Servant Leadership

Vern Heidebrecht

In his book The Second Coming of the Church, George Barna draws a parallel between the crowd in Matthew 9:36, who were "harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd", and today's church, which is "paralyzed by the absence of godly leadership". The problem, he suggests, is that most pastors are primarily preachers and teachers, at a time when the increasing need is for leaders who will cast vision, develop plans, think strategically, mobilize people and resolve conflicts.

Yet the church does not need just any kind of leaders. The need is for "servant leaders". The difference between servant leaders and leader servants is profound. A servant leader is a servant first and then a leader. His primary goal is to see that others' needs are being met. The test of an effective servant leader is the impact he has on others. Are they growing as persons? Are they becoming healthier, wiser, freer, more likely themselves to become servants? Are the least privileged in society benefitting from the ministry of the servant leader?

We would all agree that Jesus is the ultimate model of a servant leader. This is well demonstrated in Mark 10:35-45, where two of His followers, James and John, came and asked Jesus to give them leadership positions, to let them sit at his right and left hand in glory.

1. Leadership involves suffering. Jesus replied to James and John that leadership in God's Kingdom means drinking from Jesus' cup and being baptized with Jesus' baptism (verse 38), referring to Jesus' suffering and death. James was later martyred and John exiled.

2. Leadership is a sovereign call from God. The 10 other disciples were indignant at James's and John's request, but only because they had not thought of it first. Jesus responded that the positions on His right and left hand "belong to those for whom they are prepared" (verse 40). We have no right to claim them for our own. Leadership in the church comes from the call of God.

3. Leadership in its essence is servanthood. Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" (verses 42-44).

4. Leadership is ultimately modelled by Jesus. Jesus reminded His followers, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (verse 45).

Servant leadership has three characteristics: identity (the servant leader knows who he is--a follower of Jesus); vision (he sees as God sees and thus is able to lead his people in following God); and community (he leads his church community to be a visionary community following God). Servant leadership is thus empowering people with vision, authority and resources to get the job done. Canadian evangelist Leighton Ford said, "Servant leaders are those who are able to divest themselves of their power and invest it in their followers in such a way that others are empowered, while the leaders end with the greatest power of all, the power of seeing themselves reproduced in others."

John 13:1-15 reveals seven more practical principles of servant leadership, again as modelled by Jesus.

1. Servant leadership reveals the full extent of your love. On the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus showed His followers "the full extent of His love" (verse 1). What level of love is evident in our serving of people?

2. Servant leadership reaches out without discrimination. The devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus (verse 2), yet Jesus washed his feet along with the feet of the other disciples. Do we serve people equally, or only those we like or feel deserve it?

3. Servant leadership is motivated by our relationship with God. Jesus knew "that the Father had put all things under His power and that He had come from God and was returning to God" (verse 3). It is only as we are secure in our identity as children of God that we can serve people as Jesus did.

4. Servant leadership reveals a caring person. Jesus washed His followers' feet (verses 4-6), a task performed by household slaves. John Maxwell puts it well: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

5. Servant leadership requires that we let Jesus serve us. When Peter raised objections, Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part of Me" (verses 8-12). Unless we receive what God has for us, we cannot serve others. We need Him to cleanse us, redesign us, rebuke us and nurture us so that we are able to do to others what He has done for us.

6. Servant leadership does not require you to lose your position or status. Jesus said, "You call Me `Teacher' and `Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am" (verse 13). When you as a dad serve your child, you remain dad. The same is true for a mother, a pastor or a prime minister.

7. Servant leadership reveals the person of Christ. Jesus stated, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (verses 14-15).

Vern Heidebrecht is senior pastor of Northview Community Church in Abbotsford, B.C. This article is excerpted and adapted from material taught in a course at MB Biblical Seminary's B.C. Centre.

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