1.

INTRODUCTION

We will be looking at what it is to be a Servant Leader, what are some things that we
ought to do, and what are those things that we ought not to do and what happens when we
keep these things in mind.

2. MEANING

Servant Leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the main goal of the leader is
to Serve.

3. WHAT TO DO AS SERVANT LEADERS

Let’s move into seeing what few of the principles are which can be useful to us in
moulding and making us effective servant leaders.

THREE F’S WHICH HELP DEVELOP SERVANT LEADERSHIP

There are three F’s which can be used to develop good servant leader character and
skills, they are;

Foundation, Feedback and Friction1

Foundation: Setting the standards2 or the foundation of how you will be wanting to lead.

1
James C. Hunter, The Servant. (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 1998) 9.
2
Ibid.

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Feedback: Identifying the gaps,3 in other words seeing what your weaknesses are, what are
the things that you’re not so good at.

Friction: Working on eliminating the gaps,4 in other words, trying to turn your weaknesses to
strengths.

FOLLOWER BEFORE LEADER

In order to be a good leader, we must first learn to be a good follower. Jesus took up
the position of a follower with absolute honour when he came into this world to redeem his
people, even though he could have come as the King himself, he took that position to show us
how we ought to go about with our ways, Jesus is the ultimate example of a servant leader.5

PURPOSE OVER POSITION

As a Christian leader it is very important that you move in purpose, people in the
outside world are people who are trying to find out their purpose, people who are trying to do
things to fulfil their purposes and some others living lives without any purpose, so as leaders
it is our duty to keep our purpose in mind, commit to our purpose more than to our position
and move ahead in serving the people. God lifts us up in the right place at the right time, and
positions will come to us even though that is not our main motivation and intention.6

BEING SELFLESS

A servant leader is one who thinks more others around him than himself, he must be
able to not grow power hungry but will rather be able to look at others needs before he thinks
about his own. For him to be a selfless person he must have humility, for selflessness is an
outcome of humility. In the current scenario where people are running after power, and using

3
James C. Hunter, The Servant. (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 1998) 9.
4
Ibid.
5
Matthew Ashimolowo, Leadership Principles of Prophet Moses (London: RiverBlue Publishing,
2013) 3.
6
John C. Maxwell, Learning from the Giants. (New York: Faith Words, 2014) 14.

2
that power to exploit people, a servant leader must use that power to put others ahead of him
and give everyone else more importance that his own self.7

GOOD LISTENER

A good servant leader must be a good listener, he must be able to hear things, for
major part of solving problems is to listen. So, a servant leader must listen intently, as it helps
to understand the others body, spirit and mind. This will help in the growth of a good servant
leader.8

4. WHAT NOT TO DO AS SERVANT LEADERS

NOT BEING JUDGMENTAL

When we leaders become judgmental in our ways, we hamper the relationship that we
have with our congregation/team/followers,9 we must be at most understanding in all
circumstances for once we become judgmental, we will not be able to help the other out.

NO HASTY DECISIONS

One of the most important lessons to a servant of God is patience, and when we work
without this key principle, we are bound to mess up whatever we are doing, God does not do
anything in haste, and we being representatives of him leading the people.

7
Elizabet J. Krumrel-Mancuso, “Journal of Psychology and Theology.” Humility in Servant
Leadership amongst Christian Student Leaders, (2018) 254.
8
Dirk Van Dierendonck, Kathleen Patterson, Servant Leadership (New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2010) 17.
9
Gary E. Roberts, Developing Christian Servant Leadership (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
42

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ABSENCE OF GODLY CHARACTER

Being a servant leader, it is most important to have godly character10 in all that you
do, when there’s no godly character present in our ways, it will lead to the sabotage of the
different gifts, goals and talents that we possess.

5. APPLICATION

It is important to understand these principles and do in accordance with it, we need to

be good, humble listeners and serve people with utmost character of Christ with his direction
in all that we do. Without the application of these we will not be good servant leaders.

6. CONCLUSION

By being this kind of a servant leader, it helps us to get divine guidance in all that we
do, for God loves a humble person and he directs their path and gives them a spiritual
confidence in what they do.

10
Gary E. Roberts, Developing Christian Servant Leadership (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
44

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akin-David, Morack. Leadership Secrets of David O. Oyedepo. Ota, Nigeria: David-Mo

Media, 2011.

Ashimolowo, Matthew. Leadership Principles of Prophet Moses. London: RiverBlue

Publishing, 2013.

Dirk Van Dierendonck, Kathleen Patterson. Servant Leadership. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2010.

Hunter, James C. The Servant. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 1998.

Krumrel-Mancuso, Elizabet J. “Journal of Psychology and Theology.” Humility in Servant

Leadership amogst Christian Student Leaders, 2018.

Maxwell, John C. Learning From the Giants. New York: Faith Words, 2014.

Roberts, Gary E. Developing Christian Servant Leadership. New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2015.