Discernment-Oriented Leadership in the Johannine Situation—Abiding in the Truth versus Lesser Alternatives (Chapter in Rethinking the Ethics of John: Implicit Ethics in the Johannine Writings)

Abstract

Excerpt: Leadership within the Johannine situation has been approached from various angles, ranging from structures of leadership, to the location of Johannine Christianity with relation to other groups, to the identity/nonidentity of Johannine leaders. Common to these and other inquiries regarding leadership within the Johannine situation, however, is a focus on the character and operation of leadership that is proposed, both of which relate centrally to abiding in the truth. Further, the call to abide in the truth pits this value over lesser alternatives in ways apparent over the longitudinal span of the Johannine situation. It comes to a head in the later stages of the Johannine situation, but it does not begin there