What does Christian Leadership mean to you?
According to John Maxwell “Leadership is all about influence – nothing more, nothing less.” He further states that “Everything rises and falls on Leadership” How true! When we look into our world, there is a serious dearth of good leadership today.
You can evaluate the success or failure of any organisation or business based on its leadership. Some leaders exercise authoritarian leadership where they control everything in their sphere of influence. There is a set of hierarchy of reporting structure and it generally flows top down. Others choose a more democratic way where the opinion of others are taken into consideration.
Christian leadership is very different from all other types of leadership. At the core of it, it is all about “Servant” Leadership. It’s Christ-like Leadership. It’s all about putting the interests of others above your own. Our Lord and Master taught what it meant to be a “Servant Leader.”
Matthew 20:25-28
25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
It’s all about “Basin and Towel” Leadership (John 13). At the Last Supper, Jesus took a basin and towel and washed his disciple’s feet. Though He was their Leader and they were his disciples, he demonstrated what it meant to be a servant leader.
Talking of Jesus Christ Paul writes in Phil. 2:6-8 “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!”
One of the marks of a servant leader is his heart of humility and of service. Jesus Christ came to serve. It’s all about putting the interests of others above your own. It’s looking for opportunities to empower others. I can think of few leaders who model this style of leadership – Eg: Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. These leaders focus on others and bring a long-lasting change in their respective nations. That’s true Christian Leadership.
“Leaders become great, not because of their power,
but because of their ability to empower others.”
– John Maxwell