Ontological Principles of Leadership in Acts 2 and 6:1-7 and their Anthropological Implications for the Constructs of Christian Leadership and Spirituality in the Workplace

Ontological Principles of Leadership in Acts 2 and 6:1-7 and their Anthropological Implications for the Constructs of Christian Leadership and Spirituality in the Workplace

William Sawyer | 2018

Abstract

This study examined spiritual leadership from a Christian perspective and the relationship of Christian leadership to spirituality in the workplace based on leadership principles gleaned from Acts 2 and 6:1-7. The study drew on sacred and secular spiritual leadership and spirituality in the workplace theories to provide the framework for understanding the concepts. The methodology employed the texture analyses of sociorhetorical critical methods (Robbins, 1996b) and hermeneutical and exegetical interpretation to reveal eight themes and 11 leadership principles that are ontological in the nature of leadership and anthropological in the context of the workplace as found in the pericope. The research revealed that spiritual leadership that is Christian is distinctive because of the ontological transformation of the leader producing purity and power through the work of the Holy Spirit. Luke’s paradigm of Christian leadership includes an element of self-discipline in maintaining and cultivating the inner spiritual health of the leader through protracted personal prayer and careful study of the scriptures. In addition, the study indicated that spiritual leaders are motivated and empowered by wholehearted devotion to Christ and self-sacrificing compassion for others, particularly those who are suffering, in need, and neglected. The results demonstrated that Christian leadership is egalitarian and pluri-form with no distinction in its applicability in religious and secular contexts. Further, Christian leadership principles lived in the workplace are effective, but the results may not be measured by Western concepts of immediacy.