Thoughts on Leadership

Dear Rick,

I have some technical questions. How do we know that a translation of a Greek word in the N.T. hasn’t been tainted by our own cultural presuppositions? I am looking up the word proistemi (proisthmi, 4291 in Strong’s) in the lexicons. It comes out as everything from to rule over to giving aid. Naturally, in 1 Thess. 5:12 it ends up coming out as ruling over. But couldn’t that be our view of what leadership is like; ruling? And isn’t that in direct contradiction to what Jesus says in Matt 20:25-26, and Luke 22:25? How do we make sure even the lexicon and or translation hasn’t become culturally biased and how can we try to find out what a word really means in context? Doesn’t pro+histemi mean to stand in front or before?

I ask this to make sure I’m not doing the same thing. It seems to me that ruling over, is something Jesus strictly forbade, yet we see it in the translations of the English Bible. Every time I see a word that could convey this type of leadership, lead, rule, rule over, etc. in the N.T. I find that it can be taken that way, but it also has much milder meanings. Naturally the way the word was used in the Greco-Roman world would have a secular worldly connotation, but can’t Paul be using the word in a new way just like he does for “church”? I want to know if there really are elements of ruling over someone in the N.T. conception of leadership or if we have bad translations which have put the world’s concept of leading right back into the Bible. This really is the focus of the paper I’m working on, so it is not just a question of being curious. I don’t want to taint what I am writing right back the other direction more than the text allows. I know enough about language, translations and history to be a bit suspicious of what I am seeing. Yet, I’m not sure I have the tools to honestly ferret this out. Can you give me some advice?

Ross

Ross, I'm sure I won't be able to be any help at all in this dilemma. This is something that has troubled me a lot over the last few years, highlighted because I am a woman. The way the scriptures have been distorted and just plain changed over the years to dominate women is a bit of a sore spot with me. My study of "key" scriptures used to control women taught me so much about how scripture can be distorted. It got me thinking about how other cultural prejudices and bias could have mutated other passages. An example is headship. Often men are referred to as the having headship over women just as Christ has headship over the Church. But headship is defined by many as a relation of authority or lordship position, whereas the New Testament defines the headship ministry of Christ to the church as a servant relation designed to provide the Church with life and growth. For instance, in Eph 1:22-23 Christ is supremely and universally sovereign, but as head for the church, it is not said that he rules over it. Instead, he provides his body with the fulness of him who fills all in all. He causes the church to grow and flourish. Or in Eph 5:23 Christ is the head of the church as a savior, a servanthood, self-sacrificing function, not a lordship role. The thing is, "head" used figuratively in English refers to a boss, person in authority or leader. It didn't mean this in New Testament Greek. Christ is called head of the church only after the crucifixion, the supreme expression of his servant ministry as the giver or source of new life. Similarly, as head to his wife, a husband is a servant-provider of life, fullness and growth, not one who exercises authority over her. Anyway, my point is that through my study of scriptures having to do with relations between man and wife and women in body-life, I became concerned about the way scriptures have been translated and taught. That is one reason why I loved the idea of exegesis in the fellowship of the Spirit that you spoke of. I used to be so confident that my lexicon would steer me right, but now I'm not so sure. I rely heavily on balancing a particular passage with the "whole" of what the Word says about it, and if it flows with the primary scripture - Loving God and neighbor. I apologize for this probably being no help whatsoever. Just some of my rambling thoughts and concerns about this issue. I am looking forward to hearing your conclusions.
May peace overtake you! twila

Dear Twyla,

Here is what I came up with as I walked and meditated on this issue. That does not mean I am right, it is just where I am currently. I am going to Rick Cruse about this because he is a man of the Word, and is honest with the way he deals with Scripture. He also has more finely honed interpretation skills than I have. But, having said this here is where I am now:

Either we look at I Thess. 5:12 through the lens of what Jesus said in Matt. 20:25-26, and Luke 22:25, or we view the words of Jesus through the lens of I Thess. 5:12.

• If we use the words of Paul in I Thess. 5:12 (proistemi- to lead, rule, stand in front) as a lens to view the Gospel passages we end up with hierarchical leadership, ruling from position and authority, wielding power. But Christian leaders will view this as service to those who are below them. If they are really kind people they may very well end up serving. If they love power and position they will do exactly what Jesus said not to do and they will wounding people and the cause of Christ. This is what we have done for the most part, and this is reinserting the world’s values systems of abusive leadership back into the Church.
  
• If we use the words of Jesus in the Gospel as a lens to understand what Paul said in I Thess. we end up with something quite different. We see “standing in front” as a responsibility to serve. We view it as an opportunity to help. It is not a position of power. There are no titles, hierarchies or positions. This person is respected because they are helping others. I would suggest that understanding Paul through the lens of Jesus is better than trying to understand Jesus through what we assume Paul was saying.
  
  Ross