1.3 Servant Leadership – “Practices: Charting Your Course
Course Objective:
“To enable you to chart your own course in the practice of servant leadership toward achieving Kingdom goals by examining the content of servant leadership, the context of its challenges and situations, and its conduct expressed in contemporary styles and models.”
1. Key Biblical Texts: The biblical terms and situations may vary but read each one carefully for its application to “charting your course” as a servant leader.
• Proverbs 16:9 – “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
• Acts 20:24 – “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
• 2 Timothy 4:7 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
• Hebrews 12:1-2 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
2. Charting Your Course (Practices 1.3) builds on the other two courses in this series on “your journey toward servant leadership”:
• Principles (1.1): explores contemporary understanding and application of leadership and servant leadership; biblical concepts are also examined.
• Pathways (1.2): calls upon us to follow biblical patterns of servant leadership.
• “Charting” means planning a starting point, checkpoints along the way, and a destination, including: to examine, understand, choose, adapt, arrange, map out, schedule, and commit to travel your journey of servant leadership.
• “Your Course” emphasizes that you have work to do and choices to make about the leadership course you travel (your direction, your unfolding path, your struggle, and advancement).
3. Servant Leadership Practices–A Visual representing the fundamental movement of this course of study inviting you along the journey: the following visual makes its own charting message, so consider these elements:
• The 3-D oval plane indicates that any follower of Christ, or a team, has the potential for practicing servant leadership in the congregation and within his or her world.
• 1. Content answers the question “what?”; servant leadership is the essential, qualitative nature and purpose flowing into every situation, role or task. Other terms: character, essence, substance, philosophy(Unit I).
• 2. Context answers the questions “when?” and “where?”; a servant leader examines the leadership/congregational situation before taking action(Unit II). Other terms: conditions, contigencies, elements, framework.
• 3. Conduct answers the questions “who?” and “how?”; a servant leader (or team) chooses leadership styles/models to determine the most effective way to practice servant leadership (Units III & IV). Other terms: example, behavior, pattern, approach, method, form, shape.
• “Kingdom goals” answers the question “why?”; achieving kingdom goals is the reason for leading like kingdom citizens and servants.
• The Servant Leader: as a follower of Christ you are the facilitating, thinking, choosing, serving center of the process.
Reflection/Application:
Does this graph convey a clear way to “install” servant leadership into your church ministry leadership?
4. Just Who Is A Leader? How would you respond to that question? If you ask members in the pew or “scholars” in the study, you would receive a wide diversity of answers. For example, a leader is:
- one who rules, commands, takes charge, gets things done;
- one who goes out ahead to show the way, one who leads, guides;
- one who has influence or power with or over others;
- one who leads by example, integrity, and consistent behavior;
- one who uses authority to persuade others rather than power to coerce;
- one who empowers, motivates, and organizes people to achieve a common objective;
- one who provides ethical or moral guidance to others;
- one who embraces being, behavior, and action in the balance of life;
Reflection:
What would you add to these descriptions?
5. Practicing Servant Leadership – Today:
- begins with the most significant of all decisions–to follow Christ as Savior and Lord.
- is for every one of us as followers of Christ–being disciples and servants before leaders; that is the model that Jesus set for us.
- is not merely a soundly welcomed and contemporary movement but is at the heart of the biblical concept (Mark 10: 39-49); it is seen in prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, missionaries and an unnamed host of followers of Christ.
- is desperately needed in the world today not simply as a buzz-word but as an authentic way of life; some companies have made it their standard practice.
- is a choice among available, well-known alternative leadership models/styles.
- is for the churchplace, the workplace and the homeplace–in every situation.
- is for every place of service and leadership in the congregation, in every role and position; among volunteers, support staff and pastoral staff.
- is for those who bake the bread, carry the water, keep the nursery, chair the committees, preach the Word, teach the class, sing the songs or go to the “uttermost.”
- continues for a lifetime until there is from the Christ a “well done, good and faithful servant. . . ”- Matthew 25:21
Ten Leadership Charting Questions for the Congregation and its Leadership Teams
1. What is your mission/vision? your business?
2. Who are your constituencies? your stakeholders?
3. What are their valued needs and wants?
4. What are your ministry/service strengths?
5. What new opportunities does your church have?
6. What weaknesses, threats, obstacles do you face?
7. What are your available resources for the task?
8. What are your congregation’s strategic priorities?
9. What is your plan for action? short, & long-range?
10. How will you know if you achieve success?
Reflection/Assessment/Application
Make a few notes on what you expect and need from this course.
1. On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), what is your level of understanding leadership; of servant leadership?
2. How far along are you in your journey of servant leadership?
3. Can you name three or four persons you believe practice servant leadership; and how do they do it?
1.3 Servant Leadership Outline
Unit 1. Content: Practicing Servant Leadership
Unit 2. Context: The Congregation/Leadership Situation
Unit 3. Conduct: Congregational Leadership Grid–Five Styles
Unit 4. Conduct: Three Interactive Leadership Models
Note: You can click on each Unit to jump directly to the corresponding Unit page.