Defining Ethical Leadership:
Ethical Leadership in the Church
by Joel Stephen Williams
Before discussing leadership models and recommending best practices for church leaders, these being topic areas for future articles, what do we mean by ethical leadership? Thomas F. Kelly argues that there is a lot of confusion in our culture over what is meant by an ethical leader due to “categorical confusion,” where virtues and values are confused.* Agreement on definitions of our terms will help with this problem. Here are Kelly’s definitions:
- Values are things I want.
- Virtues are behaviors that make me good (90).
Let us distinguish between these in this article, using Kelly’s definitions, so that we can gain some insight to the kind of leadership we need in the church.
Values are relative. One person, group, or culture will value something more than another person, group, or culture. I value certain religious books very highly, but other people could care less about those books. Similarly, there are many things my grandchildren value for which I have little or no interest. Virtues, on the other hand, tend to be absolute. Kelly explains: “Kindness is always good. Responsibility is always good. Justice is always good, etc. … Honest people can disagree over what is just in a particular case or under particular circumstances. … But we do not disagree on the larger concept: justice is good” (90–91). So, values and virtues, as he defines them, should not be confused.
Next, Kelly asks the reader to think of an outstanding leader. He then describes that leader with a list of virtues, even though he has never met the person you are imagining in your mind.**
| Humble | Courageous |
| Loyal | Self-Disciplined |
| Forgiving | Respectful |
| Generous | Responsible |
| Honest | Just/Fair |
| Loving | Compassionate |
| Wise | Spiritual |
| Reliable | Hard-working |
That list likely describes very well the person you thought of as an outstanding leader. Almost everyone in our society will look at that list and agree that these are great character traits for any leader. In the church we would look at a list like this and commend it as well.
Kelly then moves to “values” that are cherished very highly. People often belong to or identify with a social group because of these values, but these traits do not have anything to do with our capacity to be a good or an ethical leader. Here is most of Kelly’s list of values we confuse with virtues.
| Male | Female |
| Rich | Poor |
| Black | White |
| Young | Old |
| Athletic | Good looking (92). |
What is the point? We need to put virtues before values. What does this mean for the church and ethical leadership? It means that it does not matter how old or how young you are, what race or ethnic group you come from, how rich or poor you are, whether you are male or female, and so forth. You can have a good moral and spiritual influence on others if you are a Christian person living a godly life of integrity. It also means that if you are in a position of leadership, you need moral and spiritual integrity to be effective.
Let us take Paul’s letter to Titus as one example of this principle. Much of what Paul said to Titus regarding bishops was that they must be living a life of virtue and integrity: “For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled” (Titus 1:7–8). Similarly, the older women, who were going to be teachers who would train the younger women, were “to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine” (Titus 2:3–4).
“Integrity” is often used to refer to the wholeness of a person’s character. Does a person act with consistency? Is someone the same in private as in public? A leader’s personal ethical integrity is critical for effective leadership. Craig E. Johnson is surely correct that “Nothing undermines a leader’s moral authority more quickly than lack of integrity” (78). May all of our leaders in the church “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12).
* All references to Thomas F. Kelly are from his article, “Effective Leaders Are Ethical Leaders,” Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics 10, no. 4 (October 2013): 90–93.
** I have slightly modified his list with some help from Obiora Ike, “Core Values for Responsible Leadership: The Relevance of Ethics for Religion and Development,” Ecumenical Review 68, no. 4 (December 2016): 469–70; and Craig E. Johnson, Meeting the Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow, 6th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2018), 70–80.
