The Courage to Love: Lessons on Leadership from 1 Corinthians 13
by Jimmy Arthur Atkins
The Holy Bible offers a treasure chest of case studies and examples of leadership—good and bad. While there are many secular definitions of leadership, I distinguish Christian leadership as the capacity to influence others to achieve a desired outcome that is moral, ethical, and consistent with a Judeo-Christian value system. Mark Kriger and Yvonne Seng suggest that the contributions of the world’s religious traditions to leadership is an under-discussed and under-researched topic. Expressions of the golden rule, for example, or treating others as you want to be treated can be found in all the major religious systems.
Laura Reave argues that these spiritual teachings urge the practice of love and compassion, the demonstration of fairness, the expression of caring, and the appreciation of others’ gifts and contributions. Nonetheless, Bernard Bass asserts that altruism or being selfless is not usually associated with leadership. For example, one of the classic books used in leadership studies, Machiavelli’s The Prince, argues that leaders may find greater security in being feared instead of being loved.
However, Christian leadership is not based on fear, but on theological and moral virtues, such as love and courage. Richard Daft defines courage as the “mental or moral strength to engage in, persevere through, and withstand danger, difficulty or fear.” By extension, courageous love challenges us to reach within ourselves to transcend differences and stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. The practice of courageous love offers hope in an age of uncertainty and rapid change that has given rise to nationalism, religious extremism, and intolerance in the West against those who have been labeled as other.
To further explore courageous love, I examine leadership lessons from 1 Corinthians 13. Steven Sample suggests that sacred text or what he describes as “super texts” are an important source for understanding leadership. Moreover, Sample states that “leaders should read and reread the super texts as frequently as possible.” 1 Corinthians 13 offers a model of leadership based on charity, empathy, and self-sacrificing behavior. Before examining these values, I provide a brief background on the Apostle Paul.
If leadership is about influence, then the Apostle Paul should be considered one of the greatest leaders of all time. Besides Jesus, no other Christian leader receives as much praise, admiration, and scholarly criticism than Paul. According to F.F. Bruce, Paul is among “a select company who leave their mark on their time, who mold their contemporaries, and can exert influence, which stretches far into the future.”Paul, by his own account, was a Roman citizen and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. He was also a member of the Jewish sect, the Pharisees. The Pharisees were Torah-abiding Jews during the days of Jesus who observed the oral and written law of Moses. Frederick Murphy explains that the Pharisees in the New Testament are very dedicated to the Torah, its interpretation, and application. In Philippians 3:4-5, Paul states, “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so, concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church.” The Pharisees believed in an afterlife. According to Acts 23:8, the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three (NRSV).
Since Paul, by his own admission, is a Pharisee, then he also believed in the afterlife. Thus, the claims of early Christianity on the resurrection of Jesus are not totally inconsistent with Paul’s experience. Paul, on a journey to Damascus to persecute followers of Christ, was overcome by a bright light from heaven and Jesus said: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4, NRSV). Jesus demonstrates courageous love in that he showed compassion and regard for someone who had little or no regard for him at the time. Jesus taught His disciples to have compassion by loving their enemies and praying for those who persecuted them (Matthew 5: 44).
Saul, prior to his conversion, was blinded by his own fear of those who believed differently and saw the world differently. Fear often precludes people from practicing the kind of courageous love that will allow them to see life anew. I wonder what would happen if more leaders in society practiced courageous love rather than fear. Daft explains that “fear arises not from a true threat, but from our own thoughts.” It took courage for Paul to let go of his bias and accept his new assignment as an Apostle to the Gentiles. In Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia, he reflects on his experience:
You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God… But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles (Galatians 1:13-16a).
In the Apostle Paul’s is writing to a church in Corinth that is deeply divided. Paul’s call for unity amidst such divisions caused him to reflect more deeply on a more excellent way of leadership based on love. Louis Fry suggests that spiritual leaders establish organizational cultures that are based on altruistic love or selflessness. Indeed, Paul’s Pastoral Letters and Epistles contain values and principles that will continue to shape the theological culture and practices of the church today.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul suggests that leaders should care more for others than themselves. Paul writes: “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). James Kouzes and Barry Posner postulate that love is the soul of ethical leadership. Love emanates out of a desire to see others grow and become their best. “Love is a source of the leader’s courage and the leader’s magnetic north.”
Servant leaders place the needs of others above their own. Robert Greenleaf suggested that servant leadership is a conscious choice and one that leads the leader to serve the highest priorities of others. Moreover, servant leaders share in the pain and frustrations of followers. Yukl explains that the service includes nurturing, defending, and empowering followers.
In addition, Paul writes: love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude (1 Corinthians 13:4). Kouzes and Posner state: “leaders significantly improve others’ performance quite dramatically because they care deeply for their constituents and have an abiding faith in their capacities.” Moreover, Greenleaf advocated that servant leaders empathize and accept people for who they are. This includes tolerance of mistakes and imperfections. Greenleaf explains that “leaders who empathize and who fully accept those who go with them… are more likely to be trusted.
Moreover, Daniel Goleman contends that empathy is an important component for leadership because of the increased use of teams and the need to retain talent. Nowhere is this more important than in the church given the challenge to engage modern believers and make new disciples. Increasingly, people desire to be engaged in meaningful service that leads to fulfillment and growth that extend beyond weekly worship.
Lastly, Paul suggests that leaders are not narcissistic, egotistical, or self-promoting. Paul writes that love “does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:5-6). Steven Covey in his book, Principle-centered Leadership explains that self-centered people believe the key lies in them and in doing things their way. However, the most effective leaders transcend their own interest for the good of the organization and society. Jesus is the total and complete personification of what it means to lead and love courageously because he sacrificed his own life to save others. Jesus said in John 15:13, “no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
In summary, the world needs more courageous leaders who lead from the heart. 1 Corinthians 13 provides a model of leadership based on charity, empathy, and sacrifice. Without courage and love, I am afraid our results will continue to be marginal at best. Courageous leaders make bold choices that are necessary to build strong families, communities, and institutions.
- Mark Kriger and Yvonne Seng,” Leadership with inner meaning: A contingency theory of leadership based on the worldviews of five religions,” The Leadership Quarterly, 16, (2005): 771-806.
- Laura Reave, “Spiritual values and practices related to leadership effectiveness,” The Leadership Quarterly, 16 (2005): 655-687.
- Bernard Bass, The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, & managerial applications (New York: The Free Press, 2008).
- Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince (New York: Bantam Books, 1966).
- Richard Daft, The Leadership Experience (Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2015), 180.
- Steven Sample, The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2003).
- Sample, 66.
- Bruce, F.F. Paul: Apostle of the heart set free (Grand Rapids, MI: William B, Eerdmans Publishing, 1977), 462.
- Frederick Murphy, Early Judaism. The exile to the time of Jesus. (Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002).
- Daft, 181.
- Louis W. Fry, “Toward a theory of spiritual leadership,” The Leadership Quarterly, 14,(2003): 693-727.
- James Kouzes and Barry Posner, Ethical Leaders: An essay about being in love. Journal of Business Ethics, 11, (1992): 479-484.
- Robert K. Greenleaf. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the nature of legitimate greatness and power.
- Gary Yukl, Leadership in organizations. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002).
- James Kouzes and Barry Posner, The leadership challenge, (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2007), 283.
- Greenleaf, 35.
- Daniel Goleman, What makes a leader. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1998).
- Steven Covey, Principle-centered leadership. (New York: The Free Press, 1990).
- Bass, 2008.
