The Samaritan woman in John 4 as leader

Abstract

This article examines how the Samaritan woman exemplifiesleadership in the account in which the Samaritan woman has anencounter with Jesus (John 4:1-42). From this encounter one canglean qualities in the Samaritan woman that make her stand out as a leader. The paper applies Kouzes & Posner’s (1995) definition and model of leadership practices as a basis of analysis. Kouzes &Posner assert that leadership is not necessarily a position;leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations. The Samaritan woman in this encounter overcomes several drawbacks in order to be the model witness that she is to the townspeople of Sychar. These drawbacks include:gender, nationality, cultural convention, her low moral ground and religious bias. This analysis of the Samaritan woman’s leadership practice in the John 4 account opens discussion and seeks to answer the question: “Was the Samaritan woman a leader?”