Servant Leadership

As I continued to prepare my class plan for the Western District, my next question was, "What does it mean to be a servant leader?"

Matthew 20:26b-28:  …whoever wishes to be great among you must be your  servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. And to give his life a ransom for  many.

I think a good image of a servant leader, for us, the the picture of Jesus, wrapping a towel around his waist, and washing the feet of the disciples.  Servant leadership, to me, has these characteristics:

• It is centered on the first phrase of the definition of ministry from yesterday:  an expression of the mind and mission of Christ.  Servant leadership, for a Christian, begins and ends with being a person who reflects the nature and purpose of Christ.  That doesn't mean we ARE Christ - but that we are disciples of Christ, doing and being as he has taught us.Servant leadership isn't about bringing glory to oneself.  Servant leadership is about bringing glory of God.Servant leadership is about leading others by serving them.  It isn't about telling other people what to do and expecting them to service you, as a leader.It means we do a whole lot of hard work so that others can know Christ. Servant leadership involves sacrifice.  It means giving.  Of our money,  our time, our gifts, our preferences - so that God's work is done.It isn't about credit.  It's about lifting others up.
  
  

What else do you think servant leadership is about? How would you characterize it?