When I graduated from seminary I had no philosophy of leadership whatsoever. I had never read a book or taken a course on the subject. Nor had I given the qualities of effective leadership a second thought—save for the time I led a neighborhood “gang” of five boys. (Then my authority was based on having a bigger stick rather than practicing airtight management principles.)
Later on, when buzz words like “management by objectives” filled the administrative air, I dutifully spent the waning moments of each day jotting down my goals for the morrow in hopes of being better organized (more efficient). The habit became so deeply ingrained that I still discover myself spelling out my objectives for the next day—even when I am on vacation (to my wife’s and my amusement).
Eventually, however, watching others in leadership led me to the realization that the best leaders were those who won the support of others by persuading them to work together toward a common goal. In other words, the good leader did not bulldoze his or her followers against their will. Instead, he or she became a facilitator for a “team” where each member would work toward (and indeed would claim as their own) a singular objective.
I discovered the Bible had a great deal to say about this effective style of leadership. The apostle Paul, identifying himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, extolled the servant leadership of his Master as the relational example for all Christians to follow.
Thus (and counter to what some consultants might have you think) servant leadership is not a new discovery at all, but a “style” as old as mankind. It fits the biblical view of man being made in God’s image. And it respects the integrity of other people: we are not to use them for our own private advantage.
People are not expendable. Leaders, to borrow a phrase from Gary Collins, are to be people helpers.
I have experienced the privilege (and periodic pain) of leadership for well over half my life, and have learned that servant leadership—as ideal as it is—faces its own unique challenges. The most obvious stems from our own responsibility to make our lives count for the kingdom of God in ways that are obedient to him. As a committed Christian, for example, how can I serve my fellow man by helping him attain his goals when I know those goals are no good?
The solution, when faced with such a situation, is to persuade others to adopt the right goals and make them their own. This way each person functions at his or her highest and best. Servant leadership only works when there is agreement as to goals.
Of course, we are not always able to persuade. And in a world of sloth, ignorance, and selfishness, even ideal servant leadership breaks down from time to time. Only a few—very few—tasks must be pushed through on the basis of imposing the leader’s will upon unwilling followers.
Such bald appeal to sheer authority always erodes in some degree the quality and effectiveness of a servant leader, and should only be used as a last resort. The wisest and best leaders, however, are those who know when and how to persuade.
Christians are primarily servants and only secondarily leaders. My highest goal in life is to worship and serve God. Consequently, the style of leadership for which I strive at home, at the office, and in my church ideally is servant leadership, serving others and sharing with them in the accomplishment of common goals—their goals as well as mine. I must, however, never lose sight of the fact that these objectives must be formulated in the light of the Word of God, not drawn empirically from an observation of what people wish.
Whether in a business setting or the board of deacons, happy is the leader who shares with his followers goals common to both.
