If you have been around church long enough, you've heard about servant leadership. The originator was none other than Jesus Christ. He was the one that was a born leader and the way that He led was through serving. Jesus led twelve, very ordinary but very chosen men. He showed them what it was like to lead and to serve. One time, "Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark 9:35)
While many have talked about servant leadership and I've taught the concept myself, only recently have I started to few truly understand the real meaning. I have come to believe that the key to servant leadership can be summed up in just one word, "sacrifice".
Leadership is not about agendas, timelines, projects or meetings. Leadership is entirely about people.
Servant leadership therefore is all about serving people with the key being the willingness on the part of the leader to fully sacrifice himself or herself for the benefit of those that he or she is leading.
Our jobs may be nine to five but a servant leader is always available, always in tune and aware of the needs and the welfare of those that he or she is serving. Just as Jesus joyfully set aside His own deity, His divine rights and privileges in order to fulfill the mission, we too have a mission and need to set aside our own rights and privileges in order to serve others and lead them to where they must go.
As a result, there are few that can really be called servant-leaders. This is understandable as our passions, our priorities and our purposes vary. There are seasons of life when we are called in many different directions. During these times, we may put on our leadership "hat" and do a great job of leading and helping people achieve both their goals and the goals of the organization. However, the servant leader doesn't take the leadership hat off. Servant leaders are constantly leading because they are constantly serving. It's a good work!
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” Philippians 1:6"
While many have talked about servant leadership and I've taught the concept myself, only recently have I started to few truly understand the real meaning. I have come to believe that the key to servant leadership can be summed up in just one word, "sacrifice".
Leadership is not about agendas, timelines, projects or meetings. Leadership is entirely about people.
Servant leadership therefore is all about serving people with the key being the willingness on the part of the leader to fully sacrifice himself or herself for the benefit of those that he or she is leading.
Our jobs may be nine to five but a servant leader is always available, always in tune and aware of the needs and the welfare of those that he or she is serving. Just as Jesus joyfully set aside His own deity, His divine rights and privileges in order to fulfill the mission, we too have a mission and need to set aside our own rights and privileges in order to serve others and lead them to where they must go.
As a result, there are few that can really be called servant-leaders. This is understandable as our passions, our priorities and our purposes vary. There are seasons of life when we are called in many different directions. During these times, we may put on our leadership "hat" and do a great job of leading and helping people achieve both their goals and the goals of the organization. However, the servant leader doesn't take the leadership hat off. Servant leaders are constantly leading because they are constantly serving. It's a good work!
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” Philippians 1:6"
