giftedness and rests on shifting sand.” (Dempsey, Earley & McClendon, p.63.)  Let’s not forget that “so, whether you are eating or drinking, or whatever you are doing, do it all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31) as apostle Paul exhorts us.

[Reference]

Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley & Adam McClendon, The Three-Dimensional Leader, Kirkdalepress, Bellingham, WA, 2023.**

**My reply to a post by someone named Richard:

Yes, Richard; I like how you stated that Christian mentoring/leadership is more than simple self-improvement or personal development. If it were that, then we’d have Dr. Phil or Oprah to teach us the nuggets of wisdom regarding a biblical leadership. Indeed, it is about our horizontal interconnected relationships within the boundary of Christian fraternity where we affect one another as we grow together and become more like in the likeness of Christ. As apostle stated in 1 Cor. 12:12 (ESV), “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” It goes without saying that whether be it a toe, or a brain or a heart or a liver, we all need one another in harmony and support in order for the whole body to function at optimal level and capacity and survive. And we live and work for the kingdom of God (vs. the kingdom of darkness), and let’s realize that all the glitz, fuss and grandeur of the secular world, its leadership and the rewards are fleeing and temporary as Dempsey, Early and McClendon wrote, “Ultimately, there are only two kingdoms on this earth: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. There are no others…” (p. 102) True; there is no purgatory either. It is a high time for all of us to decide to which side we’d like to be on and for which purpose as we grow into our role of a leadership.

[Reference]

Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon, The Three-Dimensional Leader: A Biblical, Spiritual & Practical Guide to Christian LeadershipLinks to an external site. (Bellingham, WA: Kirkdale Press, 2023).**

**My reply to a post by someone named Keith:

Yes, Keith; I’d like to touch upon Saul’s secular leadership which you mentioned. Well, Saul started out humble and obedient; he was said to be empowered by the Spirit too according to scripture in 1 Sam. 10:6 (“The Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”). Then, what happened to him? Jealousy. Fear. Insecurity/lack of self-confidence. Unwarranted Greed. Then being possessed by the evil spirit. What ticked him off?  The bible says, “the women of Israel sang as they played, saying, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (1 Sam. 18:7, NASB) He was taller than the rest of contemporary men, handsome and all, whereas David (“one after God’s own heart”), small in stature, and not much to look at (perhaps). I can agree that Saul epitomizes the secular standard of leadership whereas David, although not perfect, stands for a biblical leadership; the latter being a person of servant heart with forgiveness, generosity, humility, but more than anything keen, passionate and steadfast heart, mind  and zeal to put God above anything else. As  Dempsey, Earley & McClendon wrote, “Yield to God’s rule and reign in your life (James 4:7). Surrender the throne of your life to King Jesus (Romans 12:1). Follow his word, his will, and his ways instead of your own.” (p. 105). Indeed, David was the God first person as he succumbed to and obeyed God’s sovereignty above anything else (“How majestic is Your name in all the earth!”) unlike latter-day Saul who sought his own self-aggrandizement at the risk of losing it all including his own wretched and tormented soul…

[References]

Dempsey, Rod, Dave Earley, and Adam McClendon. The Three-Dimensional Leader. [Kirkdale Press,1st ed. Bellingham, WA], 2023.**