A Primer on Effective & Enduring Leadership™ 5.2
To understand Effective & Enduring Leadership, we need to first understand its foundation, Servant Leadership.
“Servant leadership is a concrete expression of a daily commitment to live out the Word of God and the will of God and thereby advance the kingdom of God.”1
HOW DO WE BECOME GREAT?
Jesus addressed this in Luke 22:26-27, “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” In these verses, Jesus is saying that man sees the one sitting at the table as great, however He, as the Great Leader, was among us as a servant and we should treat others as if we were their servant.
The book Lead Like Jesus1 says, “Jesus is clear about how He wants us to lead: He asks us to make a difference in our world by being effective servant leaders.” In the book of Judges we find these verses from the Song of Deborah in chapter 5, “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves – praise the Lord! … My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people, Praise the Lord!” It is obvious that God expects His people to do their part and be active in His church, to serve others and to be leaders. This is what greatness is in the eyes of God.
Jesus expresses His conviction about greatness in Matthew 20:26-28; “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” Here is the message that most of mankind misses. Jesus did not come here as a ruler to be served by us, He came so that He could serve us as an example of servant leadership for us to emulate with all our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. If we are to become great in God's eyes and amongst other people, we are to be servants first! Our attitudes must be focused on serving and not being served. “Leadership is first a spiritual matter of the heart. Whenever you have an opportunity or responsibility to influence the thinking and the behavior of others, the first choice you are called to make is whether to be motivated by self-interest or by the benefit of those you are leading. He (Jesus) modeled leadership as first and foremost an act of service.”1 We become great by serving God by serving others.
(this chapter is continued in the book, please get a copy)
“Servant leadership is a concrete expression of a daily commitment to live out the Word of God and the will of God and thereby advance the kingdom of God.”1
HOW DO WE BECOME GREAT?
Jesus addressed this in Luke 22:26-27, “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” In these verses, Jesus is saying that man sees the one sitting at the table as great, however He, as the Great Leader, was among us as a servant and we should treat others as if we were their servant.
The book Lead Like Jesus1 says, “Jesus is clear about how He wants us to lead: He asks us to make a difference in our world by being effective servant leaders.” In the book of Judges we find these verses from the Song of Deborah in chapter 5, “When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves – praise the Lord! … My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people, Praise the Lord!” It is obvious that God expects His people to do their part and be active in His church, to serve others and to be leaders. This is what greatness is in the eyes of God.
Jesus expresses His conviction about greatness in Matthew 20:26-28; “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” Here is the message that most of mankind misses. Jesus did not come here as a ruler to be served by us, He came so that He could serve us as an example of servant leadership for us to emulate with all our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. If we are to become great in God's eyes and amongst other people, we are to be servants first! Our attitudes must be focused on serving and not being served. “Leadership is first a spiritual matter of the heart. Whenever you have an opportunity or responsibility to influence the thinking and the behavior of others, the first choice you are called to make is whether to be motivated by self-interest or by the benefit of those you are leading. He (Jesus) modeled leadership as first and foremost an act of service.”1 We become great by serving God by serving others.
(this chapter is continued in the book, please get a copy)