Servant Leadership
I was reading from Oswald Chambers as a small part of my devotional hour recently and read the following which just leaped off the page at me.
John 13:13 Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am
The curious thing about Our Lord is that He never insists on our obedience. When we begin to usurp authority and say “You must” and “you shall” it is a sure sign that we are out of touch with the supreme Authority. If you are in a position of authority and people are not obeying you, the greatest heart-searching you can have is the realization that the blame does not lie with them, but with you; there is a leakage going on spiritually. Get right with God yourself and every other one will get in touch with God through you.” The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers, p 516
As is typical of Oswald Chambers, it is pretty deep stuff. I find that after two or three pages of reading I am in deep …show more content…
This is the chapter where He washes His disciples’ feet. This is where He reflects on the importance of service. On the value of putting others’ needs before our own.
In fact if we have gone into school administration because we like to be in charge, because we want to be able to tell others what to do, our motivation is suspect. This is where we need to be more conscious of just why we are in leadership. The best motivation is service rather than supremacy. It is to be focused on helping others rather than enhancing our own self-esteem.
My challenge as I reflect back on the original reading is to make sure that I am thinking of what I can contribute rather than consume. I shall spend a little more time next time on servant leadership as there is a lot that can be said.
However, as a glimpse of where I intend to head – leadership is about service – not status. It is about empowering rather than empire building, and it is about others – not
I was reading from Oswald Chambers as a small part of my devotional hour recently and read the following which just leaped off the page at me.
John 13:13 Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am
The curious thing about Our Lord is that He never insists on our obedience. When we begin to usurp authority and say “You must” and “you shall” it is a sure sign that we are out of touch with the supreme Authority. If you are in a position of authority and people are not obeying you, the greatest heart-searching you can have is the realization that the blame does not lie with them, but with you; there is a leakage going on spiritually. Get right with God yourself and every other one will get in touch with God through you.” The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers, p 516
As is typical of Oswald Chambers, it is pretty deep stuff. I find that after two or three pages of reading I am in deep …show more content…
This is the chapter where He washes His disciples’ feet. This is where He reflects on the importance of service. On the value of putting others’ needs before our own.
In fact if we have gone into school administration because we like to be in charge, because we want to be able to tell others what to do, our motivation is suspect. This is where we need to be more conscious of just why we are in leadership. The best motivation is service rather than supremacy. It is to be focused on helping others rather than enhancing our own self-esteem.
My challenge as I reflect back on the original reading is to make sure that I am thinking of what I can contribute rather than consume. I shall spend a little more time next time on servant leadership as there is a lot that can be said.
However, as a glimpse of where I intend to head – leadership is about service – not status. It is about empowering rather than empire building, and it is about others – not