Exemplary Lives in Speech, Conduct, Love, Faith, and Purity: An Analysis of 1 Timothy 3-4 for Ethical Leadership

Exemplary Lives in Speech, Conduct, Love, Faith, and Purity: An Analysis of 1 Timothy 3-4 for Ethical Leadership

Aaron Perry | 2015

Abstract

Ethical leadership theory concerns the relationship between ethics and leadership. Brown, Trevino, and Harrison (2005) developed a nomological definition for the purpose of developing the ethical leadership scale that is being used widely (Eisenbeiss, 2012; Hunter, 2012). However, the whole construct of ethical leadership lacks grounding. While Brown et al.’s definition has been more commonly used to measure the effects of this version of ethical leadership, Ciulla (2014) and Eisenbeiss (2012) suggested an interdisciplinary approach to provide a stronger foundation and deeper understanding, including such subjects as effectiveness, virtue, and rule-based ethics. In order to answer this challenge to study ethical leadership with an interdisciplinary approach, this study examined 1 Timothy 3-4 for ethical leadership. The study values theology as a contributing discipline to ethical leadership, but the reader may still engage the analysis of 1 Timothy 3-4 without theological commitment. First Timothy is analyzed using sociorhetorical research, specifically the different textures of the text (Robbins, 1996) including intertexture, social texture, and cultural texture. In this light, 1 Timothy presents qualities for leadership in terms of virtue, skill, and maturity of faith. First Timothy uses categories of virtue for leaders found in contemporary and ancient sources, including military leadership and household leadership. The study concludes that ethical leaders are virtuous people, ethical leaders model to empower followers, ethical leadership is necessarily effective to certain ends, and ethical leadership is formed contextually.