Servant Leadership 1

Servant Leadership

Lindsay and Smith (2007) quote Jim Laub’s definition of servant leadership as, “an

understanding and practice of leadership that place the good of those led over self-interest of the

leader” (p. 63). The servant leader, whether a religious or secular, defines himself or herself not

by the position or rank they have attained, but by the value ascribed to those with whom they

work with and for. The nature of a servant is to serve, as such; the servant leader must have the

ability to submit self-ambition to the greater good of empowering others while balancing the

requirements of those to whom they report.

The Christian leader, as compared to the secular, carries the added accountability of

answering to Biblical ethics and morality in all things pertaining to his or her leadership role.

The Christian servant leader not only chooses to, “place the good of those led over self-interest”

(Lindsay & Smith, 2007, p.63) but his or her standard of what is “good” is defined by Biblical

principle. Christian servant leadership, therefore, refuses to use humility as manipulation or

service as a string attached because it strives toward a higher goal and a loftier purpose. Christian

servant leadership puts the needs of God before the needs of all and strives to, “seek first his

kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33, New International Version) knowing that what is

good for God is good for everyone. Lindsay and Smith (2007) cite Daniel Goleman as saying

the, “singular job of the leader is to get results” (p.61). If this statement is true then the Christian

servant leader must measure his or her results by their ability to help others discover the benefit

of seeking the Kingdom first. Nouwen (1989) asserts the true servant leader models his or her

leadership on Jesus who gave His life and not the “power games of the world” (p. 63).

Nouwen (1989) describes the essence of Christian leadership as such, “The Christian

leader of the future is the one who truly knows the heart of God as it has become flesh, ‘a heart
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of flesh,’ in Jesus” (p. 38). The Christian becomes a servant leader by making his or her central

aim that of knowing Jesus. Knowing God’s heart is a matter of fundamentally choosing to

expose and the simple fact, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, New International Version). Lindsay and

Smith (2007) refer to five practices of servant leaders: “Challenging the Process, Inspiring

Shared Vision, Enabling Others to Act, Modeling the Way, and Encouraging the Heart” (p. 66).

The prerequisite for developing these practices is love! The chief motivation for developing the

heart of a servant leader is love! If we fail to know God, then we fail to love others and if we fail

to love others there is no motivation to serve. Those who aspire to servant leadership first know

God and that knowledge should motivate us to serve as He served.

It might be assumed that a Christian organization would automatically align itself with

the servant leadership model demonstrated by its founder: Jesus. The problem, nevertheless, is

we often emulate the model given us by our organizational predecessors. If servant leadership is

to become the norm for any organization (especially those espousing Christian goals) then

someone must become radical about practicing servant leadership. This does not necessarily

mean the radical must also be the Pastor or CEO. Often the change from authoritarian or

autocratic leadership begins with an individual or team who commits to one another and rallies

around the shared goal of mutual service and the well being of the organization. This process is

often arduous and skeptics line up to pick apart that which is good but if the spark of true service

ignites what a fire will be witnessed.

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References

Lindsay, L.M. & Smith, M.A. (2007). Leading change in your world. Marion, IN:

Triangle Publishing.

Nouwen, H.J.M. (1989). In the name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian leadership. New York,

NY: The Crossroads Publishing Company.