Monday, January 26, 2009

What Does A Leader Look Like?

Leaders may come in all shapes and sizes. They may come from different backgrounds and places. But according to Jesus, true leaders have one thing in common...servanthood. Jesus defines it..."Whoever would be great among you must be your servant." (Matthew 20:26 ESV)

Serving and leading don't always seem to be compatible. Often, those who have positions think they lead with power or coercion. Serving others is pushed off on subordinates. In fact, those in powerful positions expect and demand service from others.

Counter-intuitively and counter-culturally, Jesus tips everything upside down. Jesus calls anyone who pursues leadership to practice servanthood first. He tells us that serving others is
what we should observe in those we make our leaders.


Everyday I ask God to help me lead through serving...because it doesn't come naturally to serve others instead of myself.