Servant Leadership Part 1

Three Characteristics of a Servant Leader (Part 1)

  What does it mean to really be a leader?  Leadership has been defined and redefined in so many different ways that we may have lost it's essence.  However, I believe Robert Kuest, from Hope International University, really grasps the heart of leadership when he defines it as “the ability to grasp a vision, to influence others to own it, and empower them to accomplish it.” (Timms 1). This three tiered definition is a dynamic approach to being a true genuine leader. If this is what a true leader is I would argue that there are certain essential characteristics that identify a leader.  These essential characteristic are:  having a proper perspective, a high level of integrity, and a strong vision of what God has called him/her to.  Each of these characteristics have multiple layers and each layer will be explored to show why I am convinced that these are essential for a godly servant leader and the implications for the local church.

Proper Perspective

  Having a proper perspective is the most vital characteristic for the servant leader. This is not to say that integrity and a strong vision are less essential, but it is from a proper perspective that one can know how to live integrally and properly hear one’s call. From this biblical perspective the leader will be able to be a real and effective servant leader for Christ.

  When I say that leaders need to have a proper perspective I mean it in two distinct ways: a proper perspective of one's self and a proper perspective of others.  If one does not have a biblically based view of themselves and others they will most surely fail.  

  The apostle Paul describes two dynamics of a proper view of one’s self.  In Romans 12:1-2 Paul describes how the believer's life is to be dedicated to a sacred purpose of worship and that the Christian's life is transformed by the renewing of his mind. He continues in the next verse to tell how those who have renewed their mind should think of themselves. He says "I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3 NASB). The phrase "think more highly of himself" is translated from a single greek word (ὑπερφρονεῖν) which literally means "to have an unwarranted pride in oneself or in one’s accomplishments." (Louw 1:764). With our renewed mind we must remember that our gifts are not talents or abilities showing how great we are, but gifts that were graciously given by God to servants that are incapable of accomplishing His will without them. To take praise or honor for the gifts we have is unwarranted and this is what leads to a false self perception.

Paul doesn’t simply leave his readers with a negative command but also states a positive command saying "think so as to have sound judgment" (Romans 12:3b). He uses a phrase (φρονεῖν εἰς τὸ σωφρονεῖν), it literally means to think with a sober mind or to think as a sane person. This word is used when talking about the right mindedness of the demon possessed man after the legion was sent from him in Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35. This phrase, along with the previous phrase, have play on words literally saying "'not to be high-minded above what he ought to be minded, but so to be minded as to be sober-minded" (Jamieson: Romans 12:3). The repeated word here, “minded”, is the Greek word Pronein (φρονεῖν) meaning frame of mind or attitude as found in Philippians 2:5 when saying “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus." Paul is saying that we are to "examine [ourselves] as honestly and objectively as possible with a view to assessing the gift with which one has been endowed by God...[excluding an] exaggerated opinion of oneself..... [and] not to underestimate the abilities God has given us" (Cottrell: Romans 12:3) These 2 dynamics of self-perception is what I will be discussing below.

  The first dynamic is expressed in the attitude and heart of humility. Jesus Christ is our perfect example of leadership and in respect to humility He sits as the ultimate example.  He is so far transcendent from our experiences that all we can do is reach for, respect, and hope for a similar mindset even though we can never truly take hold of it. We can see the level of humility He portrayed but the depth by which He emptied Himself is far beyond anything we can completely empathize with. His humility can readily be seen through his interaction with people while on earth, his willingness to minister to and highly esteem women and children, his washing of his disciple’s feet, but Paul in Philippians chapter two brings to light the greatness and depth of this attribute of humility in Christ.

  In Philippians 2, Paul encourages the believers to be unified and to be one; he stresses that the way in which we come to this oneness and unity is through humility. In verse 3 he says "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;" This phrase "humility of mind" comes from a single Greek word (ταπεινοφροσύνη), which happens to be the same word used in the exhortation for unity in Ephesians 4 "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-2) here it is unified with gentleness, as in Colossians 3:12, to make up the foundational attitudes for unity in Christ. As leaders our foundational attitudes must be to have gentle and humble spirits with a desire to unify together with God’s people to accomplish His will.

  This word humility in Philippians 2 comes from a compound of (ταπεινός) meaning to not rise far from the ground and (φρήν) meaning the mind, so it is literally saying a humiliation or humbleness of one’s mind (Strong G5012). This seems to convey again how one must perceive himself, within his mind, as being lowly. This is not a natural thing for us as fallen creatures, so we must intentionally take on this attitude as is commanded for us to “put on a heart of humility” (Colossians 3:12) and to “clothe [ourselves] with humility” (1 Peter 5:5). In Philippians 2 this idea of humility is further qualified through a description to "treat one another as more important than yourself." (2:3b). So there is an inward change first, through our self-perception, in humility and then this must manifest itself in our treatment of others, which will be discussed in further detail later.

  Following this direct command to take on a humble mindset Paul then uses Christ as the ultimate example. He describes that Christ was in his fullness God, and he decided to “empty himself” and take on the “form of a bond-servant” and humble himself, (ταπεινόω), to the point of death, a criminals death, on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). Christ had stripped himself of the glory of God in order to come to this earth and die for our sins. Second Corinthians 8:9 words it as “He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” The poverty that Christ took on is exemplified in the form that he took, which Paul calls “a bond-servant” (Philippians 2:7). The Greek word here is doulos (δοῦλος) which is not a picture of a free person serving someone else but a slave with no free will of their own. The Greeks put great emphasis on freedom and by calling himself a slave he was attributing the lowest form of human life to himself. The Greeks barely saw slaves as human because “since only the citizen class were, strictly speaking, human, slaves were merely chattels” (Wood 1113). In a sense Paul is saying Jesus gave up the greatest form of life to take on the lowest form of life, he gave up his richness of glory for the poorness of a slave, and he did this so that we may have eternal life. So why does the leader not take hold of Paul’s advice to “have the same attitude” as Christ Jesus, for as Christian leaders there is no place for boastful pride of life because this attitude “is not from the father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:16)

  As servant leaders we must be ready and willing to intentionally strip off any glory and strip off any fame that may be given to us for what we have done and embrace the a form of a slave, a lowly bond-servant. Henri Nouwen showed this level of humility by stripping away all the fame that came from being a Harvard professor to working with mentally handicapped. In speaking of his transition from Harvard to the mentally handicap community he says that he could no longer impress anyone with his books and his experience but was “faced with [his]naked self ]…all dependent on how I was perceived at the moment” (Nouwen 3/1:05-13) This is a whole new dimension in servant leadership, this is slave leadership. Slave leadership should be the ultimate self-image of a true leader, which is the willingness to sacrifice our own comfort and joy for the benefit of others.

In this lowliness of mind we cannot, and should not forget the positive side of our self-perception that we have been uniquely called by Christ for a specific purpose and we need to be confident in what God has gifted us for. When Isaiah was being commissioned he first called out his wickedness, God purified him and after his purification Isaiah was willing to be sent, with no hesitation (Isaiah 6:5-8). When Jeremiah was called he declared his insecurity in his speech, which God declared that he would be there with him and give him the words to say (Jeremiah 1:6-8). When Moses was called he had a number of objections, but his first questions was “who am I” which God responded “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:11-12). Each of these men had their insecurities and each one had their perspectives changed through purification, and explanation that it was not based on their power, but on God’s power through them. As Christian leaders we must remind ourselves that it is not based on our greatness or power, but on the power of God through us and it is here that we should find our confidence to go forward with His call.

  We must recognize the gifts that God has given us and be willing to get past our own insecurities. Miller points out that meaning and failure never keep company in life and “neither do low self-esteem and pleasing God” (Miller 25). Seeing and accepting how God has uniquely gifted us will make us usable by God. Being humble and having a low self-esteem are miles apart from one another. We are called to be secure in our calling and we must be aware of our insecurities otherwise they may lead to an unbalanced, power based leadership philosophy (Nelson 3).
The balance of these two dynamics of self perception, the need to be lowly, and the need to recognize our gifts, is best understood in the attitude of meekness. Meekness is commended by Christ (Matthew 5:5) and is not a picture of someone who is weak but more clearly “power under control” (Miller 6), Miller continues on to emphasize that those who are meek “tremble before the possibility of becoming abusive with the power they know is theirs.” (6) Even though spiritual leaders have the power and authority to confront sinners, Paul tells them to restrain themselves in meekness or gentleness (Galatians 6:1). It is this meekness or gentleness that is grouped with humility in Ephesians 4:2 and Colossians 3:12 that must be present in the life of the leader.

  When we see ourselves in light of both our depravity and imago dei, we take on the attributes of humility and meekness, which allows us to lead from security rather than for security, and gives us the opportunity to have the greatest perspective on others. (Nelson 11) By leading with a secure perception of ourselves we can influence and empower others to accomplish God’s will. James Autry describes five ways of being: be authentic, vulnerable, accepting, present and useful (10). These ways of being are vital for being a real servant leader, but a leader cannot grasp these ways of being if he is stuck with an attitude of low self-esteem or of an over focus of himself. Max Lucado said it the clearest “How can I love others if my eyes are only on me? How can I point to God if I’m pointing at me and… how can someone see God if I keep fanning my own tail feathers?”(Lucado 11)

  The leaders of the churches today must remember that those they serve and those who they minister to are fellow saints in Christ’s mission. We must stop seeing such a large void between the clergy and the laity. There is often a problem in the church today where the clergy are seen as the priests, or literally called the priests in the Catholic Church, and the laity are those who come to experience the spiritual activities of the clergy. Peter says that we are all “a royal priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5) All believers are called to fulfill God’s mission on earth. Professor Timms pointed out that this priesthood reaches all believers, no matter the age, race, or gender (Nelson 15).
Peter gives a description of how the elders should treat the “flock” in 1 Peter 5:1-3. There are two truths that emerge that the leader must know and must apply to their perspective on others. First is that the leader is a “shepherd” to the people. They are not supposed to sit back and bark orders at those they are trying to lead, but go out ahead and guide them to where they are going. This is one of the key differences between a power based leaders and a servant based leader (Nelson 3). The servant leader is the first to get his hands dirty. This type of leader is contagious and one cannot help but follow a leader who is in front beginning to do the work. Miller said “The world is looking for a leader who has not only been there, but even as he leads, is going there.” (114)

  Peter further clarifies his point about being a shepherd by saying not to “lord it over” those who you are overseeing. (1 Peter 5:3) To often there is a false view that a leader is simply trying to get people to do what they want, rather than the leader being the one who serves those who they lead. The gifts of the Spirit are not given for the individual that receives them, but are given to bless others (Nelson 12). So it should be the same with the gift of leadership. We are called to lead others for their sake not for ours. The way this perspective is to be lived out is by not using people, but embracing them to help create and help refine the vision or purpose God has specifically called you to. We must be willing to be “present…having [our] whole self available at all times” (Autry 18) and when we are present we should be honestly desiring a dialogue of ideas.

  The second truth that emerges from this passage in 1 Peter 5 is the need to lead voluntarily and eagerly. If you lead with a passion and a true desire to do so, people cannot help but follow you. Someone told me years ago that “we should not try to love someone so we can share Christ with them, but really love them, and because we love them share Christ with them”. This attitude is “the way of being” Autry calls being real or authentic (10). This should be evident in servant leadership, we should love those we lead and truly want to work with, for and through them to accomplish God’s will. Even though there are different types of personalities, even the driest leader should be recognized as someone who is doing something he loves and serving people he loves.