Saturday, October 2, 2010
Servant Leadership
As I began reading about servant leadersphip to prepare for my contribution to my group's upcoming presentation in December, I could not help but be drawn the biblical story depicting Jesus washing the feet of the discipline. I could not at first imagine under what circumstance the Son of God would be complelled to stoop down to common men and become a servant to them. Knowing who is was and that the world would one day bow down at the sound of his name, he still humbled himself and became a servant to the men who worshipped him. Then I realized that Jesus was the "Master" teacher of all master teachers. This incredible episode in the Bible taught me that servant leadership is the ultimate example of the old adage, "lead by example". Servant leadership provides the leader with an opportunity to show his/her followers that great leaders are born out of their ability to be obedient followers. In other words, you can't lead where you have not been.
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Hey Billy!! My pastor showed us the beauty in this lesson earlier this year in Bible study. We all took turns washing each others feet to demonsrate humility. If Jesus, the leader of all leaders, could humble himself to wash feet, then who are we to think we are too good to humble ourselves to do likewise?
ReplyDeleteAnd as you stated, a leader must always lead by example. Just as we are leaders of our children, it is alot easier for our children to do as they see us do as opposed to doing as we say do.
Lastly when reflecting on servant leadership, our journey through the program and life's journey, we have to always remember that we must be servant leaders. Firstly, we are God's servants, thus we need to humble ourselves and allow Him to use us for the up-builing of His kinigdom. Secondly as leaders in our organizations, our lives, this program,etc.; we are to serve the people whom we are leading. And we must always be mindful of how we choose to lead (the things we do) because you never know who is watching and what lesson(s) you are teaching with your actions.
Billy and Kesha,
ReplyDeleteYou both have shared powerful thoughts. Billy, I too was extremely compelled by this story. It has convicted me to change my thoughts and actions. Jesus was a servant leader and a model for all of us. The story of Jesus washing another's feet is an act of humility. Christ, by His actions, made it very clear that He would not expect anything from us that He was not willing to do Himself. This act demonstrates to me how important Christ's example is for me as a leader.
I watch many leaders expect of other's what they do not do themselves. I do not want to be seen as that type of a leader. I strive to lead by example. I know I am far from perfect, but learning from others has been such a powerful tool for me. Kesha, today you became an inspiration to me. I loved to hear your story of actually washing other's feet. That speaks a lot about your character and helped me see something that I have been missing. Actions!
All the reading material I have read all mention Jesus' washing the feet of the disciples. This job was the worst of the worst jobs- washing smelly dirty feet - and not complaining. We can do the lousy job no one wants or is eager to do, but the complaining is a human reaction to the lowly job. This is the ultimate example of a servant leader for us to emulate every day at work and in our personal life. No complaining!
ReplyDeleteI am reminded that Jesus washed his disciples' feet out of love and compassion, and not as a duty that someone in the group had to perform ("Somebody's got to do it."). What a great love!
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