TL

Great questions Craig. And excellent answers Gengwall.

Ultimately I think leadership is about having somewhere to guide people toward. This can be positive because we are godly people, or negative when the leaders are wicked people. And unfortunately there are people who lead nowhere but to themselves. That is charisma with no meat.

As humans we are leaders to all the creatures of the earth. This type of leadership involves protection and direction. As Christians we are to take what we learn of God and share it with those who need to learn. We fill the Greek meaning of standing before and stepping before. We direct others toward God. That is the leadership that is Biblical.

I suspect the definitions get blurred when the strong help the weaker. It feels like leadership. I wouldn’t say that it actually is though. But strength should always be used to assist those who lack it. Then we have the worldly view that the stronger should rule over the weaker. Mix that in and men who are generally stronger than women think that men should always rule over the weaker women. But women know better and are not assisted by such. Yet women still can be assisted and desire to be assisted by the strengths of men. Perhaps, the problem is then not recognizing that women have qualities, insights, ways of doing and viewing life that men need assistance with from women. Strength and physical power are not really the most important aspects of life nor the important aspects of leadership.

We must go back to the qualities of leadership being directing, pointing, assisting people toward doing what is wisdom, righteous and godly. Anyone can be used of God to do that.