FROM THE CO-EDITOR
Carlo Serrano, Ph.D.
Regent University
School of Business and Leadership

On behalf of the Regent University's School of Business and Leadership and the editorial board of the Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, I thank you for your support of the journal.

This issue continues our mission of exploring, engaging, and extending the field of knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon of leadership as found within the contexts of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. The response to last year's edition, along with the continued societal shifts of 2021, challenged us to continue the important conversation of "Biblical Perspectives of Unity and Diversity in Organizational Leadership."

This issue includes articles exploring the ethics of

inclusion; decision making in a global pandemic; ecclesial polity; group decision-making; and, of course, diversity in organizational leadership. This issue also explores the use of modern-day instrumentation on historical leaders.

The JBPL is not possible without the guidance and leadership from our respected reviewers and the visionary support of Dr. Gomez and Dr. Winston at the School of Business and Leadership at Regent University.

Grace and peace in the name of Jesus Christ.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, social distancing restrictions were enacted, and many churches ceased religious gatherings. When the local church should re-open for in-person worship was a value judgment that created an ethical dilemma for every pastoral leader. The Christian church has a responsibility to act in the best interest of the greater community. Because of the far-reaching and high-stakes consequences this decision holds for internal and external stakeholders, it must be made with significant deliberation and prayer. The decision must be interpreted in the contexts of either shadow ethics with an accompanying critique paradigm or light ethics with a complimentary care paradigm. An analysis of these two approaches provides a model for pastoral leadership to use during a worldwide pandemic to examine the emotional impact, weigh the contributions of multiple voices, and exercise authentic leadership that is responsible, credible, and accountable. This framework provides an informed approach that helps pastoral leadership avoid harm, do good, and refrain from activities that have injurious consequences for others.
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Can the church function while on "mute?" While there is considerable research literature that explores the presence and function of Abilene paradox theory in organizations, there is limited research that explores Abilene paradox theory in relationship to faith organizations. The issue with this gap is the wealth of information that could be amassed to expand group dynamics as it relates to faith organizations. This study explored whether spirituality contributed to member silence in the decision-making process of faith organizations. Within the study Abilene paradox theory, consensus theory, and spirituality were defined and from the literature of these theories, ten statements of discussion were derived to interview a focus group of seven leaders of the Baptist church, comprised of Pastors, Deacons, and Deaconess. Afterwards, a content analysis approach was used to synthesize the data, conceptually and relationally. The study concluded that Abilene paradox theory, influenced by spirituality, affects the decision-making process of group members in faith organizations. The study hopes to spark further conversation on the impact of spirituality and spiritual leadership on group dynamics in faith organizations.
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This paper aims to analyze leadership development from a Biblical perspective and compare it to contemporary leadership development and theoretical approaches. Examination of the leadership development of the Apostle Paul is used as the pretext for comparison. The exegetical analysis utilized to explore Pauline texts is ideological texture analysis. Using this method allows the study to focus on the people of the text akin to members of an organization. Unique challenges of organizational infancy and magnified cultural inflection and mitigation prove to be obstacles and impedances to Paul's leadership development. Paul's cultural intelligence and agility remediated these impedances. This article divulges the consideration and integration of collective attributes and antecedents into the total leadership system elevated Paul's leadership and moved more effectively than contemporary leadership development. Additional proficiencies in communication and trust attainment provided aid to the optimal leadership development model. The article also provides an equation for leadership development and several recommendations for future research.
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This paper provides a biblical perspective of unity and diversity in organizational leadership as it relates to Galatians 5. It examines how Paul tried to mediate the fractional impact to the Christian community based on social identity norms. Also discussed is Paul's view of the Christian community, being a single cohesive group made up of people of different cultures. Paul felt that social norms were not problematic unless they were viewed as divisive tools to introduce gaps or separations in one's love for one another. This critical analysis is structured using the principles and guidelines for an ideological reading using a socio-rhetorical interpretation of Chapter 5 from Paul's letter to the Galatians. It further defines, formulates, and communicates Christian leadership theory as they relate to unity and diversity. The analysis applies Robbins' theory of socio-rhetorical interpretation. The strategies of an ideological interpretation were used to provide an exegetical interpretation of Galatians 5.
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This analysis of Acts 6:1-7 uses Robbins' (1996) protocol for social and cultural texture to discover how the ethical orientations of early Christian leaders contributed to their understanding and practice of inclusion. As leaders of all backgrounds are working in increasingly diverse settings, organizations are being challenged to ensure that they reflect the diversity of the communities that they serve and are equitable and inclusive to all stakeholders. Christian organizations and organizations led by Christian leaders are no exception. Drawing on an analysis of Acts 6:1-7, this paper proposes that three practices are critical for Christian leaders to develop and maintain an ethical orientation that supports the development of an inclusive community: examining the use of cultural symbols, framing issues from the perspective of the aggrieved, and viewing reform as an effort to maintain organizational culture.
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Relying on Tajfel's (1979) social identity theory, this work researched unity in the presence of diversity within the biblical and contemporary US cultures from the perspective of (a) self -awareness, (b) emotional maturity, (c) emotional sovereignty, (d) self-concept, (e) deliberate ascent of free will to abide in God, and (f) moral behavior for sustainable social value. Matthew 5:3-12 (NIV) verses were used to extract and analyze Jesus' traits relating to unity in the presence of diversity through the lens of social cohesion to make noteworthy inferences on how Jesus' teaching applies in the contemporary US culture to emanate forth onto the world. Extracts of Donald J. Trump's January 20, 2017, acceptance speech and January 6, 2021, "Save America" rally, and Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'s January 20, 2021, acceptance and April 29, 2021, "First 100 Days of Presidency" speeches were used to identify their traits, analyze them, compare them with Jesus', and discuss characteristics that contribute to unity in the presence of diversity.

Keywords: Deliberate ascent of free will to abide in God, diversity, emotional maturity, emotional sovereignty, moral behavior, self-awareness, self-concept, social cohesion, unity.
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The authors posit that a modern leadership framework can be applied to a biblical and historical leader to discover implications for contemporary leaders serving within an era of diversity. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) was administered for Queen Esther, with observations made directly from the text of the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. In recent leadership literature, the LPI has been used in quantitative and qualitative studies to validate results. Likewise, the use of the empirical instrument in this study was supported by qualitative research methods to affirm Esther's leadership strengths and weaknesses, as discussed in Kouzes and Posner's (2017) Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership ® model. This study showed that the LPI could be utilized as a third-party instrument to assess leadership style based on written text as observer data. Queen Esther served in a time and place of diversity, where cultural unity was lacking; therefore, this research-oriented approach to investigating her leadership style uncovered modern implications for present-day leaders serving in a diverse and post-Christian culture.
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It has been said that the beauty of life and the uniqueness of business lies in the unity of diversity (Gorbachev, 2001). However, if diversity is not without conformity, how are leaders able to achieve such beauty (Coleman, 2001)? According to the transformational leadership theory, that beauty begins with purpose which is why an inner texture analysis of I Corinthians 12 confirms the need for unity through the Spirit of God to be one's guide through life.

Followers stand ready to share their unique talents and abilities with the world in order to achieve identified goals, but unless they remain under the inspiration and direction of a guided unity, the motivation to utilize such talents and abilities will dwindle. Because of this, leaders must walk united with their followers in purpose by utilizing idealized influence and inspirational motivation so that they can assign greater value to diversity which, in turn, increases their motivation to intellectually stimulate and express individualized consideration toward their followers. In doing this, leaders will follow the Holy Spirit's lead to live life guided always by purpose, thus transforming countless lives in the process.
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There is a new understanding within the evangelical tradition of the apostolic role as a concept for deploying effective leadership. The so-called New Apostolic Reformation movement ('NAR') establishes an alternative approach within today's Christianity, or to be more precise the Pentecostal-charismatic context, one that is noticeably different from the traditional leadership models in Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, or the Evangelical traditions. The NAR model argues that churches need effective leadership models which are theologically grounded in the doctrine of the office of apostle, as described in the New Testament. The traditional Christian church polities are being challenged by this new model which contrasts the denominational landscape with a radical reconstruction. The current fierce debate on the apostolic role shows that there are very different views and opinions; the main areas and elements of distinction are therefore critically examined by using the traditional dominant church polities as lenses through which to view central elements of the NAR doctrine and to illuminate areas of unity and diversity.
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