Windows 2010 Pt. 4

This Sunday we finished up our serious outlining the future for the Chapel. The message was pretty clear today, the leaders we want at The Chapel are not Serve-Me leaders but Servant Leaders.

How can one most easily differentiate a Serve-ME Leader from a Servant Leader? Autocratic leadership rather than leadership by example is often the telltale evidence that a leader is not following in the footsteps of Jesus. If the leader emphasizes his mandate rather than his example, beware: worldly leadership is afoot!
Why is leadership by mandate rather than by example such a reliable indicator of the quality of leadership? Because it reveals a key characteristic, which differentiates a Servant-Me from a Servant Leader: the motives of the leader.

Although the differences between Servant Leadership and Serve-ME Leadership may be less obvious externally, their internal motives are worlds-apart.

The Serve-ME Leader prefers to lead by mandate rather than example because serving by example involves two actions which the Serve-ME Leader wants to avoid at all costs, which are; leaders and followers are all on level ground and secondly, servant leaders get their hands dirty.

Another difference in motivation between the Serve-ME leader and the Servant Leader is found in the focus of his interest.

The Servant Leader is concerned with the well being of others. In contrast, the Serve-ME Leader uses others to enhance his own well-being.

Another difference between Servant Leadership and Serve-ME Leadership is found in how the leader interacts with those under his influence.

The Serve-ME Leader seeks to control others in an attempt to manipulate the outcome of events. In contrast, the Servant Leader trusts that God owns the results of his actions. Therefore, he can rest in whatever destination God has in mind.

Since I’m on a roll, let me give you one more difference between servant leaders and serve-me leaders.

How about the difference between the Servant Leader and Serve-ME Leader as it proteins to the distance between the leader and those he leads. The Serve-ME Leader has a vested interest in maintaining a separation between himself and those he leads. This distance is established and reinforced in order to keep himself on a different, higher plane than those he leads. On the other hand, Servant Leader has grown beyond the need to control those he leads. Because he is focused on their well-being, his relationship with them cultivates trust and intimacy. This, in turn, becomes the basis of open communication producing an atmosphere of well-being and peace.

I think this last point is an important one for me, why, because I’m a relationship dude. I love people, and a distance between myself and the ones I serve has to be close or I would die.

Servant Leadership, so important and so needed in our churches today.