Written by Jason D. Bland |
Friday, November 26, 2021
Building a healthy and productive environment within an organization absolutely requires the influence and impact of a strong leader, i.e., someone who puts the needs of their team members before their own. When a leader serves in an altruistic, loving way, the leader has the opportunity to build stronger relationships with their team members. It’s not about control, rather compassion and engagement.

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40, NKJV).
These simple words ignited a counterculture movement that still drives Christians today, more than two millennia since Christ spoke. A catalyst that shapes the Christian’s lifestyle and intrinsic motivation each and every day. Christ taught that believers are to first love the Lord. There is no doubt or debate in meaning here, Christians must put the Lord front and center in their hearts and minds. There is a spiritual primacy here that must be acted upon in the believer’s daily walk. Then Jesus tells His followers to love their neighbor, not themselves or their money, beauty, skills, or own wisdom. No, Jesus commands His followers to love others. These two directives set the foundation for every aspect of the believer’s life, a focus first on the Lord and then on others. Thoughts about one’s self aren’t even mentioned, because selfish thinking is anathema to Christian living.
The verses in Matthew 22:37-40 are indeed a counter-cultural statement, primarily because so much of our culture today, as it was in Biblical times, reinforces narcissistic and self-serving living. It’s also truly evident in today’s post-modern society where people can choose the truth that best serves their own preferences. Also consider the endless stream of social media videos that focus on people’s supposed beauty, dancing skills, the proper use of woke terminology, or simply attacking others for not sharing their views. But this is not how Jesus has called Christians to live. The primacy of self must be confronted and subjugated first to the Lord, and secondly to others.
It’s with this thought in mind that it’s important to consider organizational leadership in churches, business, schools, sports, and even families. Anyone and everyone who is a leader must be cognizant of Jesus’ lesson to love others as a primary function of one’s life. Christians are not called to be dutiful servants to the Lord and ignore others. No, Christians are called to humble themselves and elevate others above themselves.
In one of the most powerful chapters in the New Testament, Paul writes in Romans 12, how Christians are to lead transformed lives. Paul doesn’t exhort the Christian to lift himself on a pedestal as better than others because of their gift of salvation. Quite the opposite. In verse three, Paul tells the believer to consider himself humbly, not to boast. Then in verse sixteen, Paul explains that Christians should associate with the humble, and to be cautious of their own opinion. This requires a person who will continually learn and seek wisdom, never trusting in their own knowledge as the penultimate source. Furthermore, these verses teach both the average Christian, and in the case of this article, the Christian leader, to maintain a humble approach to their walk and ministry in leadership. Not only does it prevent a leader from becoming egotistical, but it ensures that he or she will remain open to the feedback and input of their team. But this is only possible when a leader truly loves others more than self. In other words, leaders must be altruistic in nature.
Following the impetus of Jesus’ command in the book of Matthew and Paul’s exhortation in Romans, Christian leaders must shift their mindset. There must be a radical departure from self-centered leadership decisions and actions. Instead, the Christian leader should take a position serving others through decisions that empower and bless the wellbeing of others. This results in a leader who will be blessed when they love and care for others. Consider Paul’s words of encouragement in Galatians 6:7-10. He reminds believers of the importance of putting others first, to not grow weary, and to understand that their efforts will be blessed. Paul was combatting the same self-centered, aggrandizing, narcissistic culture that modern society faces today. For many people, their lives are geared around how much people like them or follow their social media posts, or how much personal confirmation they receive in their videos, all in an effort to boost their shallow self-worth and self-esteem. How strikingly different then is the Christian who blazes a bold and narrow path away from this lifestyle, discarding the societal push to achieve the proper online presence, beauty standards, or take the correct stance on issues of the day, and instead pursue the Lord first, and their neighbor second.
When this happens, self becomes a very distant third. In fact, it becomes so distant because the entire impetus and drive of a Christian becomes consumed with the thought of serving others: the Lord and other people. This is only possible with a foundation of love which results in altruistic behavior. This heavenly design is further corroborated in the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus tells his disciples “[f]or even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” (Mark 10:45a).
Through it all, this notion of love and humility is difficult to attain and maintain. It goes against human nature. In fact, Nouwen wrote, especially in light of leadership, that power and authority is an “easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life,” (Nouwen, 1989, p. 77). His succinct words remind the Christian of the challenging task that is the narrow path of faith and service in Christ’s name. Yet, despite the challenge, the Lord is faithful to provide the strength, encouragement, and wisdom to live in this unique, counter-culture way.
The benefit of living and leading in such a drastic way, by being altruistic and leading with love, grace, and wisdom, is that it provides the opportunity to be an example to the unbeliever. J. Oswald Sanders explained that when a “Christian leader full of high ideals lives a holy and joyful life in front of unbelievers, they often want to cultivate a similar experience,” (Sanders, 2007, p. 41).
Ultimately, building a healthy and productive environment within an organization absolutely requires the influence and impact of a strong leader, i.e., someone who puts the needs of their team members before their own. When a leader serves in an altruistic, loving way, the leader has the opportunity to build stronger relationships with their team members. It’s not about control, rather compassion and engagement. Research proves this point. Northouse, a preeminent leadership scholar said “that organizations stand to gain much from having leaders who can create good working relationships. When leaders and followers have good exchanges, they feel better and accomplish more, and the organization prospers” (Northouse, 2019, p. 143).
Not only can leaders today benefit from the wisdom of Christ and the encouraging words of Paul, but also from decades of study and research that further confirm what the Bible has taught for millennia. This notion of loving your neighbor is more than just a platitude, it is a way of life, and by exemplifying this characteristic a leader has the opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of those they lead. Imagine a world where people actually appreciate their boss, so much more could be accomplished. Imagine a world where Christians exemplified Christ-like love, so many more people would be enticed by a Gospel-driven lifestyle.
It should be clear that Christians leaders need to love. They must love their neighbor, their team members, their own boss. With this in mind they will live an altruistic life, focused on helping and bettering others. This will result in stronger relationships which improves organizational success and effectiveness. Let all Christians remember Paul’s reminder in 1 Corinthians 10:24, “[l]et no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.” This is only possible when believers wholeheartedly live out Jesus’s command to love the Lord and love their neighbor. Without this foundation the Christian’s thoughts and actions would be no different from the world. Instead, Christian leaders need to love.
Jason D. Bland is the founder of Signet Leadership, an organizational leadership consulting and coaching firm. He lives outside Annapolis, Maryland. Jason writes about Christian leadership and its impact on society, as well as providing social and political commentary from a Christ-centered worldview. To connect with Jason he can be reached via email, LinkedIn, or via Twitter.

We cannot know what is in the hearts of fellow Christians as they seek to honor God in their daily lives, and we should not impose restrictions on believers where God has given us liberty. Although it is human nature to do so, we also should avoid comparing ourselves with other believers and thinking that they are better than we are—or that we are better than they are—for whatever reason, since all of us are sinners in need of God’s grace in Christ.

Do you ever feel like other people are better Christians than you are? Maybe they read their Bibles more, give more money to the church, pray more for others, are involved in church ministry, do more good deeds, or never seem to do anything really sinful. It’s easy to get discouraged when we start comparing our own Christian walk with other believers we know.
One of the big reasons this happens is that humans are geared to think that keeping rules is how we are right before God, and they are actually correct about this (see Lev. 18:5; Luke 10:25–28). The problem is that no one can keep God’s law perfectly. This is why Jesus came: we need his perfect righteousness and perfect sacrifice to be counted to us through faith in Christ so we can be declared justified before God.
Some Christians can add requirements that the Bible doesn’t dictate.
Even while knowing they have peace with God in Christ alone, Christians are often prone to think that they will be closer to God by keeping certain rules and living certain lifestyles. The problem with this is that some Christians can add requirements that the Bible doesn’t command, or they may consider certain lifestyle choices to be more spiritual than others. What is a Christian to do when it comes to knowing how to live according to God’s word in this world?
The Westminster Confession of Faith gives us excellent counsel in this area in its chapter, “Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience”:

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience: and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also. (WCF 20:2)

Look at the phrase, “or beside it.” With these words, the Westminster Confession of Faith reminds Christians that they are not bound by any “doctrines and commandments of men” that are not found in God’s word. It is also true that believers must be considerate of their neighbors, not causing them to stumble (Rom. 14:13–23: 1 Cor. 8:7–13). The sixteenth-century pastor and theologian John Calvin reminds Christians to use their freedom responsibly and lovingly.
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The 2018 Revoice conference shook the PCA. It was hosted by a PCA church, whose ministries seemed to show just how far a contextual-missional emphasis could go. It did not help that the host church’s pastor became a sort of “mascot in an ascot” for the movement after publishing a controversial book on the subject. Though the pastor’s initial speech to the GA in 2019 was greeted with applause, Side B gay Christianity and its spokesman proved to be a bridge too far for the PCA middle. The pastor and church left in the middle7 of a discipline process that had moved in fits and starts—with traditional presbyterian slowness—and was never fully resolved. Things changed post-2019. The demographics of the assembly changed and so did the attitude. 

The opening session drama at last week’s 51st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America may have signaled (or confirmed) a new era for the 51-year-old denomination. At issue was the final ratification of a Book of Church Order amendment to tighten up the denomination’s doctrine of office and ordination. The amendment passed the final hurdle and is now church law, but only after some emotional arguments against and startling (to some) admissions1 of ecclesial deviation, disorder, contextualization, or acts of conscience—depending on one’s perspective. More on all of this later; for now let us try to answer the question “In which era does the PCA find itself…and how did we get here?”
The First Era: Founding and Finding (1973-1993)
The PCA formed in 1973 as a mixed mini multitude of Southern cultural conservatives, evangelicals who usually baptized babies, and committed presbyterian confessionalists. They all knew they wanted out of the liberalizing Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) which they expected would inevitably reunite with the Northern church and get even worse. One need only look at the resultant wretched rainbow that the PCUSA union denomination is in 2024 to see that the imperfect founders of the PCA did the right thing in 1973.
In 1982 the young PCA got an infusion of members and culturalist evangelical energy when the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod was received into the fold. Concern about cultural influence and size-matters angst probably motivated the RPCES to join and the PCA to receive. As the growing denomination asked the “Who are we?” question in its second decade, some leaders2 answered with visions of broader vistas and bigger tents.
The Second Era: Of Big Cities and Bigger Tents (1994-2018)
By 1994 most in the PCA had heard of Tim Keller’s work in New York City (which began in 1989), and they liked what they heard. The message was that the PCA could be sophisticated, urbane, relevant, and influential in a world that was becoming ever more confusing and that had a neutral3 (at best) view of evangelicals—a label most PCA folk still owned. In 1994 a group of PCA leaders felt so strongly about the dangers of growth-hampering, unity-destroying narrowness that they got together and tried to head it off. The informal gathering produced a non-official document which was revised and republished in 1998. The group, such as it was, was known as PCA Consensus.
The document the group produced (signed by the likes of Keller, Frank Barker, John Frame, James Boice, and Harry Reeder) assumed that there was a problem—that deleterious conflict already existed.
We believe that a good part of our denominational struggle has to do with the following:I. A lack of clarity and definition about our identity and our fundamental commitments (thus producing unnecessary and prolonged conflicts).II. A lack of vision and focus regarding our mission (thus producing unnecessary confusion).III. A cumbersome structure and process, which have caused us to place our focus on the administrative, programmatic, constitutional, and judicial aspects of our life together rather than the doxological, theological, edificatory and relational aspects of our communal life (thus unnecessarily trivializing our presbyteries and assemblies).Attempts have been made in the past by various groups in the church to address some of the issues facing us, but for various reasons, the proposals have not been widely accepted by the church. Our solution is to present to the church a consensual statement—A Statement of Identity—in order to begin addressing the first concern (I) stated above. We believe this will provide a “center of gravity” for the church and a basis for future discussions on our vision and polity (numbers II and III). We also believe that a consensus on key issues regarding our identity will create an environment where allowable diversity will strengthen rather than weaken us. (bolding mine)
The Statement of Identity was a fairly conservative and modest document, but its true aim—an “allowable diversity that (would) strengthen”—was realized in the two decades after 1998 in ways some of its signatories never envisioned. First came 2002’s General Assembly approval of “Good Faith Subscription,” the desire for which the Statement clearly telegraphed. Did the signatories imagine that GFS would make exceptions to historical interpretations of the Second and Fourth Commandments unexceptional…almost expected among PCA ministers? Maybe so, maybe not.4 GFS was supposedly “shepherded” by a new interest group that followed the PCA Consensus group, the Presbyterian Pastoral Leadership Network, whose leadership was more decidedly left of…well, if not the center, at least left of the PCA right. Diversity, reasonable latitude, and missional agility were obviously priorities for the PPLN. Again, Tim Keller was a notable leader in this group.
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