Servant Leadership

This last weeks discussion was probably one of my favorites. However, as luck would have it, I had forgotten a pen so I wasn't able to take notes. So, hopefully my insights make sense and are at least somewhat relevant to what he said.

When the speaker (I forgot his name . . . sorry!) first said he was talking to servant leadership, I kind of laughed to myself and jokingly considered that he would be talking about how those that serve under us should be our servants and do everything for us . . . cook dinner, do laundry, drive us places, etc. Of course, it wasn't, and what servant leadership is, is much better.

In all areas of our life, we probably participate in servant leadership. In fact, I believe that to truly be an affective leader, we need to fully embrace the idea of it. To me, servant leadership is complete, selfless service to those around us. In class, we were asked to think about someone we know that we believe emulates servant, Christ-like leadership and service. There are many people that come to mind and they all emulate love and true compassion in their service. By watching them, I have learned how I need to better myself and become more of a servant leader.

Obviously, Christ is the greatest example of servant leadership. His life was dedicated to serving and blessing the lives of others. He paid the ultimate price when He died for us so that we may have eternal life. The scriptures are full of stories in which servant leadership was portrayed. One that comes to mind right now in John 13.

It was the night before the Passover. After supper, Christ washed the feet of the Twelve Apostles, even those of Judas Iscariot, even though He knew that he was going to betray him. Simon Peter told him not to wash his feet but Christ said "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Even though Christ was perfect, and everyone probably wanted to serve Him, He always served others as if He was their servant.

 In this chapter, Christ also says "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not great than his lord; neither he that is sent great than he that sent him." I think that Christ is saying that, it doesn't matter what your "position" is, or how high/low you are on the totem pole, no one is greater than anyone else. And because of this, everyone needs to serve each other.

Servant leadership is very important. After hearing the presentation given in class, I have felt inspired to become better in this aspect of my life and leadership positions.