Jesus’ Model of Leadership and the Integrity of Church Leaders in Nigeria

Abstract

A scholarly integrity check on the leaders of the Church in Nigeria demands a study that would make the leadership model of Jesus a template for church leaders to emulate. The nature of the ethical standing of many leaders in the Church in Nigeria cannot escape authentic scholarship in the face of daily reports of terrible behavioural failures in the church today. It has been observed that as churches grow in Nigeria many of the leaders of these congregations have gone with the wind of moral laxity due to inability to model Jesus’ leadership style. Hence, many church leaders in Nigeria have become gods on the Lord’s heritage. This paper aims at evaluating the leadership model of Jesus and how this model has enhanced his integrity and the urgent need to adopt this model by church leaders in Nigeria in this contemporary time. The study also looks at leadership styles and models in both the human and business organizations as well as in the church. Methodologies employed for data collection and analysis include historical, contextual and phenomenological. Efforts have been made to emphasize the adoption of Jesus' model of leadership by church leadership in Nigeria as a way to enhance the integrity of both the leaders and the church. The work concludes by recommending an ethical commission to serve as checks and balances on the churches in Nigeria.