Date
8-6-2025
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Jeffrey M. Davis
Keywords
Lead Like Jesus, Lead Like Jesus For Healthcare, Healthcare Leadership, Bible-based Leadership Training
Disciplines
Leadership Studies | Medicine and Health Sciences
Recommended Citation
Jones, James Michael, "Lead Like Jesus For Healthcare - Improving the Culture of Healing Through Biblical Leadership Training" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7290.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7290
Abstract
Lead Like Jesus is a 501(c)(3) ministry founded in 1999 that aims to reshape leadership through the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. The organization promotes leadership development that integrates servant leadership principles into a transformational leadership model, applying these ideas in secular settings where success is often linked to authority, control, and power. The principles behind the Lead Like Jesus movement are rooted in the Scriptural accounts of Jesus' life and teachings, emphasizing a leadership style characterized by humility, empathy, and genuine care for others. A review of offerings from professional associations, consulting firms, and other sources of leadership training revealed a lack of readily available, Scripturally sound leadership programs and resources to develop relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities in the specialized field of healthcare leadership. This Dissertation-in-Praxis project gathered, analyzed, and reported market research data while exploring the project’s core thesis: "There is an unmet need in healthcare leadership development for a training curriculum based on biblical principles and the example set by Jesus.” To obtain detailed market data on this thesis, the project was presented to the Lead Like Jesus organization who approved a Collaborating Team of their staff to help develop, validate, and implement a market research survey targeting potential program participants who met the project's definition of a “Healthcare Leader”, an inclusive definition that considered the significant impact of all levels of healthcare staff on their primary customers, the patients they serve. The research project findings supported the validity of the stated thesis.
