Leading Words-The Leader As Servant

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:25-28

Welcome to the first in an ongoing series of essays discussing Christ-centered leadership, which I will refer to as Servant Leadership.  This concept was brought into leadership thinking in the 1970’s by the late Robert Greenleaf, but it was put into practice nearly 2,000 years ago by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the most powerful person to ever walk the earth, and He could have ruled with absolute power and authority, had every privilege, and accumulated unimaginable wealth.  Instead, He took a different path, that of the servant leader.  He ate with the scourges of society, like tax collectors (Matthew 9:10), had no home to call His own (Luke 9:58), refused to pass judgment where religious leaders were all too happy to (John 8:10-11), and willingly presented Himself as a servant and sacrificed His life to save mankind (Matthew 20:28 above).

Compare that to many of today’s “leaders.”  Today, many of society’s leaders are insulted if they are not automatically treated as the most important person in the room.  They take as much credit as they can, even for work or ideas that don’t belong to them.  They put their self-interest ahead of those who work for them or depend on them.  They accumulate wealth and power in part by taking it from others and diminishing them.  They think the primary purpose of being a leader is to have authority over others. They take more of the “leaders have servants” approach than one of servant leadership.  Sadly, some of them stand behind the pulpits of the most affluent and influential churches in the United States.

I believe this is only one example of how our society has drifted away from any legitimate claim of being a “Christian Nation.”  It angers me that many of the politicians that claim their policies would bring our country back to that are some of the clearest examples of leaders who lead to get and accumulate wealth and power, not help those less fortunate to build themselves up…like Jesus did.

Instead of grabbing a rock and flinging it at the adulterous woman, Jesus encouraged her and gave her the opportunity to change her life.  He was not threatened by people bettering themselves because that was, and still is, His purpose—to show us a better way.

True leadership is about influence, and the heart of servant leadership is about influencing others’ lives in a way that encourages positive change and growth.  A servant leader does not succeed by gathering power and diminishing others.  Instead, he empowers others and builds them up.  I have had some success doing this myself in leadership roles, and it is by far the most rewarding aspect of leading that I’ve ever enjoyed.

I’ve been involved in ministry with Brenda for several years now, but over the last three years I’ve had the opportunity to lead people in the marketplace.  The most important lesson I’ve learned and will be sharing in this space is that there are many ways to share the Gospel without preaching it chapter and verse from the Bible, which is often frowned upon in the workplace.

I’ve tried to become the type of servant leader that Jesus modeled for us.  I’ve had the bandwith to explain to people the scriptural basis and inspiration from the Holy Spirit behind decisions, policies, and methods of coaching I’ve employed.  Some people embrace it, others nod and move on, and yet others directly oppose it, but anyone who cares to know understands the basis of servant leadership that drives my four-word “leadership philosophy”—how can I help. 

I’ll write more about that next week.