Core Beliefs 2: The Cross
Servant Leadership
Back in 1970, Robert Greenleaf published an essay entitled “Servant Leadership” in which he explored issues of power and authority in the corporate world. He concluded that, from a moral perspective, the “only authority deserving one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader.”
As opposed to the more traditional authoritarian model of business leadership, where the leader's main focus is the success of the company and the employees work to serve the leader, Greenleaf described the servant leader as one who puts the needs of their employees above the business and helps them develop skills, advance professionally, and perform as highly as possible. The consequence of this approach is that leaders earn the respect of their employees, employees feel valued, there is greater trust, a shared vision, a positive and supportive workplace develops, and there is a genuine commitment to seeing the business succeed. This model has been adopted by some very large, multi-national companies as well as many small businesses.
I’ve talked in the past about Jesus’ authority and suggested that we each have to make up our mind about him - do we accept his authority, or do we reject it? Following Greenleaf’s model, I want to suggest that a key reason for accepting Jesus’ authority in our lives is, to use Greenleaf’s words, his “clearly evident servant stature”. The bible says of Jesus, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus’ life was a life of service, putting our needs above his own, and the greatest demonstration of this can be found in the events of Easter. On the first Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross, not for any crime that he had committed, but to pay the penalty for our rejection of God. And he did it for every person who has ever lived since human life began on this planet, approximately 117 billion people according to Google, and for everyone who is yet to live.
The bible says, “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus faced the judgment of God in our place, so that we could walk free. He is the ultimate servant leader of every person in this world and he deserves our allegiance.
Neil Percival
Back in 1970, Robert Greenleaf published an essay entitled “Servant Leadership” in which he explored issues of power and authority in the corporate world. He concluded that, from a moral perspective, the “only authority deserving one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader.”
As opposed to the more traditional authoritarian model of business leadership, where the leader's main focus is the success of the company and the employees work to serve the leader, Greenleaf described the servant leader as one who puts the needs of their employees above the business and helps them develop skills, advance professionally, and perform as highly as possible. The consequence of this approach is that leaders earn the respect of their employees, employees feel valued, there is greater trust, a shared vision, a positive and supportive workplace develops, and there is a genuine commitment to seeing the business succeed. This model has been adopted by some very large, multi-national companies as well as many small businesses.
I’ve talked in the past about Jesus’ authority and suggested that we each have to make up our mind about him - do we accept his authority, or do we reject it? Following Greenleaf’s model, I want to suggest that a key reason for accepting Jesus’ authority in our lives is, to use Greenleaf’s words, his “clearly evident servant stature”. The bible says of Jesus, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus’ life was a life of service, putting our needs above his own, and the greatest demonstration of this can be found in the events of Easter. On the first Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross, not for any crime that he had committed, but to pay the penalty for our rejection of God. And he did it for every person who has ever lived since human life began on this planet, approximately 117 billion people according to Google, and for everyone who is yet to live.
The bible says, “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus faced the judgment of God in our place, so that we could walk free. He is the ultimate servant leader of every person in this world and he deserves our allegiance.
Neil Percival