The Value and Impact of Servant Leadership Discourse in Church Leadership Studies

Jack Barentsen () and Dustin D. Benac ()
Additional contact information
Jack Barentsen: Evangelische Theologische Faculteit
Dustin D. Benac: Baylor University, George W. Truett Theological Seminary

Chapter 21 in The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership, 2023, pp 489-516 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The concept of servanthood is an important value in Christian scripture and tradition, to such an extent that Greenleaf’s servant leadership model has become a dominant paradigm for religious leadership. This chapter examines this relationship between the servant leadership discourse and the study and practice of church leadership. This chapter first presents a sampling of some responses to SL within the field of CL to sketch the contours of the debate. Second, the chapter surveys the use of the SL model in church contexts, both in empirical research and in theological education. Third, the chapter presents selected theological responses to SL within the context of church leadership, demonstrating some of its complexity. This leads, fourth, to insights in various areas of tension in the dialogue between the discourses of SL and CL, engaging some contributions from the field of biblical studies, as well as exploring alternative frameworks in the study of CL in addition to the SL motif. The conclusions indicate areas for further development of the dialogue between SL and CL, by indicating the need to develop deeper hermeneutical reflection, historical and cultural sensitivity, methodological precision, and conceptual clarity. The chapter closes with an educational vision for institutions and organizations that are involved in the teaching and training of church leaders.

Keywords: Church leadership; Religious leadership; Pastoral leadership; Theology of ministry; Church offices; Practical theology; Theological education; Training church leaders; Leadership status and privilege; Power and authority; Hermeneutical assumptions; Conceptual clarity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-01323-2_27

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783031013232

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-01323-2_27

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().