On Servant Leadership

February 2007

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. – Proverbs 3:5,6 

Leadership is less about getting people to do things for you and more about being clear about your beliefs and demonstrating that you are courageous enough to act on them.

During the last National Football League Super Bowl football game we saw that kind of leadership displayed. It was testified to by none less than Peyton Manning, star quarterback of the world champion Indianapolis Colts as he spoke about his coach, Tony Dungy. Manning attributed the team’s ability to face adversity, persevere, and win to Coach Dungy’s remarkable control and steadfast calmness in the midst of turmoil. Coach Dungy, during the post-game trophy presentation, went on to acknowledge God as his source of strength and steadfastness.  What a timely testimony in today’s Western culture.

Leadership is concerned with acting in such a way that the emotional processes (i.e., our natural ability to take in information from the environment and respond to it) are altered and actually subjected to God as we surrender seeking His counsel. This is the type of leadership that I believe requires us to “renew” our minds in the likeness of Jesus, so that anxiety no longer paralyzes us and creative responses are possible. This mind-set allows the Christian leader to become more responsible for himself rather than others – more connected than distant, more intentional than reactive.

The servant leader should be a well-differentiated leader. I mean someone who has clarity about his or her own life goals, and, therefore, someone who is less likely to become lost in the anxious emotional process swirling about them. Someone who can be separate while remaining connected, and maintain a non-anxious and yet challenging presence. A person who can manage their own reactivity to others and therefore be able to take stands at the risk of displeasing some.

As a servant leader, how do you stack up?

God bless you as you serve and lead in His name.

Most common definitions of leadership begin with statements such as that made by popular writer John Maxwell, “Look around and see if someone is following… if they are, then you are a leader.” The KNCSB ReFocusing process can further refine your skills to become the leader God has planned you to be.

If you would like to know more about growing as a leader, contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (316) 204-5632.

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