Servant Leadership Redux

Last issue, Gordon MacDonald wrote a devotional on the subject of servant leadership. Several of you mentioned your appreciation for his words. One key sentence of the devotional: “Servanthood is not about how I add value to my life but about how I add value to yours.”

The subject of servant leadership, however, always raises for me more questions than it answers. Who can’t tip her hat to the idea of servant leadership: Jesus did it; I need to do it. Period. But how do I do it?

The rub lies in the fact that if you’re a leader, you are already in a position of power. If you’re a pastor, you hold the office of pastor. If you’re a board chairperson, you hold the office of board chairperson. Behavioral scientists call this “legitimate” power, which stems from formal position. Other types of power include:

—Punishment: the power that comes from your capacity to coerce or punish someone
—Reward: the power that comes from the potential reward you can hand out
—Referent: the power that comes because people admire or like you
—Expert: the power that comes because of your superior knowledge or ability to get things done, and
—Information: the power that comes from having information others want.

One key question for me is how power and servant leadership interact: Do you have to give up power to be a servant leader? Theological tomes have been written about the kenosis (emptying) of Christ when he became a man.

The whole issue is complicated by the fact that some Christian leaders are uncomfortable with talk of power. Plus, servant leadership can take many forms; serving someone may appear as power. Especially in marriage, for example, serving your spouse may mean an occasional, loving confrontation — getting an issue on the table so it can be addressed.

Still another complication is that I may think I am serving someone when, in fact, I’m not; I’m deceiving myself. A pastor, for example, may think he is serving the church by giving it vision, but perhaps the vision is not so much about the church but about the pastor’s own insecurities. Perhaps he unconsciously believes that if he pastored a larger church, others (and his father) would consider him successful.

So what’s a leader to do? Leave ministry and start an Internet company?

In one sense, the whole discussion of servant leadership begins with a discussion of power. (Can someone with no power be a servant leader?) Perhaps this is the first place to begin: I must admit that I, as a leader, have power — legitimate, referent, expert, whatever. Second, I must admit that I, as a sinner, can easily deceive myself; I may think I’m serving others when, in fact, I’m serving myself. But that doesn’t let me off the hook — I am still called to serve. Third, I must pray that God will create in me a genuine desire to serve others.

I don’t think some are naturally better servant leaders than others. All true servant leadership is hard. It is a discipline that begins with obedience and then, with time, becomes a habit and then a reflex.

God help us develop the reflex.

—Dave Goetz, editor of LeadershipJournal.net and executive editor of PreachingToday.com. To comment on this devotional, e-mail Newsletter@LeadershipJournal.net.