Martin Luther Ecclesial Leadership Essay
The Ecclesial Leadership of Martin Luther: An introduction to a great leader
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) was a catholic priest and a theology professor in the late 15th and early 16th century. He was also a central protagonist during the reformation movement in the 16 century, which fathered what is now known as the protestant reformation. Martin Luther has subsequently become one of the most recognized and influential leaders in the history of the Christian Church.
Leadership Defined: The ecclesial context of Luther’s leadership
Those who try to define leadership will find themselves at a disadvantage due to the limitations of language. To illustrate this disadvantage: we understand that a “ball” is a “spherical object that we play …show more content…
with.” But depending on the context, a ball can be understand as many different things. In football, we play with a ball but it is not spherical. The sun however, is a spherical ball, but we cannot play with it. We can describe a fun time as having a ball, even though we are not playing with a ball. We can also go to a ball, even though we may not be having a ball. We will rarely have difficulty in understanding the meaning that is being expressed in all these situation. The same cannot be said for leadership because the word will invoke different meanings for different people in different situations (Northouse, 2010). 150words
Describe the definition of Leadership in Northouse and Hickman, possibly touch on servant leadership in hickman as the overall “Nature” of Luther’s leadership.
Try to give examples that would support servant leadership or whatever leadership he expressed. 200words
Traits and Skills
Martin Luther exhibited many of the qualities of what Northouse describes as trait leadership. The premise of trait leadership is that certain traits are perceived as more crucial than others in order to lead effectively (Northouse, 2010). These traits are generally endowed within the leader and cannot be learned. “Some of these traits that are central to this this include intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability” (Northouse, 2010, p. 19). When comparing Martin Luther with these traits, it is easy to see how he naturally exhibited many of them. For example: outside his obvious professorship, Martin Luther was a very intelligent man. His Ninety-Five Theses objected to several traditional catholic practices, but they were intended as a scholarly dispute with a tone of inquisition. Also, Martin Luther possessed tremendous amounts of self-confidence. He challenged the most powerful religious institution in the history of mankind because he was so confident that he alone was correct and that they were the ones in error. He was eventually excommunicated but he still remained determined to stand for his conviction about catholic
dogma.
Martin Luther was effective with this method of leadership. His intelligence appealed too many while his sociability helped him begin his own church by 1526. His determination to hold biblical truths as higher then catholic traditions prompted him to translate the New Testament in the vernacular of the people by 1522. The bible was usually translated into Latin, so the vernacular translation allowed people to have the same access to these biblical truths.
Martin Luther also demonstrated many of the skills that Northouse associates with successful leaders.
Briefly define traits 150words Martin Luthers traits and how that contributed to his effectiveness (give examples) 200words
Briefly define skills 150words
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) was a catholic priest and a theology professor in the late 15th and early 16th century. He was also a central protagonist during the reformation movement in the 16 century, which fathered what is now known as the protestant reformation. Martin Luther has subsequently become one of the most recognized and influential leaders in the history of the Christian Church.
Leadership Defined: The ecclesial context of Luther’s leadership
Those who try to define leadership will find themselves at a disadvantage due to the limitations of language. To illustrate this disadvantage: we understand that a “ball” is a “spherical object that we play …show more content…
with.” But depending on the context, a ball can be understand as many different things. In football, we play with a ball but it is not spherical. The sun however, is a spherical ball, but we cannot play with it. We can describe a fun time as having a ball, even though we are not playing with a ball. We can also go to a ball, even though we may not be having a ball. We will rarely have difficulty in understanding the meaning that is being expressed in all these situation. The same cannot be said for leadership because the word will invoke different meanings for different people in different situations (Northouse, 2010). 150words
Describe the definition of Leadership in Northouse and Hickman, possibly touch on servant leadership in hickman as the overall “Nature” of Luther’s leadership.
Try to give examples that would support servant leadership or whatever leadership he expressed. 200words
Traits and Skills
Martin Luther exhibited many of the qualities of what Northouse describes as trait leadership. The premise of trait leadership is that certain traits are perceived as more crucial than others in order to lead effectively (Northouse, 2010). These traits are generally endowed within the leader and cannot be learned. “Some of these traits that are central to this this include intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability” (Northouse, 2010, p. 19). When comparing Martin Luther with these traits, it is easy to see how he naturally exhibited many of them. For example: outside his obvious professorship, Martin Luther was a very intelligent man. His Ninety-Five Theses objected to several traditional catholic practices, but they were intended as a scholarly dispute with a tone of inquisition. Also, Martin Luther possessed tremendous amounts of self-confidence. He challenged the most powerful religious institution in the history of mankind because he was so confident that he alone was correct and that they were the ones in error. He was eventually excommunicated but he still remained determined to stand for his conviction about catholic
dogma.
Martin Luther was effective with this method of leadership. His intelligence appealed too many while his sociability helped him begin his own church by 1526. His determination to hold biblical truths as higher then catholic traditions prompted him to translate the New Testament in the vernacular of the people by 1522. The bible was usually translated into Latin, so the vernacular translation allowed people to have the same access to these biblical truths.
Martin Luther also demonstrated many of the skills that Northouse associates with successful leaders.
Briefly define traits 150words Martin Luthers traits and how that contributed to his effectiveness (give examples) 200words
Briefly define skills 150words