JESUS' LEADERSHIP SYMBOLS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRISTIAN LEADERS

Abstract

Jesus’ Leadership Symbols and its implications for Christian leaders delve into the symbolic representation of the basin, the water, and the towel which Jesus used to exemplify servant leadership to his disciples in John 13:1-17. The writers used deductive biblical interpretation method coupled with secondary sources such as books, journals, commentaries to make inferences for Christian Leaders. The servant leadership as portrayed by Jesus in the passage has symbolic connotations for contemporary leadership which the writers were able to justify through theoretical and practical experiences in leadership positions at the church, denominational, and institutional levels. From the deductive interpretation of the passage, it was revealed that the bowl represented God from which the water of life was drawn, the water represented the living word of God that cleans, sanctifies; and the towel represented the finishing work of the Holy Spirit in Spiritual cleansing. Hence the article revealed that, for contemporary Christian leaders to truly demonstrate servant leadership portrayed by Jesus, they should submit for spiritual cleansing through discipleship, retreat, daily devotion and intentional Bible Study; they should be able to acknowledge God-factor in their leadership positions, platforms, and opportunities; they should accept the significant role of Jesus as the foremost servant leadership and model their leadership practices after him; they should adequately feed on the word of God and strive to live piteously for consistent cleansing; they should appropriate the powerful role of the Holy Spirit in their leadership practices to guide, guard, and grind out excesses or dross from their lives; and they must keep stewardship watch over potential leaders.