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The Leader as Servant.qxd
"But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes
to become great among you must be your ser-
vant, and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life
a ransom for many."
Mark 10:43-45
I m a g e s o f
L E A D E R S H I P
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 0 3
L E A D I N G E D G E®
PART 1: THE LEADER LEADS BY SERVING
2
MARK 1:40-44
A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If
you choose, you can make me clean." 41Moved with pity, Jesus stretched
out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made
clean!" 42Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43After
Jesus leads by
sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44saying to him, "See that
serving.
you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for
your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
What do you notice about Jesus as a servant in this passage?
What are the characteristics of a servant?
MARK 10:42-45
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and
John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the
Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and
their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but
whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and
whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son
of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for
many."
What does Jesus contrast here?
Why does the comparison come up?
How does Jesus want people to lead?
What is the motivation?
PART 2: THE LEADER SERVES BY LEADING
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JOHN 13:1-17
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour
had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his
own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had
already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.
Trace who
And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into
knows what
and who
his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up
doesn't know.
from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.
5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet
and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to
Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you
will understand." 8 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus
answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." 9 Simon Peter
said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
10 Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except
for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you."
11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of
you are clean." 12After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and
had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done
to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord-and you are right, for that is what
I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought
to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also
should do as I have done to you. 16Very truly, I tell you, servants are not
greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent
them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
How is Jesus a servant in this passage?
How is Jesus a leader?
A LEADER LEADS BY SERVING
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CHARACTERISTICS OF A
SERVANT : MARK 1
: THE ABILITY TO SEE...
Getting beyond
beyond our own needs
"I'd serve--
just ask me!"
beyond others' obvious needs
beyond the "presenting problem"
beyond what is to what will be needed
: THE DESIRE TO ACT...
A heart of
A reflex to be
A choice to make it
: THE RESOURCES TO GIVE...
Time, availability
Money, things
Skills, education, training
Healing, God's power
Insight, wisdom
Love, care, compassion
WITH... ...BUT WITHOUT... YOU' D...
SAY: "I'm willing to serve -- just ask me anytime!"
THINK: "If I don't serve often its only because people don't ask
Willingness and ability
Sensitivity
me to."
DO: Just what people ask, and no more. Finish tasks without
seeing other opportunities to serve.
SAY: "I'd love to do it but right now is not a good time..."
THINK: "My circumstances will change soon and I will be able
Sensitivity and ability
Willingness
to be more involved."
DO: Justify your choices, prioritize your own schedule, always
postpone servanthood.
SAY: "I wish I could do more than I am able."
Sensitivity and
THINK
Ability
: "How can I bring more resources to this need than I
willingness
have at present?"
DO : sincerely look for others to join you or to help meet the need.
A LEADER LEADS BY SERVING
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SERVING BY SEEING
Your ability to
serve is limited
by your ability
a leader sees more deeply than followers and helps them to see
to see.
Seeing causes behind symptoms: approval orientation, fear of conflict, need to be needed.
Seeing behind false beliefs: about God, others, parents or oneself; about relationships and
forgiveness
Seeing deceptions behind feelings: bitterness, anxiety, fear, depression
Seeing more deeply into seemingly intractable or ambiguous situations
a leader sees further down the road than followers and acts on it.
Seeing of decisions: relational choices, mixed-up priorities, unintended consequences
Seeing opportunities for growth: conferences, leadership, risk-taking
Seeing potential and ability: gifts and temperament, experiences and passion
HOW TO DEVELOP INSIGHT AND FORESIGHT: KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN. YOUR
ABILITY TO SERVE IS LIMITED BY WHAT YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE .
Pray and ask God for wisdom, insight. Pray by name for the people you lead.
Watch other leaders and ask them why they made the choices they did.
Reflect on what has worked and what hasn't.
SERVING BY SPEAKING
WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT WE SEE.
Calling out gifts, identifying potential:
Calling forward risk taking, urging faith and growth:
Calling for commitment:
Calling for repentance:
A LEADER SERVES BY LEADING
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MARK 10: WHY BE A SERVANT? THE
OF GOD:
Other's needs are met
We are blessed
we
WHEN
Servanthood:
God is glorified
with his
the economy
of God.
IMPLICATIONS:
1. Leadership isn't hierarchical: the greatest is the greatest servant.
2. Leadership isn't appointed, it is affirmed. Anyone can be a leader.
3. The decision about leadership isn't essentially a decision about taking on a role,
with a certain job description and time commitments. It is a decision to take on a
lifestyle, with certain priorities, convictions, and attitudes.
THE BASIS OF OUR
LEADERSHIP: TRUST
A N D A U T H O R I T Y
Trust: gained through
followers.
When a leader becomes a means to the follower's
Broken through
followers:
When a leader views followers as a means to the leader's ends.
Authority: 1) The right and power to command, enforce law, exact
obedience, determine or judge. 2) Power to influence or persuade
resulting from knowledge or experience. [American Heritage
Dictionary, 2000.]
WHICH TYPE DID JESUS HAVE?
Authority: using trust to influence followers.
Sources of authority:
Experience:
Scripture:
Character: the extent our lives reflect Scripture and how we teach it.
A LEADER SERVES BY LEADING
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TWO TYPES OF LEADERSHIP ABUSE
EXERCISING AUTHORITY WITHOUT BUILDING TRUST BUILDING TRUST WITHOUT EXERCISING AUTHORITY
True servant
leadership
authoritarian, abusive
cozy, friendly cliques
leads people
to
Jesus.
Vision without
Affirmation without
The leader cares more about being right
The leader cares more about being
than being followed.
than being followed.
The leader
to influ-
The leader fears exerting
ence on the basis of his/her position.
influence because people may not like it.
The leader is conflict-prone but
The leader is
unlikely to seek forgiveness or acknowledge mis-
and unlikely to address sin or harmful behaviors
takes/sin in self
in others.
The leader leads people to his/ her ideas
The leader leads people to
not to Jesus.
not to Jesus.
Servant Leadership is a...
: How we build trust: a
: What we are calling people to: an
...participation in the economy of God!
A LEADER SERVES BY LEADING
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"Have this
mind in you
WHAT WOULD KEEP US FROM DOING THIS?
that was also
in Christ
Jesus..."
Selfishness: We need
1. We don't care enough about people and their decisions.
2. We don't spend time praying for them or thinking about them
enough to have foresight.
3. We haven't served them enough to build trust with them.
4. We haven't gotten to know them enough to have insight.
Fear: We need
1. We fear tension and conflict: soft love is easier than tough
love.
2. We don't believe that God's words and promises to us apply
to others and we fear that He may let them down.
3. We fear being wrong, or being thought to be wrong.
4. We fear our lives being examined as we call people to follow
Jesus; we may be found lacking.
Isolation: We need
Self-confidence: We need
A SELF INVENTORY
9
An invitation
This inventory is intended to help us think pratically about how Jesus' ser-
to honest self-
evaluation
vant leadership is relevant in our lives. Identify the strengths and weaknesses in
yourself. What steps can you take to grow?
SENSITIVITY: THE ABILITY TO SEE
Looking out for people who are struggling: Where are you likely to
see them? When are you likely to miss them?
Asking questions beyond the superficial "How are you?" Do people
respond as if you care? Do you?
WILLINGNESS: THE DESIRE TO ACT
Choosing to spend time with someone who needs to talk; Taking lunch
with a co-worker even when you are under stress at work.
Visiting people who are lonely or marginalized.
Putting effort and time into really listening to people: When/with whom are
you most impatient?
Intercession: how available are you to pray with/for others?
ABILITY: THE RESOURCES TO GIVE
Having money available in settings where everyone else is low on cash
Letting other people use your stuff (car, equipment, tools, books, etc.)
Using your skills to help other people: counselling, tutoring, web experi-
ence, technology, writing/editing, etc.
A CASE STUDY ON INSIGHT AND FORESIGHT
10
In general, servant leaders are more prone to abusing leadership by
not exercising authority. The following is a case study of the kinds of rela-
What do you
tionships you will likely have as servant leaders. How would you exercise
see? What
will you do
insight and foresight in this case?
with what you
see?
Jenny came alone to your small group, having picked up information
at church. She is quiet during the group meeting, but as she begins
to gather her things to leave you strike up a conversation, and she
stays for snack. She mentions that she has only recently begun to
visit the church and she's really just "checking things out." Although
she doesn't come to back to your small group, you see her occasion-
ally at church. You do what you can to be friendly without fawning
or pushing, though she usually rushes out pretty quickly after
church. Last week after church she asks you if there is a way to send
out an email announcement request for someone looking to share
an apartment. You give her the email address of the church adminis-
trator.
INSIGHT:
What can you see about Jenny's current situation? What more would you
try to find out?
How can you help her to see her own situation more clearly?
FORESIGHT :
Where do you see Jenny heading if things stay the way they are now?
Is there a better path you can foresee for Jenny?
What would she have to do to get on that better path? What could you do
to help her take those steps?
A NSWERS AND RESOURCES
11
"The idea of The Servant as Leader came out of reading Hermann Hesse's Journey
to the East. In this story we see a band of men on a mythical journey, probably also
Hesse's own journey. The central figure of the story is Leo who accompanies the
party as the servant who does their menial chores, but who also sustains them with
his spirit and his song. He is a person of extraordinary presence. All goes well until
Leo disappears. Then the group falls into disarray and the journey is abandoned.
They cannot make it without the servant Leo. The narrator, one of the party, after
some years of wandering finds Leo and is taken into the Order that had sponsored
the journey. There he discovers that Leo, whom he had known first as servant, was
in fact the titular head of the Order, its guiding spirit, a great and noble leader."
Robert K. Greenleaf, Servant Leadership (New York: Paulist Press, 1977), p7.
PAGE 4
PAGE 5
Sensitivity
insight, assumptions
Willingness
Foresight, opportunities
compassion
Sponsor, visionary, steward or manager,
generous
sentinel or prophet
a priority
Ability
PAGE 7 (BY ROWS)
systems
PAGE 6
love, challenge
economy
liked
serve in his name
feels entitled
resources
conflict avoidant
serving, ends
himself/herself
using
tool, means
Model, end
Love -- abundance
courage -- security
community -- intimacy
the Lord as our Shepherd
PAGE 10, THE CASE STUDY
What can you see...? Jenny seems busy and relationally unavailable. She
knows you as well as anyone at church, which isn't very much. She is prob-
ably in some transition with her rooming situation--this seems like an unex-
pected thing has come up. She is probably in turmoil about her housing.
What more would you like to find out? I'd ask her about her rooming
situation.
A NSWERS AND RESOURCES
12
How can you help her...? I'd invite her to a hang-out time with folks in the
small group, and ask her about her relationships with friends, roommates,
etc. I'd offer friendship or help point her to people who could.
Where do you see Jenny heading if things...? Not staying at the church long.
Alone and isolated.
Is there a better path you can foresee for Jenny? Getting more involved with
relationships in the church, especially in a small group. Reconciling with her
roommates.
What would she have to do to get on that better path? Take some initiative
or at least respond to initiative others might take with her.
What could you do to help her take those steps? Invite her, show real inter-
est. Connect her to other women her age.
FURTHER RESOURCES
Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power
and Greatness, Robert Greenleaf. New York: Paulist Press, 1977
Transforming Leadership: Jesus' Way of Creating Vision, Shaping
Values and Empowering Change, Leighton Ford. InterVarsity Press,
1991.
Scriptures taken from New Revised Standard Version of the Bible,
© U.S. Council of Churches. Used by permission.
L E A D I N G E D G E® ©InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 2003
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