Jesus as Agent of Change: Transformational and Authentic Leadership in John

Leadership is preemptive to the reality of human existence. Leading change is one of the most important, and still difficult, aspects of leadership. This paper utilizes a socio-rhetorical analysis of the twenty-first chapter in John’s gospel to explore the Johannine figure of Jesus as an agent of change and guidance. The data is extracted using the inner textual aspect of the model, which does not consider the translation of the words used in a context, rather the placement of the words to derive communication intent. The data is then compiled using two different, yet similar, models for change. First, is the Gestalt model for a cycle of experience. Second, is the still popular force field model postulated by Kurt Lewin in the 1950s, which defines behavior as a function perception experience. The textual data also supports that Christ’s function, as an agent of change, is representative of two emerging trends of leadership theory: transformational and authentic. Bass and Steidlmeier argue that truly transformational leaders are grounded by moral foundations, and that lasting change is representative of the moral development of the followers. The data presents practical implications that effective change agents, such as Jesus, also exist among the elusively high stages of moral development.

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