Christian leadership: Implications on the development of Pentecostalism in Nigeria

Abstract

Leadership in the church is the noble art of cooperatively planning and uniting to achieve the goals God has set for humankind in the life, teachings,  death, resurrection and the coming back of Jesus, the Christ. This indeed is Christian leadership. However, at the heart of the success of the efforts for the  development of Pentecostalism in Nigeria is effective Christian leadership. Leadership is not the private preserve of a few charismatic men or  women; rather it is a process ordinary people use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others. Leadership is so powerful and  important that it gives direction, pace and energy to people and empowers them. The main thrust of this paper is to examine the issue of Christian  leadership and its implications on the development of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. It argues that the major threat to the development of Pentecostalism in  Nigeria is traceable to poor Christian leadership manifesting in corruption and weak value base. This paper adopted a participant observation method for  its research. It concluded that, until good Christian leadership is guaranteed, the development of Pentecostalism in Nigeria will continue to  experience slow growth and development will continue to be a mirage.