LEADERS OR SERVANTS?
I. Introduction
When I first
wrote this, our neighbour of 18 years passed away recently. He was someone who
had taught himself to play violin. He went on to establish quite a reputation
among violin players in this country. Of course, he and his friends referred to
the instrument more often as a fiddle. At his funeral it was said that he was a
man who was content to play second fiddle.
That sentiment
is just the opposite of what was once said about violinists of whom the famous
conductor Leonard Bernstein once spoke. When he was asked what was the hardest
part of being an orchestra conductor he said, “Getting people to play second
fiddle”.
II. Leadership
We hear a lot
about leadership these days. It seems to be important in education and
business. Now it even seems to be important in the Church. You can open any Christian magazine and see
ad after ad about leadership seminars and schools that will turn out better
leaders. Somehow this makes me uncomfortable. I suspect if I convey that
discomfort to the people who are putting out these ads they will say something
like “You just need to get with the times. Leadership is where it’s at”. They
would tell you that you need to discern what your gifts are, and if they include
leadership, you need to develop that. Of course, they are there to help you do
that – and if I wanted to be cynical about that I could add, ‘for a fee’. Furthermore, if you follow those steps, they
would give you the impression that you will be so much better off as a person spiritually,
and so will be your Church. I am not sure I agree with entirely with these
sentiments. I believe Jesus’ teachings
told us otherwise.
So, why am I
concerned about leadership?
1. In the first place leadership is important because we
all have leaders.
Moreover, our congregation is again looking at changes in
leadership. Not only are we going to fill
our church positions again, we are also going to have to look at what we are
going to do in the very near future in terms of our Pastoral leadership.
2. Secondly, we all have a
responsibility to look at the people we nominate or elect to see whether they
have the qualities of leadership. Leadership is important because we
all choose leaders.
3. Thirdly, most of us do have a position of leadership in some area
in our lives.
READ Our Daily Bread (Radio Bible Class devotional) MARCH 27, 2000
So, leadership is important
because we may all be leaders.
Getting back to
my dis-ease with what I see as the current emphasis on leadership. In my
understanding of the Kingdom of God, the accent is on servanthood. Yet, we now
have a leadership commission in our conference. Can one be a servant and a
leader at the same time?
There is a time
for leaders and leadership. We as a
congregation need to look at what we have and want in leadership. I think the
old saying, ‘You get the government you deserve’ could just as soon be applied
to the Church to say, ‘You get the leadership you deserve’.
III. Definition
So, where do we as Christians turn for our
definition of leadership? The word
‘leadership’ doesn't even occur in The Bible. The word ‘lead’ occurs some 50
times, referring often to God’s leading of the Children of Israel. The word
leader occurs only three times: references to leaders of Israel and it’s
enemies. None of these references were to Jesus, or even his followers.
This might make
one think that the Bible doesn’t say much about leadership. We can probably
come up with a number of examples of persons in the Bible who were leaders. Was
Jesus one of them? What words did Jesus and his
followers talk about when they talked about their role? They used the word servant. Look at what Paul
wrote in Phil. chapter 2 vss. 7 to 8 when he was talking about Jesus:
“He made himself of no
reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and being made in the
likeness of man, humbling himself and becoming obedient to death, even the
death of the cross.”
In fact, Jesus
was even spoken of as a servant in the prophecies that foretold his
coming. Look at Isaiah chapter 42:1:
“Behold my servant, whom I
uphold, my elect, in whom my soul delights".
And what did
Jesus say to his followers in Matthew chapter 20 vs. 25:
“You know that the princes
of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise
authority upon them. But it shall not be
so among you: whoever will be great among you, that one shall be a minister;
and whoever will be chief among you, that one shall be your servant: even as
the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister".
In another
place, he told his disciples that he was “among
them as one who serves”: Luke 22 vs. 27.
He also said
that "He that is greatest among you
shall be your servant”: Matthew 23 vs. 11.
Is servanthood
something we can equate with leadership? I believe it is.
Leadership has been described as the process of: "enabling a group
to engage together in the process of developing, sharing and moving into
vision, and then living it out." Leaders
are individuals who fulfil six functions. When they do this there is movement.
We could say we TRAVEL:
Let’s review these six functions:
1.
Leaders are teachers.
They have something which they want to pass on
to their followers. This could be
knowledge. It could be skills. The
buzzword here today is 'equippers'. Leaders, including especially pastors, are
expected to be able to teach their followers so that they will be able to carry
out the tasks they are called to. We need to be equipped to make the vision
reality.
2.
Leaders develop relationships.
To teach and influence, you have to get to know
your followers. Leaders have to know
their followers. We have the image of the shepherd knowing his flock. Jesus
knows us; as the Good Shepherd, He calls us by our name, and we know His voice.
You can’t serve well if you don’t know your flock, your followers.
3.
Leaders exhibit attraction.
Leaders need followers. Particularly with the
Christian model for leadership, the servant model I believe Jesus portrayed, we
are looking for followers. Do we know
those we would like to get on board with us in pursuit of the fulfilment of
that vision? What are we doing to bring them on side? Are they attracted by
what they can see of our vision? By our character and enthusiasm for what we
are doing?
4.
Leaders have vision.
Leaders need to be persons with a vision, an idea, a goal, a plan.
You can’t lead if you don’t know where you’re going. Do we know our leaders’ vision? Do we have a vision we
wish others had? Is
the vision being developed and shared? Is it being lived out?
5.
Leaders are examples.
Servant leaders, as we all should be as followers
of our Leader, our Lord, are only seeking to influence others to catch the
vision Christ planted in his ministry on earth. This vision is not only for
this earth, but for eternity. So much leadership focus seems to be on structure,
building a church of a certain ideal here on earth. We look for a Kingdom where
lives are changed, whose origins and centre are heavenly, not earthly. This is
a Kingdom where there is no room for striving for power and authority, no room
for titles. We are looking for leaders who themselves are followers of Christ
and exemplify that in their lives.
6.
Leaders love.
Behind all of this, to get to first base to
begin with, and to be effective in the end, Christian leaders have to be known to their Leader and Lord. They
have to be individuals of faith in God who spend time with Him in the study of
His Word. They have to spend time in prayer. Leaders have to know and love their God. They also have to love their
followers.
So, did you get that mnemonic about leaders
who T-R-A-V-E-L? T for teachers, R for relationships, A for attraction, V for
vision, E for example, and L for love. Does Jesus show us all these criteria? Of
course he does.
IV. Characteristics of a Servant Leader
Servant
leadership is at the heart of Christian leadership. All Christians are called
to be servants, serving each other, following Jesus' example in washing his
disciples' feet, and loving our neighbours as ourselves. Servant leadership is
not a particular style of leadership, but rather relates to the motivation
behind a leader's thoughts, words and actions. I have grouped the
characteristics of Christian Leadership under six Cs.
1. Calling
Christian leaders
must be called. It is not
enough for themselves to have a
feeling or an opinion that they are called.
The people whom they believe
they are called to be a leader amongst must also accept that this potential
leader has been called. This calls for
the process of discernment.
2. Comprehension
Leaders must know
what leadership is. As George Barna put it in his book about
leadership, A
FishOut of Water: "Authentic leadership is not about position, power,
popularity, or perks; it is about
obedience and servanthood, resulting in
transformation". Leaders must understand that.
3. Character
READ ODB 2004/2/23 PAR. 1-3
Leaders must
possess character, the type of
that moves people to trust them to take them to places - spiritual, emotional,
relational, and intellectual - that they otherwise would not go… such character
demands intense and lifelong commitment". Without it, leaders are just
actors, leading people into the following them by “an illusion of
trustworthiness”.
4. Competency or Capability
Leaders must be competent,
capable. They must be able to "moves people
toward meaningful outcomes". This does
take skills, and these are things that can be learned if we’re not born with
them. A true leader will also understand his strengths and weaknesses and
gather others around him or her who will make up for these deficiencies.
READ ODB JULY 31,
1994 “Dwight D.
Eisenhower – for the younger of you who may not
remember that name; he was the president of the
United States before John F. Kennedy – used to demonstrate…
5. Compliant
Christian leaders
must be compliant. They must be
obedient to their ultimate leader, our Lord Jesus. Servant leaders are not
leaders on the basis of their position or leadership
role, but rather lead according to their calling, vision and
principles. What underpins servant leadership is the motivation behind our
actions as leaders. It is not personal desire. Servant leadership will require
us also to set aside personal gain, to make sacrifices, and to put the needs of
others above the direction we may prefer for ourselves. You've probably met
people who are highly career minded, people whose main motivation is to get
themselves in a position where they will gain some reward. This is the complete
opposite of servant leadership.
READ ODB June 17, 2002 Par. 1-4
So there we also have reference to an
Old Testament character, Nehemiah, who modeled leadership as Christ did.
6. Consequences
Leaders must accept the consequences of their actions. They must learn to take
responsibility for the results of their choices. They must be able to evaluate outcomes. They must also be able to handle resistance
and conflict that their attempts to move others and make changes will
undoubtedly bring about.
Whilst serving
others as the heart of leadership may not appear easy, it is perhaps in one
sense easier for a leader to be consistent with the vision and values that they
hold for themselves, rather than always
seeking to live
upto an image, to constantly seek opportunities to sell themselves, or to be
for ever trying to read the political signals sent out by others. This reminds
me of a statement of a politically active friend about our elected
representatives, whether to Ottawa or Winnipeg, maybe even to city hall. ‘From
the moment they are elected’, he said, ‘they are working on their re-election’.
That’s all about power and position, not service.
READ ODB JULY 19, 1993
VI. Conclusion
When we think
about people, particularly in our congregation, who appear to be in positions
of leadership: before we evaluate them we should ask ourselves: How close are
we to God? We all need to give him the glory and honor due his name, obey his
word, and worship him in spirit and truth. Leadership is not a vehicle for
seeking recognition. We are always to
point to our Lord. We need to make it our prayer that to lead people more
effectively, we and our leaders will have a real and deep faith in Christ. Let us learn from the models, the characters
that have gone before us. Let them guide
us in how we ought to develop the character necessary to be servants and/or
leaders. Let us learn to use skills that work. As a daily devotional for this
month put it: “The only leaders qualified to lead are those who have learned to
serve”. Let's not be ‘fish out of water’.
The best leaders are those who are good followers and servants of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Good leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way. Let's follow, let's be the leader who follows
and serves Christ. Only in that way can we serve as good leaders. Good leaders are good servants.
*******
Lorne Brandt,
2004/2/1
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