Servant leadership in Philippians 2:5-11: Concept and application

Abstract

The subject of leadership has been explored from different fields by different scholars. The leadership debates and discussion have dominated academia across the globe for decades. The contribution of this thesis to the subject of leadership is threefold. Firstly, it demonstrates a different style of leadership, that is, servant leadership. Secondly, it studies servant leadership from a biblical perspective in general and Philippians 2:5-11 in particular. Thirdly, it applies biblical servant leadership principles to an African context. The historical background of Philippians is studied to understand the world of the text. The different leadership styles are explored and compared with servant leadership. Servant leadership principles are studied in Philippians 2:5-11 and applied in an African context. The thesis concludes with the servant leadership models in South Africa like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Frank Chikane. The purpose here is to demonstrate that servant leadership as a New Testament concept is applicable to a contemporary South African context. Consequently, the thesis makes New Testament research available to an African audience.