THE SERVANT LEADER

Over a 30 year career in the business world I have been called to many leadership roles in many contexts, including commercial enterprises, non-profits, and volunteer organizations.  I have been an individual contributor, a coach and mentor, led small teams, large groups, and distributed organizations with a global presence.  Over the years, I have attended those mandatory internal leadership training classes, some interesting external leadership seminars, and some over-priced collegiate level leadership programs sponsored by Big Name Universities.  Yeah, I’ve heard them all.

First let me address the difference between leadership and management.  Warren Benis, the author of On Becoming a Leader, states this difference simply and concisely.

“Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right things”.

An accomplished manager is adept at arranging materials, processes, and time to achieve specific goals.  But when it comes to people, a manager can manage only a person’s time. The people themselves cannot be managed.  People need to be led.  The decision to accept a leader is an act of volition on the part of the follower.

There are as many leadership styles as there are prospective authors of leadership books and conference organizers.  But I’ve found the following descriptions to be representative of most.  There is the Charismatic Leader.  The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority.  There is the Participative Leader who, rather than taking autocratic decisions, seeks to involve other people in the process.  The Transactional Leader creates structures wherein it is clear what is required of their subordinates and the rewards that they get for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place.  The Transformational Leader believes that people will follow a person who inspires them.  The way to get things done is by injecting enthusiasm and energy.  They put passion and energy into everything they do.  The Servant Leader takes responsibility for those that he/she leads by helping them succeed and grow.  He or she also often accepts a responsibility towards society and those who are disadvantaged.  The Quiet Leader believes that actions of a leader speak louder than his or her words.  They base their success not on ego and force of character but on their thoughts and actions.  Finally there is the Situational Leader who understands that different situations require different leadership styles.  No one style is adequate to the multiplicity of factors at hand.

Regardless of leadership style, effective leaders all share certain personal traits.  They are honest in all their dealings, both internal and external to their organizations. They display competence in their discipline and role. They look to the future rather than dwell on the past. They are inspiring to others. They are intelligent and fair in their dealings with others. They seek out a diversity of opinion.  They are courageous and can be depended upon to make the tough decisions.  They communicate in a straightforward manner.  And finally, they display creativity and imagination when solving problems.  For those of you taking notes, did you get all that??

What then of the Christian Leader?  Does practicing any of the secular leadership styles or possessing some or all of these leadership attributes define a Christian leader?  Certainly an effective Christian leader will exhibit some of these characteristics.  But I would argue that while these elements are necessary components, they are ultimately insufficient.  A Christian leader needs more.

However, let me say that the leadership skills and experiences I’ve acquired over the years are not what I want to talk about today.  They no longer represent my leadership philosophy at this point in my life, nor do they explain what I mean by “Christian Leadership”.   My current approach to leadership is tied tightly to who I am, which in turn, has been deeply impacted by the totality of my life experiences.  So, in order to understand my leadership approach today, you need to understand how I got to where I am.  Don’t worry, I’ll keep it short.

I was born in Detroit in the 1950s when Detroit was at the pinnacle of its prestige and power. Over 2 million people called Detroit home, making it the 5^th largest city in the nation.  In the 1950s, Detroit was a global industrial powerhouse and a major source of industrial and commercial manufactured goods as well as raw materials processing.

The economic engine behind the city was the automobile manufacturing industry.  The high wages paid to the auto workers literally created the US middle class.  The high tax base enabled world-class public facilities, beautiful Art Deco architecture, outstanding museums, beautiful parks and public facilities; legendary sports teams (Go Tigers!), nationally-ranked universities, and a robust transportation infrastructure.

Then the city began to change.  At first, it almost wasn’t even noticeable: like the first tentacles of cool air ahead of a cold front that brings a slight shiver to the body.  The world started to catch up to America, as Europe and Asia emerged from the devastation of war.  Auto imports started to impact domestic car sales.  Manufacturers employed automation on a major scale for the first time.  The deterioration continued as major corporations liquidated (does anyone remember AMC?), and supporting industries collapsed.  The pace of change accelerated into a downward spiral of hopelessness.

Frustrated by job loss, ineffective social support and political systems, and unhealthy living conditions, the city erupted in the summer of 1967.  The July riots sealed Detroit’s fate.  At the same time the civil rights and anti-war movements were tearing at the fabric of American society while riots rocked the cities and the war raged on.  Compounding the problem was a loss of leadership as our leaders were taken from us one by one – John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy.  While society struggled with these issues, an even greater challenge remained on the horizon as America had yet to consider the environmental consequences of unbridled capitalism.  And yet hope was on the horizon, in the form of an environmental manifesto, written in 1962.  Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” would galvanize the nascent environmental movement and give it a voice.

So what have I learned from these life experiences?  First I’ve learned that the good times never last, but the Phoenix can rise from the ashes.  Second, I’ve learned that we are all connected to each other in what I’ve come to think of as a global human meta-society.  Everything we do, for good or for ill, has an impact on those around us – locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally.

So in the summer of 1970, I was 17 years old.  One warm July day I decided to attend an outdoor concert on the campus of Wayne State University to hear one of my favorite local bands – the MC 5.  Little did I know that this decision would have a profound and lasting impact on my life.  At one point during the concert the lead singer came to the front of the stage and issued a challenge to the audience.

·         All it takes is 5 seconds,

·         5 seconds of decision.

·       And then he looked right at me and said, “5 seconds to decide if you are going to be part of the problem, or if you are going to be part of the solution. You must choose brother, you must choose…”

That simple challenge was like a slap in the face to an impressionable 17 year old.  And ever since, in my own way and in my little corner of the world, I’ve tried to be part of the solution.  But it was only much later that I came to understand that on that day and in that place, God was speaking to me through the most unlikely of sources.  God was calling me to step up and become part of His Kingdom. 

So just what is this Kingdom of God? Isaiah gives us a hint in Chapter 65 verses 20-23, in this description of what this Kingdom would, could, and will be like:

 “Never again will there be in this kingdom
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach  a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
The people will build houses and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses for others to live in them,
    or plant for others to eat.
For as the days of a tree,
    so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
They will not labor in vain,
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,
    they and their descendants with them.

 And according to Isaiah, those who do the work of the Kingdom will “learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, and plead the case of the widow.” 

The big question we’re left with, then, is when will Isaiah’s prophecy be fulfilled?   Many interpret the Kingdom as a future condition; either a transformed Earth or Heaven.  But Jesus dispels this notion in Mark Chapter 1 verse 15:

  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand”.

“The Kingdom is at hand”!  Just what does that mean?  This verse has been interpreted many ways over the centuries.  Some believe that the Kingdom will not come until Jesus’ return, or that they will enter the Kingdom only upon their death.  But the message that speaks to me is one in which we live in the Kingdom and the Kingdom lives in us, and it is incumbent upon each one of us to bring forth the Kingdom in our own little corner of the world.

And that is the heart of Christian leadership that sets Christian leaders apart; to heed the call to serve the Kingdom whenever and wherever you hear it. Now the world is replete with leaders, both in the secular and in spiritual realms.  But what separates true Christian leaders from the pretenders is a matter of motivation and intent.  Let’s look at a few examples.  Our country considers Abraham Lincoln to be one of the greatest leaders in our history.  Why is that?  After all, he initiated and prosecuted the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil.  But did he wage this war for personal gain, conquest, or accolades?  No, he fought the war in order to end slavery, and by doing so right a centuries-old wrong, and free an entire people.  While historians don’t agree on what may or may not have been Lincoln’s religious beliefs, I consider this an exemplary act of a Christian leader, what I like to call a “Kingdom Act”.  Now let’s look at a more contemporary leader, Kenneth Lay.  In the 1990s Ken Lay led one of the most profitable companies in the US, Enron.  He was feted by Wall Street, the press, and almost worshiped by his employees.  But what was his motivation?  I would argue that Mr. Lay’s motivation was greed and power.  Of course you know the result of Mr. Lay’s leadership.  Enron collapsed under the weight of its own misdeeds, many of its employees lives were ruined, and Enron now serves as a classic example of criminal behavior in the corporate world.

Nor is the spiritual world exempt.  The spiritual realm boasts some of the greatest leaders who have shaped world history: Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, the Budda, Mohammed, and, of course, Jesus Christ.  As an example of spiritual leadership let’s consider two men who have spent their lives preaching the Gospel, Jimmy Swaggart and Billy Graham.  Both came to fame and prominence in the 2^nd half of the 20^th century but their legacies cannot be more different.  Billy Graham is revered because the sole purpose of his unselfish mission was to spread the word of God. Again, this is a Kingdom Act, that of a Christian leader.  Jimmy Swaggart, however, used the Gospel message as a means to obtain significant personal wealth and power.  Today he is a disgraced televangelist who is easily forgotten.

So the call to Christian leadership is easy to understand.  Do not seek to be a leader.  Simply answer God’s call to the Kingdom when you hear it.  Simple right?  Well, the price of entry is free, that is, our salvation is free.  But the cost of discipleship can be very high.  When Jesus called his disciples, the price they paid to enter the Kingdom was answering a call to leave behind their existing way of life, as in Luke Chapter 5 verse18:

“And immediately they left their nets and followed him”

Many of the apostles became leaders of the new church. The seeming contraction here is that the apostles became leaders of the church only because they obeyed the call to become followers of Christ.  Of course, not all are called to make this large of a sacrifice.  But as Americans we have been blessed with an abundance that defies imagination.  Jesus says in Luke chapter 12, verse 48, “for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” Christ will never call you to serve in a way that is beyond your reach.  He may stretch you in all directions and place you in unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations, but you have the skills needed to fulfill your call.

    Just like a forestry major who spent 30 years in the high-tech industry who, at the ripe old age of 60, will finally complete his master’s degree while enrolled in the environmental ministry certification program at the McCormick Theological Seminary.

And it is through these acts, whether they be mundane or magnificent, that you are a leader in the Kingdom of God.

• ·         Whenever you volunteer at a soup kitchen you are being a Christian leader.  Whenever you teach a Sunday school class you are being a Christian leader.
• ·         Whenever you donate clothes or food to a mission you are being a Christian leader
• ·         Whenever you help Habitat for Humanity build a house you are being a Christian leader.
• ·         Whenever you sing with the church praise team you are being a Christian leader. 
• ·         Whenever a Pilgrimage moderator calls to ask you to be head music cha and you say “yes” you are being a Christian leader.

·         And when you stop and just say hello to a homeless person on the street, thereby validating his or her existence and conveying simple human dignity, you are being a Christian leader. 

I’d like to close with a prayer attributed to perhaps the greatest Christian leader of all time, St Francis of Assisi.  In it, St Francis captures the essence Christian leadership.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

And in the final three verses Francis captures the beauty and mystery of the Christian faith.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in forgiveness that we are forgiven;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

So what about you?  All it takes is a decision.  You have five seconds..