Leadership Characteristics of the Apostle Paul that can Provide Model to Todayâ•Žs BBFK Pastors

225 Pages·2010·3.01 MB·English

by  Jae Kee Lee

Guillermin Library
Liberty University
Lynchbu!1l, VA 24502
LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL THAT CAN
PROVIDE MODEL TO TODAY'S BBFK PASTORS
A Thesis Project Submitted to
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
By
Jae Kee Lee
Lynchburg Virginia
August, 2003
LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET
GRADE
~lktJ~1
MENTOR .
READER
11
ABSTRACT
LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL THAT CAN
PROVIDE MODEL TO TODAY'S BBFK PASTORS
Jae Kee Lee
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
Mentor: Dr. Frank Schmitt
The purpose of this project is to understand Paul's leadership characteristics and to
apply those characteristics to today's Korean Baptist Bible Fellowship pastors. The
project carefully examines Paul's twelve characteristics pertaining to self, interpersonal
aspect, spiritual aspect, and functional competency from his writings and his acts reported
by Luke. It also analyzes and evaluates current situation ofthe BBFK pastors' leadership
based on surveys and interviews. Five practical strategies for the development of the
leadership quality of the BBFK pastors are offered. Those strategies will help the pastors
demonstrate such leadership characteristics more fully which were found in the apostle
Paul.
Abstract length: 101 words.
III
To My Pastor
and the Leader
of the Korean Baptist Bible Fellowship
Dr. Daniel Wooseang Kim
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .................................................................................. . III
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................... .
viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTORDUCTION ....................................................... .
1
Statement of Problem and Purpose ................................................ . 3
Statement of Scope and Limitation ................... : ............................ . 5
Biblical and Theological Basis ...................................................... . 6
Method of Procedure ................................................................. . 12
CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTERISTICS PERTAINING TO
SELF-LEADERSHIP......................................................... ............... 17
Self-Discipline......................................................................... 18
Importance of Self-Discipline.................. ..................... ........... 18
Paul's Self-Discipline. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 19
Personal Growth...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 23
Leadership and Growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 23
Personal Growth in Paul's Life... ... ...... ...... ...... ... ... .......... ....... 24
Character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Character, the Foundation of Leadership. ............................... ... 26
Paul, A Man ofCharacter... ... ...... ... ... ..... .... ... ...... ... ......... ..... 28
Paul's Secret for Strong Character...................................... ..... 32
Summary and Conclusion............................................. ......... ....... 34
CHAPTER THREE: CHARACTERISTICS PERTAINING TO
INTERPERSONAL LEADERSHIP....................................................... 36
Grace...................................................... ...... ............ ............ 38
Believing in God's Grace... ...... ... ... ...... ......... ...... ......... ....... 38
Living God's Grace........................................................... 41
Final Thoughts on Grace... ... ..... .... ...... ... ............ ... ... ....... .... 46
v
Servant Attitude......... ........................... ................................... 48
Servanthood: The Essence of Biblical Leadership..... .... ...... ...... ... 48
Paul the Servant............... . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 51
Shepherd's Heart......... ... ...... ..... .... ......... ... ...... ... ... .... ..... ...... .... 53
The Importance of Shepherding.......... ......... .. ........................ 53
The Shepherd's Heart in Paul...... ......... ... ......... ...... ... ... .......... 56
Team Building............ .................................... ......................... 60
Importance of Team Concept in Leadership...... ... ... ... .......... ... ... 63
Paul's Team Building... . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Summary and Conclusion ............................................................ .
CHAPTER FOUR: CHARACTERISTICS PERTAINING TO
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP... ......... ..................... ........................... ..... 70
Spirituality. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 72
Spirituality and Leadership............................................... .... 72
Paul's Spirituality... ...... ... ... ...... ... ... ... ...... ... ...... ... ... ... ... ..... 75
Spirit Empowerment... ......... ........................ ............... ............... 81
The Need for Spirit Empowered Leader........................... ........... 81
Spirit Empowerment in Paul...... ................................. ............. 85
Summary and Conclusion............ .................. .................. ... ........... 94
CHAPTER FIVE: CHARACTERISTICS PERTAINING TO
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCY... ... ... ...... ......... ......... ... ... ..... ................. 96
Cultural Relevance............................................................ ...... ... 98
Theology of Culture...... ...... ...... ... ... ......... .... ........ ... ... ......... 98
Becoming Culturally Relevant Leader... ...... ......... ............ ......... 104
Culturally Relevant Ministry of Paul.. . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . ........ ... ...... 108
Vision.......................................... .......................................... 113
The Power of Vision... ..... .... ... ... ... .... ..... ... ...... ..... .................. 113
Visionary Leadership of Paul.. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ...... ... ... ... 118
Strategic Approach.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... ... ... 122
The Need for Strategic Leader........................ ... .................... 122
Strategic Approach of Paul................................... .................... 128
Summary and Conclusion...................................................... ...... 133
vi
CHAPTER SIX: APPLICATION OF PAUL'S LEADERSHIP MODEL
TO TODAY'S BBFK PASTORS.......................................................... 135
Brief History of Baptist Bible Fellowship....... ... ..... ... ........................... 135
Baptist Bible Fellowship International........................... ............. 135
Korean Baptist Bible Fellowship........ ..... ..... ... .......... ..... .... .... 138
Evaluation ofthe BBFK Pastor's Leadership...... ...... ... ...... ... ... ............ 141
QuestIonnaIre........................... ........................ .................... 141
Analysis of Personal Questions............ ... .... ..... ...... ... ..... ......... 143
Analysis of Self-Evaluation of Leadership Characteristics..... ........... 150
Analysis ofInterviews and Another survey......... ............ .............. 157
Practical Suggestions for Leadership Development of the BBFK Pastors...... 163
Invest Yourself in Leadership Development... .................. ... .......... 163
Be a Part of Unified Vision... ...... ...... ... ... ... .......... ........ ... ...... 164
Enhance Your Understanding of Culture....................................... 167
Support Leadership Training Organizations............... ..................... 170
Maintain Balance.................................................. ............... 172
Summary and Conclusion................................................ ............... 176
CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION..................................................... 178
APPENDIX: LEADERSHIP SURVEY CONTENT...................................... 182
BIBLIOGRAPHy....................................... ...................................... 186
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
1. The Length of Pastorate........................................... ................................ 144
2. Average Attendance on Sunday Morning Worship................................... 144
3. Key Elements that Attract People to Your Church... ... ......... ...... ......... ... 145
4. Level of Theological Education..................... ........................ ............ 147
5. Most Helpful Discipline for Your Leadership Development............................ 148
6. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Pastors......................................... ... 153
7. Rating of Overall Leadership Quality............................................. ... 154
8. Strengths and Weaknesses ofBBFK Pastors in General... ....................... 155
9. Comparison of Different Responses...................................... .............. 162
VIII
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
A second-century apocryphal writer described the apostle Paul this way: "A man
with small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with
eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked."t If this description is correct, Paul did
not have a very impressive outward appearance. In fact, one finds an allusion that seems
to support the above description in one of Paul's own writings.2
Although Paul was "a man with small stature", he was no small Christian.
Although Paul was unimpressive outwardly, his inner being was very impressive. No one
except the Lord lesus Christ has had more profound influence on his world and ours than
Paul. He wrote at least 13 New Testament epistles out of the 20.3 He played a decisive
role in expanding Christianity beyond the boundary of the Palestinian region. He
established the uniqueness of Christian theology by writing and preaching the gospel of
free grace.
110hn W. Drane, Paul: An Illllstrated Documentmy (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 14.
21n 2 Corinthians 10: 10, Paul quotes his opponents' criticism about his appearance and speech:
"For some say, 'His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking
amounts to nothing.'"
'Most conservative scholars, if not all, accept Pauline authorship of 13 New Testament epistles
from the Romans to the Philemon. A few scholars even attribute the epistle to the Hebrews to Paul but their
theory has many problems. See, Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction (Downers Grove, III.:
[nterVarsity Press, 1970), 688-90.
2
It is true that Paul was a primary New Testament letter-writer, a pioneer
missionary, and a preacher of free grace. But it is also true that he was an outstanding
leader. If J. Oswald Sanders' definition ofleadership which equates leadership with
influence is right,4 Paul was one of the greatest leaders of all time because he exerted
incomparable influence on the lives of countless people.
However, influence is not all that qualifies Paul to be a leader. The book of Acts
and his epistles reveal that Paul possessed many outstanding characteristics of Christian
leadership. This writer believes that today's Christian leaders have much to learn from
Paul. As a matter of fact, Paul himself invites others to take the lead from him. In his first
letter to Corinthians, Paul boldly exhorts them: "Follow my example, as I follow the
example of Christ" (I Cor. 11: 1).
This writer believes that one of the best ways to learn leadership lessons is to
carefully study great leaders. And there is no greater Christian leader than Paul.5 That is
why this writer decided to study Paul's leadership characteristics. There is no doubt that
these characteristics of Paul can serve as a model to today's Christian leaders, especially
to the pastors of the Korean Baptist Bible Fellowship (BBFK hereafter).
Considering Dr. Lee Robertson's statement that "everything rises or falls on
leadership,,,6 the importance of this study cannot be overlooked. It is hoped that this study
4Sanders defines leadership this way: "Leadership is influence, the ability of one person to
influence others." See, J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980),35.
5 Although Paul certainly ranks behind Jesus as a leader, his example can serve us better simply
because he was imperfect human beingjust like us.
6This statement was popularized through the lips of John Maxwell. But Dr. Elmer Towns gives Dr.
Lee Robertson credit for it. See, Elmer Towns, The 8 Laws of Leadership: Making ExtraordinQlY Leaders
out q( OrdinQlY Believers (Lynchburg V A: Church Growth Institute, 1992), 10.