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The Heart of a Servant
Good advice on leadership is everywhere, and especially so in ministry. There’s a whole cottage industry dedicated to motivating people to plans and purposes centered on the gospel. Consultants, speakers, evangelists and others spend countless hours talking, writing and blogging on how to inspire more and lead effectively. Indeed, if you Google the word "leadership" you will find 162 million references. On the other hand, if you Google "servanthood" you will find just 234,000. Obviously we are, as a society, heavily favoring the desire to lead versus to serve.
Those leadership resources are valuable to be sure, but get a perspective: according to a Gallup survey, only about one in fifty people--about 2%--are really leaders. That is, the vast majority of people are not in a position or equipped with the talent set to lead others. Most people are, like me, followers. We work for and with the leaders. We are, in effect, servants. And it's this idea of servanthood that I urge you to think about, because this is likely exactly where you want to be.
Finding yourself in a servanthood role, you may think, "What I need to do here is develop my leadership potential. I need to learn how to lead, and move to put myself into a leadership role so I can get an agenda to the table and affect action or change." Not so fast. It's yet another "everybody's a potential leader" sacred cow that needs to be slaughtered. We assume were were born to lead. Instead, let me suggest, as Christ sets an example in Mark 10:45, that you and I are not here "to be served, but to serve." If we really desire to grow to be more like Christ, it is far more likely that we will find ourselves not in a leadership role, but in a servant role.
So, if 98% of all people are suited to servant roles, it makes sense to invest time and energy into developing the heart of a servant, instead of working to squeeze ourselves into the role that just 2% of us were meant to play. Did you realize that not one time in all of the New Testament does Christ ever command us to lead anything? Not once. About 40 times, Christ instructs us to serve, and that is echoed in the Acts and epistles another 50 or so times. In fact, throughout scripture, we see time and again that leadership is the domain and function of God, and our function is to serve.
Check this out--put down the seven steps book for a minute and think about what would happen if the church--all of us--pursued servanthood as actively as we pursue leadership. Let me then suggest, from biblical example, a few ways to develop a servant mindset.
Serve exclusively. In Deuteronomy 6:13-14, God lays down the first simple rule of servanthood, "You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall serve Him and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the other gods of the people who surround you." How do we choose to serve God exclusively? It begins with our commitment to His Word, the Bible. It is through His Word that we know and understand God, receive His instruction and begin to understand the exclusive nature of being a servant to a holy God."
Jesus echoes this in Luke 16:13, "No one can serve two masters..." A master does not have to be another person. It could be an idea, an agenda, an ambition, a desire, even a dream or vision. So a servant's heart I believe begins with laying aside our own plans and simply committing to know God more. If you are spending more time on developing any area of your life or work than the time you spend on your relationship with God, I believe that is a genuine indicator that there may be more than one master in your life. God demands exclusivity.
Serve wholeheartedly. Servanthood does not often take place on the mountaintop, but rather in the trenches. Frankly, I have to admit I don't like trenches all that much, though I spend a lot of time in them. We've all been in the position of being half-hearted about our role or function. Lack of knowledge, lack of perspective, lack of responsibility and lack of authority often lead us to believe that we are neither necessary or important. How wrong and selfish!
Paul instructs us in Ephesians 6:7 to "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord and not men." Why does he instruct us using the word, "wholehearted?" In this context Paul is writing to slaves--servants. I think he understood perfectly that we like to whine, complain and generally make ourselves the center of attention. But the trouble with serving that way is that our service does not bear witness to the God whose banner we proudly stand under.
More than anything else, our attitude in service speaks volumes to others about who God is in our lives. Do you believe that someone who is not a Christian will make a judgment about who God is based on how wholeheartedly you serve in His name? This is absolutely true. A Christian leader once said, "The greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." In your service, who holds the center of attention? Who is your service pointing to?
Serve outwardly. Finally, our service should not be limited to the walls of the church. 1 Peter 4:10 says, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." The word "others" here is significant. If our serve indeed points people to God, then that service is best seen ministering to a Godless world. Too often servants in the church are content to serve one another, focusing our efforts on Sunday spectaculars versus everyday actions that manifest themselves in the "real world."
An outward servant seeks to identify the needs of those in their community and city. The opportunities are endless--education, humanitarian and medical assistance, friendships, household help and personal evangelism. There are hundreds of openings to serve for each person every day among thousands of individuals. Is your service outwardly focused? Are you looking for opportunities to serve others, and when you find them are you stepping in with both feet?
Here are some excellent additional online resources for developing the heart of a servant:
 For Further Reading On This Topic...
> Click for more books and periodicals on serving (involvement).
About the Author. Eugene Mason has more than two decades of experience in ministry communications. More...
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