Healthy Churches: Servant Leadership

Leading is a great responsibility.

The posture we take when we are in a leadership role says a great deal about how we understand and work toward filling this responsibility. In his role as leader Jesus made it clear that he came to “serve and not to be served.”  His humility was profound yet never diminished his effectiveness.

The position we take is also highly significant in our role as a leader.  Jesus made it clear that we are to put others before ourselves, just as he did time and time again to the amazement of his followers, culminating in the ultimate act of sacrifice on the cross.

Servant leadership is about setting aside self and being willing to sacrifice for the sake of the mission. So here is a short but vital checklist for all who desire to live into servant leadership:

• Am I bringing a Christ-like humility to my role as leader?
• Will I put others ahead of my personal concerns?
• What place does the mission occupy in my heart?

It has been my privilege to work with some highly effective leaders in the church over the past 40 years.  As I reflect on this remarkable journey I am increasingly convinced that the leaders who had the greatest and most positive impact on me and the ministry they were involved in took servant leadership seriously. They lived into the spiritual disciplines on the checklist.

This may seem too simple in an era where we have abundant resources to help us become ever more skillful leaders.

I advocate the importance of learning and honing our skills to be more effective as leaders in the roles in which we serve.  But if I learned anything at all in this four decade journey of leadership in the church, it is that what matters most is the spiritual disciplines that too often are ignored.

So if you are serious about servant leadership – and I hope you are – then be sure to work on the list first.