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How the Bible models leadership
pastor corner

Devin Strong

Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church

Without doubt the most significant event in the U.S., and probably the world, this week was the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.

The inauguration was filled with speeches and music and viewed by millions, which is as it should be. After all, being president of this country is arguably the hardest job in the world.

Out of public view, the inauguration was followed by several parties and galas, typically so many that the new president can make only a brief appearance at each in an effort to greet as many well-wishers as possible. Of course, these are big ticket events attended by huge donors and celebrity supporters.

It has always been so.

But imagine a world where these after-parties are populated not by the wellheeled tightens of industry but ordinary constituents, regular people, who want to meet the president in small groups to talk about getting help with education, jobs, or crime. There is a fable about an ancient island nation that would elect their leader by secret ballot, but before he took office, the people would take him down to the water’s edge and speak to him vociferously about their personal problems and the problems in the community. This loud and heated diatribe would go on for some time because the island nation believed that only after their leader heard in detail about the people’s troubles and pain was he fit to be king.

Such a vision sounds naïve in 2025, I know. It costs so much money to run for governor, congressperson, or senator, let alone president, that ordinary folks don’t have much chance of getting a leader’s ear. But have you and I succumbed too easily to the way things are? From my vantage point, the country seems nearly evenly divided between those who are excited by President Trump’s election and the possibilities that it holds and those that are frightened by it and the problems his election may bring. On whichever side of that divide you stand, it is the job of believers to pray for the president and the country.

We must also participate in our own governing. We need to organize to make sure that the needs of regular citizens are heard. As Christians, we are called to advocate not just for our own interests but also the interest of others and the country as a whole. We must widen the circle.

The very picture of a leader imagines a person who is out in front of people, guiding them and presumably protecting them as she or he takes the people in a positive direction and to a better place. The Bible gives us many different models for leadership, including patriarchs and prophets, judges and kings. Some of Jesus’ favorite images of leadership include a shepherd and a mother hen. Both the Old and New Testaments have plenty of examples of lousy leaders, to be sure, but the good ones are all servant-leaders; that is, they lead from below.

Instead of seeking their own power and wealth, they give themselves away. They do the dirty jobs so that others can be lifted up.

With all our advanced technology and the accumulated wisdom of the 21st century, are we not wise enough to hold up the biblical ideal of genuine servant-leadership and insist upon it from today’s politicians?

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