What Servant Leadership is Not
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 1 corinthians 2:1-5
Servant Leadership is not about weakness or fear.
Servant Leadership is not the exercise of abdicating authority to employees. A leader who has been put in a position of leadership has been placed there by God.
In the scripture above, Paul describes how he comes to serve in weakness and fear, but in demonstration of the Spirit’s power. Paul in his person brings his hangups and fears, but to his audience he appears composed, confident, wise, and energetic.
| When I was a kid, I loved the Wizard of Oz. In the end, the wizard is shown to be a timid man, who with microphones, smoke and curtains becomes the great and powerful Oz. Paul is the man behind the curtain, saying “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” |  |
Servant Leadership is a powerful transformational process. From our weakness, to his strength, to serve our employers, our employees, our customers, and our vendors.
2 Responses to “What Servant Leadership is Not”
[…] I count 28 blogs participating this week. Some pretty heady topics, including: • Servanthood does not mean being a wimp: “What Servant Leadership Is Not” at Give Your All for God. • Abusive, controlling churches: “Why are Some Churches Too Controlling?” at Crossroads. • Which divisions in the church are important; which are just silly: “Divisions and Diversity in the Church” at Random Acts of Verbiage. • The modern church is drifting from emphasis on the blood of Christ: “Lift High The Cross!” at Random Responses. • Another look at the Emergent Movement: “Strains Within the Emergent Church Movement” at Parableman. • An idea for lent “that could change your financial futureâ€: “Early Sunday Thought: Lent” at Canadian Financial Stuff. […]
I like the translation of that. Many times I have been in a position of leadership and in front of an audience, and all the while as I’m trembling as an earthquake inside and thunderstorms keeping my stomach company, the world only sees confidence.
It has often amazed me that while inside my world was falling apart, God has strengthened me so much so that no one is able to tell the nervousness within.