Paul's Humble Leadership in Light of Contemporary Studies of Humility and Leadership: A Comparative Analysis of Paul's Deployment of Humility in 2 Corinthians 10–13 and Philippians

Abstract

Utilizing discoveries from social psychology and organizational leadership studies, this thesis employs a contemporary model of humility as a hermeneutical lens to evaluate Paul’s humility and leadership in the first century. Paul’s self-portrayals of humility are comparatively evaluated alongside ancient views of humility in his first century historical and social context. The primary objective of this thesis is to investigate how Paul deployed humility in different contexts and how it impacted his leadership. The investigation focuses on Paul’s self-portrayals in 2 Corinthians 10–13 and Philippians to consider how he variously adopted characteristics and types of humility for specific purposes when leading the Corinthian and Philippian congregations. An examination of existing literature identifies several research gaps, including the following: (1) academic studies on humble leadership almost exclusively focus on contemporary leaders; (2) biblical scholars rarely utilize modern leadership theories as a method for exploring the ancient text; and (3) biblical scholars have not explored humility in depth as a leadership quality. In biblical studies, humility is often mentioned tangentially as a static characteristic promoted by the life of Christ which is also present in his followers. However, the concept of humility as a dynamic attribute of effective leadership has not been explored in depth in biblical studies. The goal of this research is to utilize data from multiple disciplines to begin bridging the abovementioned gaps in order to better understand humble leadership as practiced by Paul in his first-century setting. In short, this thesis probes how Paul deployed humility in his discourses, performances, and constructions of himself as a leader—examining his humility-related language, teachings, and self-presentation expressed to the congregations at Corinth and Philippi.