One of the major themes about Christ in the book of Isaiah is that he cares a lot about justice. For example, Isaiah says that “he will bring forth justice to the nations” (42:1), that “he will faithfully bring forth justice” (42:3) and that “he will not grow faint or be discouraged until he has established justice in the earth” (42:4).

In his book Good News About Injustice, Gary Haugen points out that justice is “the right use of power.” To use power rightly means to skillfully exercise it in the service of others–especially those who are in need or in a situation where they are unable to help themselves. That’s why the Bible lays substantial emphasis on caring for the orphan and the widow: “Seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17).

One implication of this that is rightly getting a lot of attention in the church today is that we should spend ourselves radically in the fight against global poverty, human trafficking, and other injustices. A concern for justice means a concern for addressing large global problems.

A concern for justice also implies a concern for something else that is sometimes overlooked–namely, leadership. For if justice is “the right use of power,” then good leadership is a form of justice. And, conversely, bad leadership–even if unintentionally so–is a subtle form of injustice.

Hence, as followers of Christ, our desire to care about the same things Jesus cares about should lead us to care about not only about fighting against injustices such as poverty and hunger, but also about advancing good leadership. A concern for justice should lead to a concern for leadership, which is a form of justice.

That’s why I think it is so important that the Global Leadership Summit is truly global. Solid teaching on leadership needs to advance globally not simply because it is interesting (which it is!), but because it serves people. It is needed. As good teaching on leadership spreads and is applied, churches, organizations, and society generally all become more just. This is a critical and important thing.

And, even more than that, the spread of good leadership in the church–and in society generally–is the work of Jesus himself. For when we advance the cause of good leadership in Christ’s name, we are participating in Christ’s own mission to “faithfully bring forth justice” (Isaiah 42:3)–something which, obviously, he will do fully when he returns, but which he is also progressively doing even now, through the work of his people.

Which leads to one last thing: This is the case not only when good leadership teaching spreads globally through avenues such as the Summit, but also when we are good leaders ourselves. Being good leaders ourselves is a direct application of Christ’s concern for justice that we can make to our own situations, right where we are at.

Doing something about global hunger and leadership development can sometimes feel complex. We sometimes have to go out of our way to address it–as we should. But being a good leader is a form of justice we can pursue right where we are at, without having to even go out of our way, because it has to do with how we go about our work every day.

If we are in a formal leadership, this means continually seeking to learn more about leadership, applying what we know, and exercising our influence for the good of our organizations, its employees, and the people it serves. And if we are not in a position of formal leadership, we can still lead through being a positive influence in the role we do have (“you don’t need a title to be a leader!”) and supporting the practices of good leadership. We can all lead right where we are at, wherever that is.

When we do that, we are not simply being good leaders, but we are serving people and treating them justly. And that is something God very much approves of.

Have you ever considered the relationship between justice and leadership?

By: Matt Perman (@MattPerman)
Read more from Matt at WhatsBestNext.com
Matt is also working on a book to be released in April called What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Changes the Way You Get Things Done.