An Examination of the Role of Spirituality in the Development of the Moral Component of Authentic Leadership Through a Sociorhetorical Analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

This study examined the role of spirituality in the moral development component of authentic leadership in comparison to leadership principles found in the Epistle to Titus. The study of moral development was drawn from the literature on authentic leadership theory, spiritual leadership theory, and preexisting frameworks of moral agency, self-concept, and the stages of moral development. The exegetical process followed the methodology of sociorhetorical analysis and was interpreted for the moral, ethical, and leadership principles found in the pericope. The study yielded five themes of leadership from which 10 principles of leadership were discovered as found in Paul's letter to Titus. It was found that the principles in Titus generally support the literature on the moral development component of authentic leadership theory. In the case when there were differences, it was found that principles of Titus expand and elevate the standards found in the literature. The study concluded that there is an intimate relationship between sacred and secular contexts such that the moral and ethical standards of the Christian community engage the moral standards of a given social and cultural context and reconfigures them in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The 10 core values of ethical behavior discovered in Titus were compared to the constructs of authentic leadership theory, spiritual leadership theory, and the core values of spirituality, and they were found to transcend each construct. The study created a framework for the future study of the core values of morality and ethics in multiple constructs: biblical, secular, and sacred.