Servant Leadership

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

Do you aspire to be a leader?
What is your leadership worldview?
Are you willing to pay the price of leadership?

Servant Leadership

The phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in “The Servant as Leader”, an essay he first published in 1970. In that essay, he said, “The servant-leader is servant first…It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions …The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

However, the concept of leadership did not originate with Robert K. Greenleaf. Two thousand years before “The Servant as Leader” was published, Jesus Christ taught this concept, and He also illustrated it by the way He lived His own life. In Mark 10:35-45, we read of two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, whose leadership aspirations made them request, through their mother, that Jesus make them His right and left hand lieutenants. Jesus used this occasion to teach all of His disciples some basic leadership principles.

The first lesson that Jesus taught them is that leadership is not full of perks, but responsibilities (Mark 10:38). His exact statement was, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” The next time someone within your organization asks for a promotion, give them the responsibility test. Are they seeking the promotion due to their desire for the perks of the promotion, or due to their understanding and willingness to take on the responsibilities of the position?

The next thing Jesus taught them was that leadership positions are assigned by God, not men (Mark 10:40). Now you understand why you are having a hard time with your current position, or perhaps with the manager whom you appointed to a particular position. Did God assign you that position, or did men? Did you appoint that person to that particular position, or was it the leading and will of God? 

Jesus went on to teach His disciples that the leaders that God raises up will not be like worldly leaders; His leaders must be servant leaders (Mark 10:42-45). He made sure that they recognized that the way the world approached leadership was not the way his followers should approach leadership. He stated that for His followers, “Whoever desires to become great shall be servants, and whoever desires to be first shall be slaves of all” (Mark 10:43-45). Jesus modelled this with His own life, from the beginning of His ministry until the very end.

Leadership is a calling that must be carefully considered and not taken lightly. Conversely, while a servant’s heart is always valued, capability in service does not guarantee capability in leadership. Every leader must be a servant first – but not all servants are leaders. I disagree with the notion that we all have the capacity for positional leadership. It is a calling, and one must carefully consider the cost before responding to that call. 

We are all servants, but only those who are called should accept leadership responsibility. Can we all become president of the United States? Can we all become presidents of companies? Can we all become managers and supervisors? Of course not, but in whatever position we find ourselves, we must serve with contentment, understanding that we could be attending God’s “school of leadership” as we do so. 

Jesus was not denouncing aspiration to lead – He was examining the motivation of the heart, and showing us how we could examine ourselves if we sense a call to leadership. Whether to start a business, become a department head, run for political office, or lead a civic organization, it is commendable to aspire to lead, provided that you understand that at the heart of your leadership aspirations there should be a desire to humbly serve others.

Servant leadership enables you to influence others and to lead them through your service to them. Servant leaders put their service and the people they are called to serve before their position. They see greatness as an outcome of service, rather than as a personal goal to aspire towards. They model the Master Servant, Jesus Christ, in their leadership and management.

My prayer for you today is that you will seek God’s will concerning your leadership, and aspire to become a Christlike servant leader at home and in the marketplace.