Entering the Prayer Cave– Servant School The word surrender doesn’t have very positive connotations in our society. It tends to be seen as a weakness. However, surrendering actually takes more strength than you can even imagine. We dont need to carry shame, worry, ingratitude or fear around on our backs. We need to “give it up completely” as one of the definitions of surrender suggests. I believe that when we surrender our lives to the Lordship of Christ we will find the abundant life promised us in John 10:10. After all, God gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord Neil Cole said, “If you want to win the world to Christ, you’re going to have to sit in the smoking section.’ “TRAIN THEM TO DO EVERYTHING I HAVE TOLD YOU” – Matthew 18:20 Servant leadership is a timeless concept. It can be practiced by anyone. Servant leadership is a philosophy that emphasizes focusing first on others’ needs. The servant leader is servant first ... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first; perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions... The leader first and the servant first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.” According to Robert K. Greenleaf who introduced the concept of Servant Leadership to the modern world after he retired from a 40-year career in the field of management research, development and education at AT&T. Servant leadership is the continuous improvement of people.” Most people are born with an innate impulse to first serve others and the choice to lead is a conscious one. Bad leadership is learned, and the impulse to serve is often beat out of individuals by unfavorable cultural influences. These influences have led many to serve with cheap grace. “Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship In the secular business schools it was Robert Greenleaf who, in the early 1970s, proposed the servant leader model. However, the concept of a servant leader is not such a modern concept, but can be found in the biblical account of the life of Jesus Christ. By examining his model we can identify a Christ-centred, Christ-like servant leadership style that works for Christians who lead people in any situation. Jesus submitted his own life to sacrificial service under the will of God (Luke 22:42), and he sacrificed his life freely out of service for others (John 10:30). He came to serve (Matthew 20:28) although he was God’s son and was thus more powerful than any other leader in the world. He healed the sick (Mark 7:31-37), drove out demons (Mark 5:1-20), was recognized as Teacher and Lord (John 13:13), and had power over the wind and the sea and even over death (Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 9:18-26). The servant leader focuses on inspiring and enabling people to achieve their full potential, in pursuit of a shared and common purpose. For the servant leader it’s not about status and control but they enable and empower their people, growing them to be servant leaders too. The Christ-centred servant leader modeled on Jesus grows a Christ-like character modeled on the Servant King and sees Jesus as their leadership role model.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Feb 2014 19:49:48 +0000
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