Christian Leadership: Cultivating Humility and Brokenness of Christ in a Shame-honour Culture

Christian leadership within the shame and honour cultures faces different challenges, including the pressures and expectations of groups, social circles and the society at large. It is in this context that many Christian leaders often fall short of embracing the humility, brokenness and self-sacrificing life of Christ. The honour-shame cultures in the African context place a leader at the centre of proving their worth, being seen as strong and exhibiting power in order to receive praise over Christ’s humility and Christian values. With the contextual understanding of South Sudan and beyond, this article focuses on the issues that continue to place Christian leaders at the crossroads in the shame and honour cultures, mostly against the true power of the Gospel. The article provides an argument that the cultural expectations of status, power and prestige, often driven by societal beliefs, conflict with the biblical model of leadership that is rooted in humility, brokenness, and servanthood. Drawing from the biblical examples and text, the study argues that the cruciform character of Christ, especially his humility, embrace of shame and vulnerability, offers a transformative paradigm for Christian leadership. This transformative paradigm calls for the embrace of true honour in Christ, the embrace of the power of the Gospel that is rooted in the humility of Christ, suffering and brokenness of a Christian servant, imitating Christ to gain the grace of God. Practical implications for Christian leaders in South Sudan and similar settings are discussed with emphasis on the work of sacrificial love, servanthood and not conforming to the tribal, social circles, or societal alliances over the cross, which is our symbol of suffering and grace in Christ Jesus. We must reshape our cultural expectations with the true Gospel and not relent to any social group's pressures but stand firm, following Jesus’ footsteps, bearing the true fruits of the Spirit to the very end.