Servant Leadership
Salome came to Jesus one day with a small request. “When You come into power, put my boys in the place of honor at Your right and left.” Salome had made significant financial contributions to Jesus’ ministry (Mark 15:40, 42) and she may have thought that gave her sons the inside track for promotion. Jesus said (loosely paraphrased), “Leadership works differently in My kingdom than the leadership you are used to. In My kingdom, it is the servant who leads; it is the one who lays down his life. Are you sure that is what those boys of yours want?”

The American preacher Samuel Logan Brengle turned down a prestigious pastorate to join William Booth and his Salvation Army. Booth accepted his services reluctantly, saying, “You have been your own boss too long.” To instill humility in Brengle, Booth assigned him the task of cleaning the boots of the other officers. The assignment offended Brengle. He said to himself, “Have I crossed the Atlantic in order to black boots?” Just then, he remembered Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. “Lord,” he said, “You washed their feet, so I will black their boots.” He went on to become the first American born director of the Salvation Army.

“Jesus’ kind of service set an example. He showed His followers how to serve, and He demanded no less of those who would carry on His work on earth. Jesus teaches all leaders for all time that greatness is not found in rank or position but in service.” (Ted Engstrom, The Making of a Christian Leader, p. 37)

The secular path to leadership requires self-promotion, but the Christian path to leadership requires serving.

However, even in the secular business world a significant minority of leaders are challenging the traditional power model of leadership. The growing influence of Robert K Greenleaf (1904-1990) and the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership attests to this fact. Larry Spears, the CEO of the Greenleaf Center, describes servant-leadership in this way:

“We are beginning to see that traditional autocratic modes of leadership are slowly yielding to a newer model – one that attempts to enhance the personal growth of workers and improve the quality and caring of our many institutions through a combination of teamwork and community, personal involvement in decision making, and ethical and caring behavior. This emerging approach to leadership and service is called servant-leadership.” (Larry Spears, Reflections on Leadership, www.greenleaf.org)

Salome learned her lesson. Her boys did too. Their example should provoke us to new depths of servant leadership.