Saturday, June 4, 2011

Servant Leadership

Everyone has at one point in his/her life come across someone that they consider a leader. But being a leader is a completely different ballgame. You'll see that the very moment that you're expected to be a leader. But how you handle that expectation is very telling as to what kind of leader you are. In my experience, there is two types of leaders. Servant Leaders, and LeaderMen. Leadermen are a dime a dozen, while Servant Leaders are very, very rare. Below are some distinctions between the two. These are in reference to a Pastor:

Servant Leader:  Has something to say
LeaderMan:  Wants a platform on which to say something
-----------
LeaderMan:  You almost feel you know his family, because he's your Leader
Servant Leader:  You allow him to influence you, because you know his family
-----------
LeaderMan: Wants you to know he's a Leader
Servant Leader:  Doesn't have to act like he's a leader
-----------
LeaderMan:  Loves the idea of The Church
Servant Leader: Loves God and the actual individual people God brings across his path
-----------
LeaderMan:  A great speaker, but self-described as, "Not really a people person."
Servant Leader:  Makes himself a people person
-----------
LeaderMan:  Helps you find where God is leading you in his organization
Servant Leader:  Helps you find where God is leading you
-----------
LeaderMan:  Gets together with you to talk about his vision
Servant Leader:  Gets together with you to talk about your vision
-----------
LeaderMan:  Resents "sheep stealing"
Servant Leader:  Doesn't get the "stealing" part, since he doesn't own anyone to begin with
-----------
LeaderMan:  Wants the right people on the bus
Servant Leader:  Wants to sit next to you on it
-----------
Servant Leader:  Shows you his whole heart
LeaderMan:  Shows you a flow chart
-----------
LeaderMan:  A visionary who knows what the future looks like
Servant Leader:  Knows what your kitchen looks like
-----------
LeaderMan:  Excellence, Excellence, Excellence!
Servant Leader:  Meekness, Love, Grace, Charity.
-----------
LeaderMan:  Talks about confronting one another in love
Servant Leader:  Actually confronts you in love
-----------
LeaderMan:  Impressed by success and successful people
Servant Leader:  Impressed by faithfulness
-----------
LeaderMan:  Invests time in you, if you are "key people"
Servant Leader:  Invests time with you, and shows you in actions that he loves you
-----------
LeaderMan:  Reveals sins of his past
Servant Leader:  Reveals sins of his past and present
----------
LeaderMan:  Gives you things to do
Servant Leader:  Gives you freedom to do what's right
-----------
LeaderMan:  Leads because of official position
Servant Leader:  Leads in spite of position
-----------
LeaderMan:  Deep down, threatened by other Leaders
Servant Leader:  Has nothing to lose

Thankfully, I can say that my Pastor is a Servant Leader! If you have a Servant Leader for a Pastor, you had better thank the Lord every day. 

Next time, I'll do some distinctions between Servant Leaders and LeaderMen in the home.

No comments: