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The Best Kept Leadership Secret – Be a Servant Pt. 2

The Best Kept Leadership Secret – Be a Servant Pt. 2

by | Nov 22, 2011 | regular

Monday’s post defined leadership from a biblical perspective.  Jesus’ servant leader model continues to work thousands of years later while producing billions of Christians worldwide.  

If you did not get a chance to read it, you can CLICK HERE.

Let’s begin today’s session with this question:

How can a Leader be a Servant at the same time?

When you picture a servant you probably think of someone with a low position. A leader by contrast is someone who is elevated by title. How is it possible then for a person to be both a servant and a leader? One of the best examples is Jesus Christ, who is arguable one of the most influential men and leaders of all time. He had thousands of people following him as he moved from town to town. He was looked up to as a great teacher and healer, and did many miraculous things. For believers he was the leader of all leaders. Yet one night while having dinner with a group of his closest friends, this leader stripped down to a servant’s attire and washed the feet of his followers (John 13:3-5). This was not an act of manipulation. It was an act of love. He had chosen them to lead and succeed him in his ministry. In washing their feet he was demonstrating that for them to be effective leaders, they needed to have a heart attitude of a servant.

The context of John 13 reveals to us that servant leaders:

1. Acquire their power from God

  • They understand that they get authority from God
  • They understand that they give account to God

2. Advance their people for God

  • They demonstrate humility in leadership
  • They demonstrate helpfulness in leadership

3. Achieve their purpose from God

  • They serve the Savior
  • They serve the saints

What’s remarkable about this story is how Jesus even washed Judas’s feet. Have you ever noticed that Judas already had the betrayal in his heart, yet Jesus still washed his feet too. Do you ever feel like you are doing things for people that don’t deserve it? Do you ever qualify your serving and give only to those who you deem worthy or deserving? Think about the example given to us by Jesus. There could have been no more undeserving than Judas, yet Jesus washed his feet too.

Next Session:

Characteristics of a Servant Leader

Further Reading Inspiration and References:

Scripture verses: Jesus washes the disciple’s feet as a servant – John 13 verses 3-5

  • To be great you must be a servant – Mark 10 verses 43-44
  • Christ’s attitude of being a servant – Philippians 2 verses 5-7
  • God looks for a servant heart – 1 Samuel verse 7

Other Reading:

The Best Kept Leadership Secret – Be a Servant Pt. 2

by | Nov 22, 2011 | photo


Nothing like your daughter playing holiday tunes on the clarinet. I sat through them all & loved every minute of it 🙂

The Best Kept Leadership Secret – Be a Servant Pt. 2

by | Nov 22, 2011 | quote

Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference. Nolan Bushnell

The Best Kept Leadership Secret – Be a Servant Pt. 2

REPOST: The Best Kept Leadership Secret – Be a Servant

by | Nov 21, 2011 | Empowerment, Excellence, Leadership, Servant Leadership

I’m excited to share some thoughts regarding leadership.  Recently, I googled the word “leadership” and it reavealed 141 million hits!  Wow!  Now I understand why many are confused when it comes to defining leadership.  Since this is our first session, I’d like to begin by sharing the “best kept” leadership secret – BE A SERVANT.

The phrase “Servant Leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970.  In that essay, he said:

The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived? (Source: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership)

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The Best Kept Leadership Secret – Be a Servant Pt. 2

The Single "BEST" Way To Cast Vision

by | Jun 20, 2011 | Apple/Mac, Excellence, Leadership, Technology, Vision

No specs…No “ours does this does yours…”

Not even the name of the product spoken in the ad.

One word to describe this entire ad campaign: Classy. Such a big contrast from ads with robotic space ships or trash talking the competition or the “hey mom, look what I can do” type of ads that we see from the competition.

The Lesson: Focus on the experience & tell a compelling story.

Paint a picture of what could be and what should be!

I’m trying to figure out how the church can show how life “could be” and “should be” with Jesus (John 10:10).

Goodness…they really know what they’re doing don’t they.