Servant Leadership

When I was in Richmond Hill I got to know a fellow who was in our church, but also the Director of the local Magnolia Manor which provided care and ministry for Senior Adults.  Whenever he spoke of his style of leadership, he used the words "servant leadership."  As I watched him, I learned what it meant to lead and to be a servant in the process.  What I saw was a leader who was not tied to administrative stuff in the office which would have been easy enough to do, but someone who found no task to menial, no resident too bothersome, and no day without a purpose.    

Of course, the idea of servant leadership comes straight from the pages of the gospel.  No one needs a book written last week to understand it.  All anyone needs to do is to spend some time with Jesus in the pages of the Word.  While He always sought to live in obedience to the will of the Father in heaven, He also never shied away from offering whatever care was needed to someone in trouble or suffering.  In other words, for the servant leader, people are more important than the program, or taking care of personal ego.     

Giving consideration to what it means to model servant leadership in our own situation would be time well spent.  To embrace such a way of being present in the world would certainly put us more in step with the will, the intent, and the purpose of Jesus.  It is Jesus who the Holy Spirit seeks to make known in our lives.  The more we choose to live in submission to the Spirit, the more likely it is that we will walk naturally and spontaneously as one who offers leadership and serves at the same time.