The Bible contains many stories and principles about leadership. While in modern times, Greenleaf normalized the idea of servant leadership in the business field, the principle of servant leadership is succinctly described in Matthew Chapter 20.
When looking at this text there are several aspects of servant leadership that stand out.
- It was common to see other types of leaders that were top down.
- Other leaders lorded and flaunted their power over their people.
- Leaders should be servants to those in their charge.
- Jesus made Himself an example of this servant leader by going to the cross for our best interests.
Positionally, leaders are above their people. However, for the servant leader, a choice is made by the leader: to be a slave of those under their charge. The Greek word used for “slave” in verse 25 is the word doûlos. Used throughout the New Testament in terms of a “servant,” the word also has the construct of being “devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests” (Peirce, n.d., para. 7, I,C). That connotation of the word shows the servant leader being so focused on those in their care as to put aside their (the leader’s) own priorities for the best outcome for the follower.
As we are placed into positions of leadership, we must adopt this posture of serving those in our care. We must make decisions not simply to serve our own needs but theirs as well.
Peirce, L. (n.d.). Outline of biblical usage (for δοῦλος doûlos). Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1401&t=NLT
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