Didactic Leadership: A Pauline Perspective

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Didactic Leadership: A Pauline Perspective


____________________


A Sample Research Paper

Submitted to

The Admissions Team

At

Asbury Theological Seminary

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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For Admission to the Doctor of Ministry Program

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By

Richard G. Hutchison

January 2, 2015












INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of teaching in Christian leadership as seen in the writings and example of Paul the Apostle. The impetus for this topic comes from the writer's personal struggle with a tension between the importance of teaching ministry on the one hand and practical leadership on the other. This paper will argue that teaching ministry should, in fact, be used as a primary tool for exercising practical Christian leadership within the church as well as in other organizational settings.
The writer will approach this topic first with a survey of Pauline writings in which the concept of didactic leadership appears, along with a brief examination of relevant statements from Luke's record of Paul's missionary activities. Next, this study will compare Paul's concept with the pattern of leadership given by Jesus Christ. Thirdly, it will explore how Paul's approach might be interpreted within the context of Wesleyan thought. The final section will suggest some ways in which the concept didactic leadership might be applied within contemporary contexts.
THE APOSTLE PAUL – A TEACHING LEADER
Paul the Leader
In the New Testament, Paul the Apostle stands out as a leader both in Christian thought and
mission. His message and methods shook the Jewish religious establishment—in fact so much so
that they often responded with violent opposition. At times even his fellow apostles, though
sympathetic, also struggled to fully embrace Paul's radical ideas for contextualizing the gospel of Christ among the gentile pagans. Nevertheless, today the legacy of his leadership remains one of the most salient in the history of Christianity. The church-planting movement which he started among the gentile peoples continues to serve as a model for church planters and missionaries today.
Paul the Teacher
But while Paul understood his role as a leader, he also knew that his leadership was inseparably intertwined with his identity as a teacher. In fact, twice he refers to himself as "a teacher of the gentiles." Interestingly, a preliminary survey of Paul's life and writings reveals that teaching was a primary means by which he articulated and implemented his vision for planting churches and contextualizing the gospel among the gentiles. It is this important connection between teaching and leadership to which we will now turn our attention.
Paul's Link between Teaching and Leadership
In his letters, Paul often linked the concept of teaching (or doctrine) with specific aspects of leadership. For example, he mentions 1) Warning and teaching (Col 1:28); 2) Teaching as an instrument for establishing and edifying people in the faith (Col 2:7); 3) Teaching and admonishing (Col 3:16); 4) Teaching in order to maintain a particular standard of doctrine through both spoken and written words (2 Thess 2:15); 5) Commanding and teaching (1 Tim 4:11); 6) Exhorting and teaching (1 Tim 6:2). In each of these examples one can see that Paul viewed the multi-faceted task of leadership as something which must be carried out within a framework of continuous teaching.
Paul also shows this close relationship between teaching and leadership in his pastoral epistles in which four times he mentions the ability to teach as one of the qualifications for serving as an overseer in the church. He understood that teaching is a specific gift which the Holy Spirit has given to the church for its edification. He modeled the importance of this gift while pioneering and establishing networks of churches throughout Asia Minor.
According to Luke's records, Paul and Barnabas spent "a whole year [in Antioch] . . . and taught a great many people" (Acts 11:25-26, ESV). Later, after returning from an important meeting in Jerusalem, they "remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also" (15:35). Again in Corinth Paul "stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them" (16:11). He also lived and taught in Ephesus (20:17-21), first for three months in a synagogue, and then for two years in the school (lecture hall) of Tyrannus (19:1-10). In addition to his public teaching ministry in Ephesus, he also taught privately in people's homes (20:20). He also lived and taught for two years in Rome while under house arrest, and even under those conditions, there were those who came to him for instruction (28:30-31). These examples reinforce the perception that Paul used teaching as a primary tool for
accomplishing the other tasks of leadership.
One of his clearest statements on the importance of didactic leadership in the church came as he was anticipating Timothy's departure from his assigned place of leadership in Ephesus in order to visit with Paul. At the same time, Paul was also sensing that his own time of departure from this earth would be soon. So he instructed Timothy, "…what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim 2:2, ESV). Both R. C. H. Lenski and William D. Mounce concur that Paul's intent here was not to preserve an apostolic succession of ordained office holders within the church, but rather to ensure a succession of pure apostolic teachings. It seems that in Paul's view, the most crucial factor in the future leadership of the church was its teachers. Therefore, when he wanted to ensure a seamless and secure transition of leadership, he placed his focus on appointing persons with both purity of doctrine and the competence to teach it. Hiebert also agrees, adding that "Here is the picture of Christianity being perpetuated through a successful teaching ministry, maintaining from age to age the apostolic message in faith and practice."
PAUL'S PARADIGM AND THE PATTERN OF CHRIST
Paul's teaching approach to leadership was not something new. In fact, it closely resembles
the example and instructions of Jesus Christ Himself. Paul, the "teacher of the Gentiles" was
simply fleshing out Christ's pattern. It is no mere formality that Jesus was often addressed as Teacher and that He sometimes also referred to Himself in the same way.
In giving his final instructions to the eleven disciples, Jesus instructed them to "make disciples" (Matt 28:19). In Matthew's record, the imperative to "make disciples" is maqhteuvsate and is also related to the noun maqhthvV which means "disciple." Intrinsic within this word is the concept of someone who is committed to learning. Furthermore, Christ commanded that one of the means by which disciples are to be made is through "teaching them" (28:20). Paul's didactic approach to leadership was simply a continuation of this pattern given by Christ.
PAUL'S PARADIGM AND WESLEYAN THOUGHT
In light of the above, we now turn our attention toward the theological implications of Paul's didactic approach to leadership. How does this paradigm align itself with the nature of God and His ways of interacting with human persons? Can these implications inform the Christian leader who is trying to navigate the complexities of leadership in today's world? For the limited scope of this study, the writer will focus on these questions in light of John Wesley's theology.
Wesley is an excellent choice for consideration here, because, as Randy Maddox has noted,
"…he imbibed through his Anglican tradition the early church's appreciation of theology as a practical discipline." In fact, so practical was Wesley's theology that it troubled him to see the church having only a minimal impact on the world. This prompted him, near the end of his ministry, to write a sermon which he entitled "Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity." According to Maddox, "The sermon opens with Wesley's charge that the reason Christian communities around the globe had done so little good in the world was that they were producing so few real Christians" [emphasis in the original].
Two things are significant here. First, John Wesley actually believed that one's theology should produce practical results for the good of others. Second, he believed that in order to have a more significant impact on society, the church would need to fix some key weaknesses in its training of would-be disciples. Therefore, although he did not nuance it in the same way that one would find in current literature on these subjects, John Wesley nevertheless understood very well this connection between the role of teaching and the practice of leadership.
But why did Wesley trace the church's lack of effectiveness back to the issue of training? The
answer lies in his theology. Wesley's understanding of God, human persons, sin, depravity,
grace and salvation shaped how he viewed the role of teaching in spiritual leadership, because as
Maddix succinctly states, "Wesley's primary theological-educational conviction was 'to cure the
diseased soul.'" His theology of human depravity held that human beings, while created in
God's image, have lost much of that image due to Adam's sin. Only grace can restore what has been lost. Restoration into the holiness of God is the ultimate goal of God's plan of salvation. However, this restoration is a process which happens neither instantaneously nor automatically, but rather requires an intentional, ongoing re-orientation of the heart, mind and will from the natural self-centered proclivities to a more wholesome others- and Other-oriented posture.
Based upon this theological framework, Wesley proceeded to develop a systematic method of training Christians toward this goal of holiness of heart and life. Felton states that "Wesley believed that the world was 'both his parish and his classroom.'" He furthermore "contended that a prime responsibility of preachers was assiduously to carry out their duties as teachers of the faith."
Wesley's most notable method for doing this was through a carefully organized system of small groups—a method which he learned and adapted from the Moravians. His use of this system was based upon his theological conviction that, in Felton's words, "salvation is a dynamic process in which, at every step, God's grace is to be received and responded to as persons grow in holiness [and therefore] [e]ducation and nurture are essential during the entirety
of that process." Among the writers cited here, all three referred to Wesley's method of training
with terms such as "process" (Fenton), "formative practices" (Maddox), and "group formation" (Maddix). This approach can be traced back to Wesley's soteriology, in which he saw salvation as more than a momentary transaction resulting in justification, but also a synergistic cooperation of human persons with God for the ultimate purpose of being restored into His image (holiness of heart and life).
Thus, Wesley the spiritual leader often functioned as Wesley the teacher in order to achieve his leadership goals. This brief example shows not only the theological basis for a teaching ministry within the church, but also helps to further establish the writer's argument that teaching is an essential tool for exercising effective leadership.
PAUL'S PARADIGM AND CONTEMPORARY POSSIBILITIES
Nearly two millenniums now stand between Paul the Apostle and the present-day Christian leader. Likewise, two centuries have passed since the time of Wesley. But are there contemporary lessons which we can draw from their didactic approach to leadership?
In their book Spiritual Leadership, Henry and Robert Blackaby mention Howard Gardner's book Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership. They refer to Gardner's concept of "linguistic intelligence" and his discussion of the leader as a story teller. But Howard Gardner is not primarily known as an expert in leadership. In fact, his background is in the field of psychology and human development, with some of his most notable work having been in the field of education.
So why would a psychologist who has spent years researching and writing about education theory suddenly decide to write a book about leadership? Because coming from his psychological perspective, Gardner understands that, as he puts it, "a leader is an individual . . . who significantly affects the thoughts, feelings, or behaviors of a significant number of individuals." Furthermore, his background in human development and education has enabled him to see that sometimes the leader must be willing to accept the current status of people's minds, and then with the patient persistence of a teacher, find ways to construct new frameworks of reality through which they can be led toward new possibilities. He refers to this as "A Cognitive Approach to Leadership." He also explains that this approach to leadership might be implemented either directly or indirectly.
Regardless of whether someone leads directly or indirectly, Gardner's concept reminds us that those who know how to influence minds will also influence outcomes – and that is leadership. This is also true within the context of the church. As Albert Mohler has aptly stated, "The church
is led by those who teach, and taught by those who lead." Thomas Oden similarly states, "The
Christian community is a teaching community." Perhaps this is what one Asian leader
intuitively sensed years ago when he forthrightly told a group of Western missionaries that "The missionary of today in the Orient should be less a performer, and more a trainer."
So what are the possibilities for exercising didactic leadership both within and through the church in today's complex world? Some leaders are implementing various types of training and multiplication programs which are designed to promote both spiritual growth and advancement of the church's mission through church planting. In the writer's present work as a missionary-educator in the Philippines, he is currently working with colleagues in the U.S. and national leaders on the field to pilot a newly developing program of Bible Methodist Missions which is known as Shepherd's Global Classroom. It is a portable training curriculum which can be translated, downloaded, printed and disseminated for use in a variety of training venues.
CONCLUSION
The opportunities for implementing didactic leadership are virtually endless. Further interdisciplinary studies would probably be one way in which to explore these possibilities – looking at didactic leadership through the lens of education, curriculum theory, inter-cultural studies, communication, sociology, anthropology, psychology and current leadership studies. As Wesley did, church leaders must also be careful to have a clear theological basis from which to explore and implement these applications. The potential results of this approach can be duly
noted in the examples of both Paul and Wesley.
SOURCES CITED
BibleWorks: Software for Biblical Exegesis & Research, 7.0 version.

Blackaby, Henry and Richard Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's
Agenda. Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2001.

Chan, Francis and Mark Beuving. Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples, kindle edition.
Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2012.

Felton, Gayle Carlton. "John Wesley and the Teaching Ministry: Ramifications for Teaching
Education in the Church Today," Religious Education 92:1 Winter 1997, 92-106. [Available
on the ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials] http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct =true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA00001021568&site=ehost-live; accessed 31 December
2014.

Gardner, Howard and Emma Laskin. Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, kindle edition.
New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Hiebert, D. Edmond. "Pauline Images of a Christian Leader," Bibliotheca Sacra 133:531 July-
September 1976, 213-228. [Available on the ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials]
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000756598&site
=ehost-live; accessed 31 December 2014.

The Holy Bible. New King James Version (NKJV) and English Standard Version (ESV).

Lenski, R. C. H. Commentary on the New Testament: The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to
the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus, and to Philemon. Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, 2001.

Maddix, Mark A. "John Wesley and a Holistic Approach to Christian Education," Wesleyan
Theological Journal 44:2 Fall 2009, 76-93. [Available on the ATLA Religion Database with
ATLASerials] http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001
745916&site =ehost-live; accessed 31 December 2014.

Maddox, Randy L. "Formation for Christian Leadership: Wesleyan Reflections," American
Theological Library Association Summary of Proceedings 57 2003, 114-126. [Available on
the ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials] http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA000145757 6&site=ehost-live; accessed 31 December 2014.

Mohler, Albert. The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters. Minneapolis:
Bethany House, 2012.

Mounce, William D. Word Biblical Commentary. Volume 46, Pastoral Epistles. Bruce M.
Metzger, General Editor. Colombia: Thomas Nelson, 2000.

Oden, Thomas C. Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry. San Francisco: Harper & Row,
1983.

Pollock, John. The Apostle: A Life of Paul, third edition / kindle. Colorado Springs: David C.
Cook, 2012.

Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership, second revision. Commitment to Spiritual Growth
Series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.

Smith, Steve and Ying Kai. T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution. Monument, CO: WIGTake
Resources, 2011.

Train and Multiply (Project World Outreach) http://trainandmultiply.com.



For the purpose of this paper, the writer is using the term teaching ministry rather broadly, to include any form or genre of communication which is being used for the instruction and training of Christians. This might include biblical preaching as well as a wide array of educational or discipleship training activities. It also might include verbal, written, and other media of communication for the aforementioned purposes. This concurs with Thomas Oden's suggestion that "…teaching [within the Christian community] is done generally through proclamation, worship, Eucharist, and pastoral care, but more particularly through catechesis, confirmation, and deliberate efforts at Christian education. In all of these the pastor is commissioned as a teacher of Christianity." Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983) 141.

For a consistent working definition of the term Christian leadership in this paper, the writer prefers the concise definition given by Henry and Richard Blackaby in their book Spiritual Leadership. They state, "Spiritual leadership is moving people on to God's agenda." Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's Agenda. (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2001) 20.


Acts 13:45-50; 14:19; 17:5-13; 20:3, 19; 21:27; 23:20, 27, 30.

Acts 15:1-33; Gal 2:1-14.

1 Tim 2:7; 2 Tim 1:11.


The writer compiled this list from search results using Bible Works software, 7.0 version.

1 Tim 3:2; 2 Tim 2:2, 24; Tit 1:9. See also D. Edmond Hiebert, "Pauline Images of a Christian Leader," Bibliotheca Sacra 133:531 July-September 1976, 213-216. [Available on the ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials] http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN= ATLA0000756 598&site =ehost-live; accessed 31 December 2014.

Rom 12:7; Eph 4:11.

For a descriptive picture of Paul's experience teaching in Ephesus, see John Pollock's biographical work The Apostle: A Life of Paul, third edition / kindle (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2012) 175-181.

2 Tim 2:2; See William D. Mounce's discussion of the context for this verse in Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 46, Pastoral Epistles, Bruce M. Metzger, General Editor (Colombia: Thomas Nelson, 2000) 504-505.

2 Tim 4:6.

R. C. H. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament: The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to
the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus, and to Philemon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2001) 778-779; Mounce (504-505) argues convincingly that interpreting this as a reference to apostolic succession would, in fact, be anachronistic because such a formalized leadership structure had not yet been introduced to the church. Perhaps more convincingly for this writer, the general context of 2 Timothy with Paul's emphasis on sound doctrine also supports the idea that apostolic teaching was Paul's focus here.

Hiebert, 216.


Matt 28:18-20; see also Acts 1:1 where Luke indicates that the acts of the apostles (including Paul) were a continuation of "all that Jesus began both to do and to teach" NKJV (New King James Version).

For examples, see Matt 8:19; 9:11; 10:24-25; 12:38; 17:24; 19:16; 22:16, 24, 36; 26:18 (compiled using Bible Works software, 7.0 version).

See the range of lexical meanings in sources such as Friberg's Analytical Greek Lexicon and others available on Bible Works software, 7.0 version.

Randy L. Maddox, "Formation for Christian Leadership: Wesleyan Reflections," American Theological Library Association Summary of Proceedings 57 2003, 115. [Available on the ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials] http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA000145757 6&site=ehost-live; accessed 31 December 2014.

Maddox, 115.

Maddox, 115.

Mark A. Maddix gives considerable attention to this point in his article "John Wesley and a Holistic Approach to Christian Education," Wesleyan Theological Journal 44:2 Fall 2009, 76-93. [Available on the ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials] http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct= true&db= rfh&AN=ATLA0 001745916&site =ehost-live; accessed 31 December 2014.

This seems to be the underlying theme of Maddox's article (cited above), though he breaks it down into three key areas to which the training needed to be addressed (based upon Wesley's sermon).

Gayle Carlton Felton, "John Wesley and the Teaching Ministry: Ramifications for Teaching Education in the Church Today," Religious Education 92:1 Winter 1997, 94. [Available on the ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials] http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA00001021568&site=e host-live; accessed 31 December 2014; See also Maddix, 76.


Maddix, 88.

Maddox, 115-117; Maddix, 89-90.
Note: It is not the writer's intent in the limited focus of this paper to delve into the finer nuances of Wesley's doctrine of entire sanctification, nor the distinctions which he made between certain aspects of sanctification which he considered to be available instantaneously while other aspects he viewed as part of a life-long process. The point here is that Wesley believed that holiness in human persons is something which must be cultivated and developed through spiritual formation (which requires training).

Felton, 93 (quoting Joseph William Seaborn, Jr., John Wesley's use of history as a ministerial and educational tool Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1986, page 96).

Felton, 105.

Maddix, 83-85.

Felton, 104.

Felton, 93; Maddox, 120; Maddix, 83.

Maddox, 117 and 120-121.

Blackaby and Blackaby, 159; Howard Gardner and Emma Laskin, Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, kindle edition (New York: Basic Books, 2011).

Blackaby and Blackaby, 161.

Gardner and Laskin, kindle location 117 of 7933. Note: Gardner is particularly known for his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) and his work in the field of educational theory.

Gardner and Laskin, kindle location 160 of 7933.

Gardner and Laskin, kindle location 142-151 of 7933.

Gardner and Laskin, kindle location 360 of 7933.

Gardner and Laskin, kindle location 152-169 of 7933.

Albert Mohler, The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2012) 92.

Oden, 141.

J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, second revision, Commitment to Spiritual Growth Series, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994) 147-148.

For examples see Francis Chan and Mark Beuving, Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples, kindle edition.
(Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2012); Smith, Steve and Ying Kai. T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution. Monument, CO: WIGTake Resources, 2011; also see The Train & Multiply method of training (Project World Outreach) http://trainandmultiply.com.