Unlike the word servant, which has been so much applied to
business leadership, shepherd is used in the New Testament exclusively in
reference to leaders.[1]
Jesus is described as both “the great
shepherd” and “the good shepherd.”[2]
This is not to say that the analogy applied only to Jesus himself. After his
resurrection, for example, Jesus tells Peter to do the work of a shepherd.[3]
Peter in turn urges church elders to be shepherds of God’s flock.[4]
So too does Paul at Ephesus.[5]
Can a Christian CEO apply the attributes of being a shepherd to leading a
business organization? I contend that such a fit can indeed be made.
The complete essay is at “Shepherd
Leadership.”
[1] Richard
Higginson, Transforming Leadership: A
Christian Approach to Management (SPEK: London, 1996), p. 48.
[2] Hebrews
13:20; John 10:11.
[3]
John 21:15-19.
[4] 1
Peter 5:2.
[5]
Acts 20:28; See Higginson, Transforming
Leadership, p. 48.
