AN ANALYSIS OF POWER IN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP A Paper for the Christian Business Faculty Association Conference at Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, October 16-18, 2003
by Virgil O. Smith, Ph.D. Professor of Management School of Business Biola University 13800 Biola Ave. La Mirada, CA 90639-0001
[email protected] Yvonne S. Smith, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Management School of Business Biola University 13800 Biola Ave. La Mirada, CA 90639-0001
[email protected] ABSTRACT Does power invariably corrupt? If so, how can a Christian wield power? Should Christian universities even teach leadership? This paper explores these and related questions by combining a discussion of the power literature with a discussion of what Scripture says about power. The power and authority spoken of in the Bible is not different from the power we see in the organizational world. In this paper we use the French and Raven (French & Raven, 1959) power bases as a foundation from which to explore the issues of extrinsic and intrinsic power and their potential for changing people. There are many direct parallels in Scripture. The last portion of the paper discusses the relationship between power and trust as used in organizational literature and in Scripture. The use of trust to get things done makes it a form of power. God chooses trust as the trigger for His salvation, and in a similar manner the Christian leader can use trust to trigger proper internal change. Trust is the strongest source of power in an organization and the source that creates the best possible outcomes for all involved.
An Analysis of Power in Christian Leadership Of the infinite desires of man, the chief are the desires for power and glory. —Bertrand Russell (Russell, 1938) You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. —Revelation 4:11 (The Holy Bible: New International Version, 1984)1
The Problem A few years ago a business professor in a Christian college proposed a new course titled “Leadership and Power.” In the fullness of time, the proposal was turned down by the college’s curriculum committee because, they said, “Power is not an appropriate subject to teach at a Christian school.” The department changed the title of the course to “Leadership and Authority” but this comment became a standing joke because, to a business person, it is ludicrous to attempt to discuss leadership without also discussing power. Why is it that many believers, including this well meaning curriculum committee, are uncomfortable with the concept of power? Most Christian colleges or universities state that they exist to create “Christian Leaders,” but would hesitate to admit they exist to educate people to wield power. How many of us can remember a sermon or Sunday School lesson on how a Christian should use authority? The subject of power is considered again and again in the Bible. For example, the Greek word dunamis, that is translated most often as “power” in the New Testament, occurs there 119 times (The Holy Bible: PC Study Bible, 1994). Many of these occurrences ascribe power to God but many passages provide evidence of God expecting humans to exercise power. Christians tend to be uncomfortable with the concept of power primarily because of two widespread misconceptions. The first misconception is that power invariably corrupts. The second misconception is that the Bible has little to say about human authority and power. As a result, we perceive power as a human construct. We argue that Christians must understand the nature and proper uses of power in order to raise up leaders of character that can affect the world for Christ. The purpose of this article, therefore, is twofold: 1) to clarify the nature of power and, 2) to begin to explore what God says about power. How power is defined directly impacts upon how power is used. In the first two sections, we define power in organizational and Biblical terms as a influence or force that can be wielded for good or evil and tackle the question of how to prevent power from corrupting. The third section of the paper is an overview of the power sources combined with a scriptural discussion of internal and external sources of power. The final section focuses on a special source of power, trust, and how it can be wielded to good effect.
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All biblical quotations are from the New International Version.
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Definitions of Power What is power? Many business scholars have, consciously or unconsciously, developed their primary definitions of social constructs – such as power – from the social sciences where the work of Max Weber tends to dominate. Weber defines power as “the probability [italics ours] that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance” (Weber, 1947). Weber’s concept of power approaches socialized survival of the fittest and leaves little room for power to be used for the good of others. According to Weber power is rooted in self-will and is usually coercive. If this definition of power is accurate, the people of God should stay far away from it. There are other definitions of power. For example, Mintzberg defines organizational power as “the capacity to effect (or affect) outcomes” (Mintzberg, 1983). In psychology, French and Raven define power as “influence” (French & Raven, 1959). These definitions allow broader and less self-determined conceptualizations of the construct than Weber’s. It even seems possible that power in this form could be used by Christians. After all, teaching is an attempt to influence others. It is therefore of interest to realize that these last two definitions are in keeping with the Biblical usage of power in the New Testament, which Strong’s Greek/Hebrew Dictionary defines as a “force” (Strong, 1989), a neutral entity that can be used for good or evil. In sum, while the view of power most common in the social sciences has strong negative implications, this is not true of the concept of power as defined in other disciplines or in the Bible. For the rest of this discussion, we will consider power to be the broader “force” or “influence.”
Does Power Corrupt? The definition of power that we use is particularly important in the Biblical account, since power is a part of God’s creation (Colossians 1:16). All authority comes from Him (Romans 13:1). Power, like the rest of creation, was designed for a moral and upright purpose. However, once God has given power to an individual, it is up to that individual how it will be used – for good as God designed (2 Timothy 1:7-9), or in conceit, cruelty, self-aggrandizement, and domination, as Weber would imply. Does Power Really Corrupt? If power is a neutral force, what then should be done with Lord Acton’s statement, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Russell, 1938)? This is widely accepted. We have even heard Christians use this as an reason to condemn other Christians in authority positions. But does power always corrupt? Power certainly can corrupt. Evidence from Genesis to the latest newspaper shows that power is often used for evil or venial purposes and that people with power tend to want to keep it at the expense of others.
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Nevertheless, the statement cannot be literally true. God has absolute power and He remains uncorrupted. Moreover, we must wonder if God would create something and give it into the hands of His children if it was impossible for these people to prove good stewards of it. The evidence in the scripture is that God understands that power is seductive but He provides counter forces by which Christians can wield it honestly and wisely. There are many counter forces such as love for Christ, love for neighbor, obedience, accountability and humility. In the next section, we will briefly show how accountability and humility can counter the seduction of power. Power and Accountability. Those who wield power are held accountable by God to use it righteously and justly. For example, Jeremiah 23:10-12 says: “The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly. ‘Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,’ declares the LORD. ‘Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,’ declares the LORD.” In Micah 2:1-3 God declares: “Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. . . . Therefore, the LORD says: ‘I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.’” Paul applies this to Christians when he says in II Corinthians 5:10 that: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” The people of God will be held accountable by their Lord for every use of power they initiate whether in the classroom, church, family or workplace. This should be a strong counterweight for corruption. Power and Humility. As another safeguard against corruption, God expects His people to wield power in humility. For example, in 2 Chronicles 26:16 we are told, “But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall” and the rest of the chapter relates God work. In Matthew 20: 25-27 Christ explicitly spoke to his disciples about the seduction of power and the power of humility. He said: “You know that the ruler of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.”
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God uses creative ways to help His people keep this balance. For example, He often combines His power in our lives with something like Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” Paul, in II Corinthians 12:9, relates that when he asked to be freed from the “thorn”: “…he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” God Wants Us to Have Power Wielding power can be dangerous but should Christians flee from it? The short answer is, “No – that is not the response God wants.” Paul relates that “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7). For the “…the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (1 Corinthians 4:19-20). Power is from God and if we reject it, we reject His will. However, if power is an important part of God’s plan for His people, we do need to be familiar with its properties. The following sections discuss some of the forms and sources of power in the organizational literature. We argue that while all of the forms have been established by God for His purposes, God would have us rely more upon some of them than others, specifically internal forms of power. God seeks to do a work in people’s hearts and the internal power forms are the only ones that can work at that level.
The Bases of Power Five different bases of power have been commonly identified in the literature that defines power as influence: punishment, reward, position, expertise, and identification (French, 1956) (French & Raven, 1959) (Raven, 1965) , so much so that it is sometimes difficult to tell a promised reward apart from a threatened punishment. This is largely perceptual. For example, in our classrooms we might emphasize the importance of an assignment to our students. One student may perceive this to mean that if they do well on the assignment they will get a good grade in the class. Another student might perceive the same statement as a threat that they will not get a good grade unless they do well on the assignment. Both are true. God uses the reward of heaven and the threat of hell to help people understand the value of the salvation He offers. He offers rewards for those who have done righteous acts and threatens that the deeds of others will burn up like “wood, hay and stubble.”
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Of all the power bases, reward and punishment tend to lend themselves most readily to coercive use. A promise of reward or a threat will often cause a person to act in a way he or she would not otherwise. It is easy to use this power base, and easy to misuse it. The Power of Position This power base differs from the others in that the power attaches to a position, instead of to a person. Different individuals might be president of the United States but each of them wields the power of the position – well or badly. This difference in the power base is substantiated in scripture. A common word for power in the New Testament is exousia, commonly translated as “authority.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary argues that this word implies the “power of authority,” or “the power of rule or government.” Paul exhorts believers in Rome (Romans 13:1-8) to obey the authorities because God instituted them (the authority power), not only because they wield the sword (punishment power). He states that “…it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.” We follow the speed limit because it is the law, not because a policeman might catch us. When Paul uses the word “conscience” he displays the unique power source of position power. Position power is triggered by an internal acceptance of the person obeying the power that they will obey because the person in this role has the right to wield this kind of power. The difference between internal and external motivations will be discussed in more depth below. The Power of Expertise A person wields expert power when they have some special expertise or wisdom that others desire. This type of power exists all around us. We follow our doctor’s instructions to take a given medication regularly, not because of reward or punishment, and not because of his role as Doctor. We follow instructions primarily because we believe the doctor knows more about what ails us and how to cure it than we do. Likewise, when we buy a new computer, certain friends influence us to buy one kind of computer or another because we feel they know what they are talking about. The power of expertise is well documented in Scripture. For example, in Proverbs 8: 14 Wisdom says, “Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.” Likewise, Proverbs 24:5 says, “A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength,” and Ecclesiastes 7:19 says, “Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.” The Power of Identification Identification power is perhaps best encompassed through the concept of charisma. This power comes from a classifying of the self with, and a “seeking to be like” the charismatic person. One freely grants the charismatic person power over oneself. Thus this power trigger is again internal to the person.
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Galbraith states that the power of identification is the strongest form of power, since it is based on belief and love. These are the only power forms people will die for. People will die for something they love and believe in (such as a soldier dying for their country), but not for any other form of power (Galbraith, 1983). This is the main power that the disciples granted to Christ. In John 6, we are told of the time in Christ’s ministry where a large number of people were falling away because of what he taught. Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave him also. Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life [knowledge power]. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God [identification power].”
Motivational Differences Between the Power Forms: Internal Versus External Triggers of Power One way of looking at the different power bases is to consider the motivations that trigger each power form. The motivation literature commonly splits change forces into those that come from outside the person, and those that come from within the person, classed respectively as “external” and “internal” motivators. The motivators are triggers of actions, or in this case, triggers of actions in response to power (Raven & Kruglanski, 1970). One of the most important distinctions between internal and external motivators for our discussion, is that an external motivator is applied through the choice of someone other than the person who changes, while an internal motivator is chosen by the person who is to change. An external motivation will potentially change the actions of the person, but not the inner attitudes. Conversely, an internal motivation will potentially change the actions of the person specifically because of a change in internal attitudes (Raven & Kruglanski, 1970). External Motivators Using this nomenclature, it is fairly easy to see that the power bases of reward and punishment come from outside the person, and are forced upon that person by someone else. That is, the way these power bases work is for one individual to use his or her power of punishment or reward to force another person to change his or her behavior because of the threat of the punishment or the promise of the reward. While these are the forms of power we often see misused, there is nothing necessarily wrong with using reward and punishment. It is the normal way we get small children to change their behavior to that which is desired. For example, we might use these power bases when, prior to church on a Sunday morning, we say to Johnny, “If you behave yourself at church you can have a cookie when we get home.” Or; “If you don’t behave yourself at church you will not get a cookie when we get home.” Of course, as a child matures, we hope to be able to use less and less of these external motivators. For one thing, every time we desire the change in behavior, the motivator has to be used again. Johnny won’t behave at church based upon the cookie given last week – a new application of the motivating factor (cookie) must occur. What this means is that the use of external motivators require constant reapplication. Moreover their use puts the parties in an adversarial position. There is a distinct chance that Johnny will not behave in church and try to 7
get the cookie anyway (this is particularly likely in the case of rewards that are given prior to the desired behavior). This forces the person who employs the external motivation (Johnny’s mom or dad) to monitor the behaviors in order to see if the desired change has occurred, which can become extremely time consuming. However, the worst problem with the use of external power forms is that, while the external behavior may change, nothing changes inside Johnny. Internal Motivators If the power bases of reward and punishment are external motivators, the power bases of knowledge and identification are purely internal motivators. That is, the person chooses to modify his or her own behavior because of the new knowledge made available, or because he or she desires to follow and be like the chosen leader. The important issue here is that the choice is made freely. For this reason, the motivator doesn’t have to be reapplied every time the change in behavior is required. If Johnny reaches a state of maturity where our arguments (knowledge) have convinced him that it is appropriate to behave in church, that behavior will have some continuity (barring lapses of memory). Likewise, if Johnny accepts Christ as his savior, and comes to believe that misbehaving in church would not be honoring to his Lord, the behavior will also continue into the future. If nothing else, the use of the knowledge and identification power bases in this situation should drastically lower the lifetime cookie bill. Moreover, their use will keep us from having to monitor Johnny’s behavior constantly. Johnny’s behavior changes because something inside Johnny has changed. Assuming the new actions are godly, the use of knowledge and identification power has created a situation where Johnny is being conformed to the image of Christ. In fact, this is exactly how God works. The power of knowledge occurs in our lives when we study God’s Word, and the power of identification occurs when we seek to be in His image. Our belief in Christ and the knowledge of the scriptures unleash these powers in our lives. The Mixed Case In the case of position power, we potentially have mixed motivations at work. While a person might change behavior based upon the “appropriateness” of the authority (an internal motivator), he or she might also respond because of the external threat of punishment or promise of reward by the person in authority. Thus authority can go either way, largely based upon the actions of the person in authority and the internal belief systems of the person being influenced. Much more could be said about the power base of authority, but space does not permit me to do so here. Grace Versus Law The use of external and internal bases of power parallel the Biblical concepts of law and grace. In the Old Testament law the primary power bases used to motivate righteousness are the fear of punishment (e.g., Exodus 20:2-6; Leviticus 26:14-20) and the promise of reward (e.g., Deuteronomy 5:16; Psalms 81:13-16). Of course the use of these power bases is not total because, even in the Old Testament, God was looking forward to what he was going to do. Thus
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we find David in Psalm 40 saying “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” Nevertheless, a simple count of the words “punish” and “punishment” in the Old Testament versus the New Testament (in the NIV) shows them appearing in the Old Testament 148 times, to the New Testament’s 28.
The Role of Belief The role of belief makes the power base of identification the most powerful. This also includes belief in the character of the individual we identify with. Unless we believe that a person has the character traits we desire, we will not identify with them and will not grant them the power of identification (Galbraith, 1983). For full commitment of power, we must also believe that the person will not betray our trust. It is interesting to note that the New Testament words translated “belief,” “faith,” and “trust” all come from a common root (peitho) and, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, are translated more or less interchangeably depending upon the context. In that light, we should look more closely at the power of identification. The Power of Belief The power of identification is literally the power of belief, faith, and trust. Consider what happens when we choose to trust someone. According to Riker, “Trust is, in some sense, an alternative to power. One can coerce other people to bring about a result one desires or one can trust them to bring about a desired result without coercion” (Riker, 1974:63). A very important issue here is that the other person must then prove trustworthy, or our trust will have been misplaced. Trustworthiness What does it take for a person to be trustworthy? Essentially, two things are required: competence and character. We will discuss each of them in turn. The person we choose to trust must have the ability to do the thing we want done or there is no point in trusting them. For example, before we will trust the figuring of our taxes to our accountant, we want to know that he or she is competent to deal with our type of return. However, ability is usually much easier to determine than character. Many things we trust people for, such as friendliness, affection, etc., are within the ability of almost anyone. In other cases (such as doing our taxes) we can look at systems of verification. For example, does he or she have a degree in accounting? Is he or she a Certified Public Accountant? Since it is easier to determine the ability of the person than it is to determine the character of the person, the character issue is usually the most important in a decision to trust. Many people may have the competence we need, but we will only choose to trust those who we believe will not let us down. In other words, the other person’s heart must incline towards us – they must desire to do for us the thing we are trusting them for.
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Often we try to overcome the character issue by offering to pay the person for what we want done, hoping his or her self-interest will cause them to work well. When pay is involved, the trust necessary is minimized, and the situation becomes a standard economic exchange. Even here, however, an element of trust is necessary. How many of us have thought, “I wish I could find a trustworthy auto mechanic, or electrician, or appliance repair person. The real question of trust is whether the power of identification with the other person is strong enough to allow us to take the risk inherent in the act of trust. The greater the risk (the greater the thing we are trusting for) the greater identification power will need to be for us to choose to trust. Again we must ask, is the power of identification strong enough? It largely depends upon the level of belief in the other person. If the belief is strong enough identification is virtually limitless (Galbraith, 1983). To those of us who are Christians the evidence is as strong as it can be, in that faith/belief/trust is the mechanism God chose to enable our salvation. In fact, only faith/belief/trust would do, since only God has the ability or the character necessary to save us, and to allow us to live a righteous life. This is why churches should teach about the nature of God. The more we know about God, the more we will tend to trust Him, and the more we trust Him, the more His power will be evident in our lives and our schools. Power Through Belief The Bible clearly teaches that power comes through faith/belief/trust. For example, Romans 1:16 says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” It is clear here that the power of God for salvation is unleashed through belief in the gospel. Likewise, 2 Thessalonians 1:11 says, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” Here, Paul says God’s power to live a holy life is released through our faith. We find the same relationship in many other passages, including 1 Peter 1:35, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, and Colossians 2:8-12. If God’s power to live a holy life comes through our faith/belief/trust, and we know that all power comes from God (e.g., Colossians 1:16; Romans 13:1), what makes us think that the power or authority God delegates to us should be used in any different way? In other words, if God wants us to utilize faith/belief/trust as the key to make His power manifest in our lives, we should desire our students and organizational subordinates (anyone we have power in relation to) to attach our power in the same way. In order to do that, we have to prove trustworthy as God proves trustworthy to us, and we must create a relationship with our followers or subordinates which provides them with enough faith/belief/trust in us to use that as a primary power source. If we believe our power comes solely from God, the best option is to get the student or subordinate to gain power directly from the source. Let us be more blunt. If the highest form of power is faith/belief/trust, why do we tend to rely so heavily upon the use of externally motivated coercive power in Christian organizations particularly when God thinks so highly of the internal motivation unleashed through trust that He relies upon it for our salvation? Likewise, why do we find so many Christians in positions of
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organizational power who only think of power in terms promised rewards and threatened punishments? If Christians properly understood power, would we not find a dramatic difference between the structuring of Christian organizations (churches, mission organizations, and Christian universities) and non-Christian ones. Would we not find a dramatic difference in the management styles between Christians and non-Christians. The fact that we don’t see these dramatic differences points to the failure of us all in this regard.
Conclusion The premise of this discussion was that Christian leaders need an understanding of power. If we as educators do not understand the Bible’s teachings on power, we are leaving our students to find their definitions and practices in the world. They will either adopt the machiavellian uses of power they see going on around them (“Every one is doing it”), or they will flee from all semblances of power, thinking it is purely a tool of the devil. In either case, true Christian leadership will cease to exist. References French, J. R. P., Jr. 1956. A formal theory of social power. Psychological Review, 63: 181-194. French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. H. 1959. The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in Social Power : 150-167. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Galbraith, J. K. 1983. The Anatomy of Power. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. The Holy Bible: New International Version. 1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Bible Publishers. The Holy Bible: PC Study Bible. 1994. Biblesoft. Mintzberg, H. 1983. Power In and Around Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Raven, B. H. 1965. Social influence and power. In I. D. Steiner & M. Fishbein (Eds.), Current Studies in Social Psychology : 371-382. New York, NY: Holt Publishing. Raven, B. H., & Kruglanski, A. W. 1970. Conflict and power. In P. Swingle (Ed.), The Structure of Conflict : 69-109. New York, NY: Academic Press. Riker, W. H. 1974. The nature of trust. In J. T. Tedeschi (Ed.), Perspectives on Social Power : 63-81. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Co. Russell, B. 1938. Power: A New Social Analysis. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. Strong. 1989. Strong's Electronic Concordance (KJV). Tristar Publishing. Weber, M. 1947. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Oxford University Press.
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