We often hear that leaders in the church must be “servant leaders.” You do not find this term explicitly stated in the New Testament. You find the term for servant — diakonos: a servant, minister; Greek διάκονος . [i] This term was used to describe various services including service at tables in the New Testament as well as deacons in I Tim. 3:8,11. It is the same term used when Jesus described the type of leaders his apostles should be:
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,7 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
It is possible to be a servant and not be a leader. In fact, the term was also used to carry out service at the direction of others. [ii]
‘
A leader has different characteristics. Strongs lexicon ] defines a leader as one “who pioneers the way for many others to follow. It does not strictly mean “author,” but rather “a person who is originator or founder of a movement and continues as the leader – i.e., ‘pioneer leader, founding leader”[iii] The term is used of Christ in Acts 3:15 and Hebrews 2:0 as variously as Prince or Author. In common parlance it is “one who leads or guides”[iv] Leadership can have many different styles. The diagram following this texts lists many of them.[v] Though the chart defines a servant leadership style as one being humble and protective, that does not quite capture the total characteristics of a servant style.
Notice that servant leadership is the combination of the characteristics of a servant AND of a leader. A servant leader has a vision and pioneers the way for others and provides a guide to follow. Actually, the term did not come into our vocabulary until 1970. It was coined in the first of a series of essays by Robert Greenleaf entitled “The Servant as Leader.”[i] The following are more complete characteristics of the servant leader as he defined them:
- Focuses on the team’s growth and needs. It puts the team first
- Their first impulse is to serve first—the priority needs of others, not leader first
- Has initiative, inspiration and clearly sees the way to go
- Has an over-arching vision, dream and is better at pointing direction
- Listens first and seeks understanding
- “Has the facility in tempting the hearers into that leap of imagination that connects the verbal concept to the hearers own experience.”
- Ability to withdraw and orient oneself
- Accepts and emphasizes, never rejects
- Has sense for the unknowable and foresees the unforeseeable
- Has foresight –better than average guess about what is going to happen when in the future
- Has awareness and perception
- Is persuasive—even if only one person at a time
- Takes the one necessary action at a time you know is needed
- Has an ability to conceptualize what is needed under the circumstances
If one examines the traits Greenleaf postulates for servant leadership it is evident that some are unique to being a leader and many are the characteristics of servants. Characteristics of a servant given are also those found in bible texts.
The five functions of leadership in Eph. 4 of apostle ( messenger), evangelist, prophet ( herald of Gods word for a particular need of his people), elder, and teacher are the spiritual leaders in the church. Their overall mission is to equip members for works of service using each members God-given gifts. This is precisely the definition of servant leadership—meeting the needs of the “team” and empowering them in growth. Whether this is the congregation as a whole or designated ministries within the congregation, a servant leader empowers the teams to contribute with their unique gifts. Notice a servant leader MUST listen both as a servant and a leader. How rarely is this done?
[i] The servant as leader : Robert K. Greenleaf : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
[i] Strongs 1249; Theological Dictionary of the English Language
[ii] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged, page 154
[iii] Strongs 747
[iv] American heritage Dictionary
[v] 10 Principles of Servant Leadership (With Examples) | Indeed.com
