The virtue of charity: A foundation for leadership
Paul's description of Charity, or Agape Love, in 1 Corinthians 13 provides 15 ontological dimensions for leaders to develop. This paper presents the concept of Charity and describes each of the seven statements of what Charity is and the eight statements of what Charity is not and provides connections to the literature on the more humane styles and concepts of leadership. The 15 ontological dimensions of Charity could be used to select and evaluate leaders as well as concepts for developing leaders. Future research may be needed to develop measurement scales for each of the 15 dimensions and to develop case studies of leaders who exemplify each of the dimensions so that we might understand the concept of Charity/Agape in Leadership.
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Dr. Bruce Winston serves as both dean and associate professor of leadership at Regent University's School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dr. Winston teaches, trains and consults in the areas of leadership and organizational development as well as university administration and strategic foresight. In addition, he has 19 years of experience leading organizations in the commercial printing industry and 18 years of experience leading academic units at Regent University. Dr. Winston has lectured and consulted in the United States as well as Canada, Europe, and South Africa. He also speaks and teaches in other areas including communication, quality improvement, and marketing.
