A Call to Servant LeadershipSample

Secured Leadership

It’s easy to assume leadership and servanthood are mutually exclusive. But if we’re to lead like Jesus, we’d best get comfortable with serving the way He did. A servant leader is a servant first before he’s a leader. Interestingly, in the first half of Mark’s gospel, Jesus is portrayed as a servant who ruled, and in the last part as a ruler who served.

We can never boast about our salvation because it’s a grace gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). That same grace called us into leadership ministry, so we can’t boast about that either. This contradicts the common perception that leadership is an earned promotion. Before Jesus began His public ministry, His Father blessed and acknowledged Jesus by saying, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ (Matthew 3:17) Jesus hadn’t yet preached or performed a single miracle, and yet God cherished and accepted Him completely. If you’re a parent, you’ll know that you love your children because they’re yours; you don’t only love them when they behave well. And yet perhaps you catch yourself feeling as if you need to perform to a certain standard as a leader to earn God’s approval or affection. Practise explaining to yourself that you’re a child of God by birth, not behaviour.

In Luke 10, we observe Martha finding validation in the work assigned to her, whereas Mary finds validation at Jesus’ feet. Understand that it’s relationship first, then responsibility. As a leader, your servanthood is a function, not a title, and never a demotion. Anything you do for God is a bonus privilege.

Jesus’ ministry was centred on others. He served and led by alleviating people’s suffering and caring for their wellbeing. In contrast, the ministry of many Christian leaders today is centred on themselves. For example, there was a time when Jesus fed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish. Today, Satan has inverted that model and we have churches in which 5,000 people are feeding one man: the preacher or leader. Sadly, church history is littered with evidence that things don’t end well for communities where the preacher is the pinnacle of the leadership hierarchy. Rather, a leader is someone who wields authority for the good of God’s people. In one hand, a leader carries the sword of the Spirit to fight God’s enemies and protect His people. In the other hand, a leader carries the towel of servanthood, ready to wash feet the way Jesus did.

Today, remind yourself of your identity: you’re a child of God. As such, no amount of service can reduce or increase your value to Him. You carry God’s grace and anointing, because there’s a spiritual war to be fought for the destiny of the people in your care. May your every act of servant leadership stem from a place of profound security in your Heavenly Father’s love and may your every motive for serving and leading be for the good of others.