Servant Leadership: Jesus and Paul

by Efraín Agosto

Servant Leadership addresses a fundamental concern of the contemporary church by asking pertinent questions of the New Who became a leader in the Jesus movement and in Pauline Christianity? What was the social status of these leaders in the outside world as compared to the importance of such social status within the faith community? What practices characterized their leadership within the communities they served?

258 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2005

Reviews

[Chauncey Lattimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much time was spent on purely theoretical constructs such as how the "community" of the redactor might of understood leadership from what Jesus said or even how "Q" viewed leadership as opposed to the Gospel writers.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lays out how Jesus and Paul lead in their cultural contexts. It explores the understanding of leadership in the time of Jesus and Paul. It shows how both Jesus and Paul led in counter-cultural ways. They led by serving others, working with others and helping them become better people and leaders, by being humble rather than demanding their rights. They both had a clear purpose and goal and worked toward that with whole hearted devotion. They were very egalitarian in the ways they encouraged everyone to lead and grow. The author demonstrates these leadership principles in detail by examining Scripture and the culture of the day.

[Booksami · Rating 3 out of 5]

New Testament scholar Efrain Agosto provides a well-examined, biblical leadership model for congregational contexts as both a critique of the institutionalization of the church, as well as a challenge to inject authenticity and integrity sorely needed in this arena.

[Luke Larner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a particularly engaging read. More a commentary on relevant leadership passages than a book on leadership. If you can get past its dry delivery there is some good material, especially for reference purposes.