Ethical Foundations & Structures for Church Leadership
The twentieth-century Church was marred by leadership failure. Leadership failure has the potential to influence the twenty-first century Church as well. To counteract this destructive potential, Christian leaders must develop a sound biblical understanding of character, examine contemporary leaders, and provide a system for accountability in church leadership. An exegesis of I Timothy 3:1-7 provides the biblical foundation for ethics of church leadership. An analysis of the lives of Jim Bakker and Billy Graham provides a comparative study of ethics in leadership. Finally, the conclusions from I Timothy 3:1-7 and the case studies will provide structures of accountability. Such structures are evident in a leader’s denomination and congregation. Through this study, church leaders can examine their own lives under the guidance of biblical principles and provide structures for personal accountability that will circumvent inevitable temptations and the potential for failure. This paper represents the final thesis, necessary for graduation from the M.A. in Ministerial Leadership program at Southeastern University.