Becoming a Servant Leader
Becoming a Servant Leader
Jason Bland | 2024
Abstract
Becoming a servant leader is a lifelong journey of faith, spiritual growth and maturity, the pursuit of biblical wisdom, and continual learning and development. In fact, becoming a servant leader takes heart! Deep inside each of us is a heart yearning to well up with the riches of God’s word, His wisdom, and His teaching, so that we can become the leaders He designed us to be.
As Christians, we are firm believers of the Bible as the perfect word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). As servant leaders, we depend upon God’s word as the firm foundation for the development of our character as leaders. Ultimately, this is accomplished by exploring biblical examples of servant leadership and by more fully understanding His expectations for our lives. Take for example the powerful words of the Apostle Paul when he wrote to the Ephesians. He penned the following exhortation: “…be imitators of God… walk in love…,” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Paul was encouraging the early church to model their entire lives after God, Jesus Christ. Not only were they, just as we are today, encouraged to follow His example, but they were also to focus on the importance of serving others and walking in love. This is the critical, foundational element to all things servant leadership. Without love there can be no true sense of selfless, others-focused leadership. Robert Greenleaf, the leadership scholar considered to be the father of servant leadership, is quoted the following way: “[servant leadership] begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.” Greenleaf goes on to write that servant leadership “…is a long-term, transformational approach to life and work—in essence, a way of being—that has the potential for creating positive change throughout our society.” This way of being is cemented by following Jesus Christ as the prime example of servant leadership.
When we live as disciples of Jesus Christ, when we follow the teachings of the Bible, when we consistently and persistently seek the Lord’s wisdom so that we can become more and more like Christ, we will become more like servant leaders. This happens by developing key characteristics like the importance of love and selfless leadership, as well as developing a true sense of humility, practicing prayer, seeking wisdom, building trust, exhibiting courage, contentment, patience, and honesty. In this way, we can positively impact the people we lead. Just think of Jesus’ ministry and the impact He had on the people He led because of His character—it was transformative because He was a servant leader.