FROM THE EDITOR: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS
Paul J. Palma, Ph.D.
Regent University
School of Business and Leadership

On behalf of Regent University's School of Business and Leadership (SBL) and the editorial board of the Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, I extend my deepest gratitude to you for supporting 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 context of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. The continuing conversation of human flourishing, particularly as understood through the eyes of servant leadership, supplied a compelling catalyst for this issue.

I am honored to carry on, with my co-editor Dr. Alex Wright, the mantle of editorial leadership handed down by former co-editor Dr. Joshua Henson. This year, we celebrate 20 years of JBPL scholarship. The journal's distinguished history is indebted to the founding vision

of Dr. Kathaleen Reid-Martinez when she was Dean of the School of Leadership Studies (a predecessor of the current SBL). Such vision reached fruition in 2006 under the then Dean of SBL, Dr. Bruce Winston. We remain immensely grateful for the leadership and engagement of Dr. Winston and the current SBL Dean, Dr. Doris Gomez. Because of their faithful support, the reach of JBPL encompasses an ever-expanding body of exemplary scholars and practitioners.

In commemoration of 20 years of stalwart biblical scholarship, JBPL is transitioning this year to semiannual issues released in the Winter and Summer. Thank you for the joy and privilege of serving.

Grace and peace in the name of Jesus Christ.

Paul J. Palma

The purpose of this article is to examine how leaders being motivated by love can equip their followers to also lead from a foundation of love by enacting five key principles extracted from Luke 9:10-17 that Christ exemplified as the quintessential loving leader by (a) treating followers as ends rather than means; (b) spending quality time with followers and influencing them so they will begin to emulate the loving leader; (c) providing followers with a sense of calling and transcendence; (d) cultivating followers' creativity and solutions-based problem solving; and (e) including followers in the planning process and execution of the organization's plan. Leaders who incorporate these five principles drawn from Christ's example in Scripture will cause their followers to flourish and lead with love as Christ did, bringing honor and glory to God, the ultimate giver of love.

Keywords: equip followers, lead with love, hands-on leadership, leadership principles, transformational leadership, human flourishing

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This study analyzes John 13:1-17 through sacred texture analysis to explore how Jesus models transformational leadership (TL) in a culturally resonant way for church planting in honor-shame contexts. TL theory—defined by idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration—has seen wide application in ministry but remains underdeveloped in exegetical engagement with Gospel narratives. Using sacred texture and the socio-rhetorical framework developed by Robbins (1996) and Henson et al. (2020), the foot-washing passage is examined as a sacred leadership event.

The findings reveal that each TL trait aligns naturally with elements of sacred texture: divine action, holy personhood, sacred space, sacred time, and ethical instruction. Jesus' leadership emerges as morally grounded, relationally attentive, and strategically timed. This model provides a biblically faithful, culturally adaptive approach for training leaders in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) church planting. This study offers an exegetically grounded integration of sacred texture analysis and transformational leadership theory to clarify how John 13:1-17 depicts leadership formation and cultural translation in honor-shame settings.

Keywords: transformational leadership, sacred texture, socio-rhetorical criticism, John 13, church planting, honor-shame culture, Middle East, biblical leadership, servant leadership, organizational theology.

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Dominant cultural values of competition, efficiency, and performance are clearly in tension with human dignity, empowerment, and flourishing. This manuscript will seek to connect the transformative and strategic impact of servant leadership in organizations, weaving together exegetical work done on John 13:1-17, Philippians 2:1-11, and Matthew 20:25-28, to describe the servant leadership that is exhibited by Jesus Christ. The analysis shows how this is relevant in today's modern context, especially as organizational leaders can be transformed into servant leaders who impact institutions with the empowering leadership of Jesus.

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The purpose of this article is to examine the flourishing of ecclesial leaders through six spiritual and formative disciplines: (a) prayer, (b) Bible study, (c) solitude, (d) fasting, (e) meditation and self-reflection, and (f) communal fellowship. Although spiritual disciplines are not the ultimate end of ecclesial leadership, their intentional practice orients leaders toward maturity in Christ (Nouwen, 2010) and cultivates flourishing not only in their leadership but also in their identity as followers and worshipers of Christ. Amid increasing reports of pastoral burnout, moral failure, leadership fatigue, and spiritual fragmentation, the urgency of leader flourishing has become a critical concern within ecclesial contexts. While existing scholarship addresses spiritual disciplines and leadership formation independently, less attention has been given to synthesizing these disciplines as an integrated framework for sustained ecclesial flourishing. This article addresses that gap by examining theological, spiritual formation, and leadership literature to identify how these six disciplines collectively contribute to personal transformation and communal renewal. Spiritual transformation is not pursued for personal gain, even though its fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) results in an abundant life in Christ. Rather, transformation and flourishing form believers into Christ's likeness for the sake of community and the glory of God (2 Cor. 3:18; Scorgie et al., 2016; Tang, 2014). Renewal, therefore, should be a normative experience within congregational life, beginning with ecclesial leaders who model and prioritize spiritual disciplines as a reflection of Christ's character and nature (Maglio, 2017). By synthesizing the literature across these six formative disciplines, I argue that ecclesial leader flourishing is both a spiritual imperative and a communal necessity.

Keywords: spiritual formation, spiritual disciplines, ecclesial leadership, pastoral burnout, soul care, spiritual leadership, discipleship, human flourishing, sanctification

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Using the Global Human Flourishing data set, the research presented seeks to understand the connections between the relationships of Generation Z (with self, others, and God) and flourishing. Much like society at large, the landscape of youth culture experienced significant change over the last few decades, with personal power and authority being celebrated in mainstream culture. However, Generation Z indicates a desire for values more aligned with servant leadership. Survey respondents (N = 24,703) ranged in age from 18 to 24. They were selected from the larger sample of respondents participating in the Global Flourishing Study (GFS), a five-year international longitudinal study involving more than 240,000 participants in 22 countries (Johnson et al., 2024). Survey data were analyzed, and important relations between the constructs of close relationships, belonging, self-concept, faith, and flourishing were uncovered. Using a structural equation model, it was found that flourishing (using Harvard's Human Flourishing Scale, Modified) is most strongly predicted by close relationships. Further, close relationships strongly covary with belonging and self-concept. Servant leadership dimensions such as listening, empathy, and building community are key to the development of close relationships. Examination of these dimensions as facilitating flourishing, as well as implications for future research and practice are identified.

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The authority of Scripture has been the subject of numerous challenges and criticisms. Maintaining the Scripture's authority is crucial because all Christian ideas are based on its inspiration, inerrancy, reliability, sufficiency, and other qualities. Most Pentecostal and Evangelical denominations adhere to its authority, in part, because of the efforts of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. The ultimate source of power and authority, Jesus Christ, is the source of leadership authority in churches, Christian organizations, and for ministry leaders. This article's purpose is to demonstrate that Scripture's authority provides normative guidelines for the purpose, roles, methodology, and setting for leadership. Scripture contains leadership concepts, examples, and principles that Christian leaders can use to establish authority. Scripture can give information on the goals of leadership, the roles of the leader and follower, the approach, and the context of leadership when it is the main source of authority. Since Scripture is the primary source of our knowledge about God, upholding scriptural authority is essential to leadership authority.

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This study investigates how the biblical doctrine of the royal priesthood (Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9) provides a theological foundation for Christian leadership beyond prevailing servant and transformational leadership paradigms. While contemporary Christian leadership models emphasize humility, influence, and organizational transformation, they frequently operate at the functional or behavioral level without grounding leadership in covenantal identity. Using a biblical-theological and constructive theological methodology, this paper examines key Old and New Testament texts to develop a priestly-kingly framework structured around holiness, intercession, sacrificial mediation, and reconciliation. The central research question asks: How does royal priesthood identity reframe the ontology and vocation of Christian leadership? The study argues that Christian leadership is not primarily defined by technique or role performance but by participation in Christ's high-priestly ministry. By situating leadership within covenantal and redemptive identity, this framework extends existing Christian leadership theory and offers a theologically integrated model of authority, stewardship, and communal formation.

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This article examines some avenues through which employees and students may be inspired, motivated, and mentored by leaders in Christian higher education institutions. Leaders who exhibit behaviors that align with transformational leadership and servant leadership characteristics are generally found to have a positive relationship with their employees. In the context of faith-based or Christian higher education institutions, the leader-employee relationship may be characterized by faith practices that are not often featured in the traditional research literature. Prayer and integrating biblical principles in teaching and learning are examples of activities that have been found inspiring and motivating in the leader-employee and leader-student relationships. The outcome could be a rewarding experience for the parties involved. Students may also develop and become more effective leaders in the marketplace.

Keywords: leaders, higher education institution, servant leadership, transformational leadership, inspire, motivate, mentor, relationship

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This inner-texture analysis highlights the transfer of leadership in Deuteronomy 31:1-23 and the effect transitional leadership has on followers within an organization. The author argues for the understanding that these passages provide an organization with the necessary framework to serve followers by successfully transitioning leadership. Through Deuteronomy 31:1-23, the author builds the case that organizations can successfully transition leaders by following the biblical framework outlined in the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Through the passage, one understands that it is God who releases the old leader while also calling the new leader. Deuteronomy 31:1-23 provides an organization with the ability to outline how to serve followers through a successful succession plan for leadership transition. Through Deuteronomy 31:1-23, one can ascertain that the necessary steps to a healthy transition are: identifying the incoming leader, privately indicating to leadership whom the new leader is, a public declaration of the new leader to followers, and waiting on the Lord for the final call into leadership.

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This study explores the servant leader in Luke 10:25-37 using socio-rhetorical inner texture. Although other studies have examined the Good Samaritan passage, this is the first to explore the parable through inner textural analysis using a servant leadership lens. Through the use of repetitive, progressive, narrative, argumentative, and sensory-aesthetic textures and patterns, existing findings were corroborated, and new findings were identified for future exploration. This study demonstrated that servant leaders empower and heal followers, communicate a vision, illuminate the path for followers, exhibit emotional intelligence, demonstrate foresight and stewardship, and display awareness. This study also examined the internal processes of servant leaders and found that they are intrinsically motivated, reorient out-groups to in-groups, and emphasize people, emotion, and action. This study contributed to the body of knowledge by presenting conceptual frameworks for follower empowerment, communicating a vision, and compassion within acts-based emotional intelligence.

Keywords: servant leadership, follower, Good Samaritan, inner texture, socio-rhetorical analysis

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