Servant Leaders

Leadership is a term that is thrown around a lot these days. We have leaders that lead our countries, our cities, our businesses, organizations and even families. Typically, leaders use their power or position to set goals and push others toward accomplishing those goals.

But lately, many have taken notice of a totally different type of leader - the servant leader. The servant leader is servant first, and leader second. They have a natural feeling that they want to serve, and they want to serve first. They are pulled towards helping others. They are drawn to serving. They notice others, and notice their needs or situations. They put others before themselves - and before their own needs or desires. Their goals don’t involve gaining power or recognition. A servant leader is someone that others genuinely trust, and who have the interests of others in mind at all times - naturally. They care about others, and it shows in everything they do.

In Mark 9:35, Jesus told his disciples "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."

So, how do we become servant leaders?

I believe that three of the most important qualities are listening, empathy, and development of others.

LISTENING - You can’t serve people well if you don’t understand their needs. Giving your full attention, repeating back what you hear them saying to confirm that you’ve understood correctly, and giving feedback on what they’ve said (very different than advice) are all crucial to being a servant leader. To serve, you must first understand. To understand begins with listening.

EMPATHY - In order to serve well, we have to be intentional about understanding the perspective of others. Every day, we jump to conclusions about why people do or think what they do. A servant leader is intentional about doing the opposite, and having an open mind about another’s thoughts, intentions, or actions. They learn in order to understand - and understand correctly.

INTENTIONALITY - Bob Goff says “You can’t love someone you don’t know”. A servant leader is intentional about spending time and connecting with others. Little things like eye contact, a smile, a caring touch to the shoulder, saying thank you, asking - and CARING about how they are are hugely valuable to the receiver. Being intentional about explaining the “why” of a mission, rather than just the “what” or the tasks can help people to join the goals of a project, rather than just perform the tasks of a project.

At Mission, one of the phrases we use often as a staff is “Our WHY is MY WHY”. We want to be intentional about maintaining like-mindedness towards a common greater goal than just individual projects. Our mission is to “Help People Find & Follow Christ”. As a church full of developing servant leaders, we aim to listen well, understand well, and be intentional. Come along with us!