Ask the Pastor 103

What is the Servant Leader model of leadership?

Often times there is concern expressed about a church having one group of men (elders) making all the decisions for the church. This concern is based upon what is known about the nature of man rather than what is known about what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that when a person places their trust in the Lord Jesus they become a new person in Christ, they have been born again. At that moment the Holy Spirit enters into that person with a gift or gifts. Among those gifts is the gift of leadership which will follow the Servant Leader model for leadership. Our Lord taught this model by His example and especially in John 13 where He washed His disciples’ feet. After doing this He said, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am, If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (Jn. 13:14). Even before that our Lord had stated, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). The Apostle Paul followed this up by stating, “Imitate me, just I also imitate Christ.” (I Corinthians 11:1). The keys to the Servant Leader Model is that these men are gifted and led by the Holy Spirit, this is the key difference between them as leaders and what we find in the world. Next, they lead by serving which includes at least two features: 1. They work from the feet up, so they are always pushing others up through encouragement and exhortation. 2. They lead by example, they do not tell others to do something that they do not already do and have set an example of how it is to be done. The Servant Leader Model is one of love for the Lord and for His people directed by the Holy Spirit.

Have questions about the Bible? Send them to Dr. Greg Koehn at gak4850@gmail.com and read the answer here in this article.