Leading by Serving

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant."

These words from Jesus turn worldly leadership upside down. The path to true greatness isn't climbing over others—it's bending down to serve them.

Two Models of Leadership

The world's model: Leadership is about position, authority, and control. Leaders make decisions, give orders, and expect to be served. Success is measured by how many people report to you, how much influence you wield.

Jesus' model: Leadership is about serving, empowering, and laying down your life for others. True leaders wash feet, not just give directions. Success is measured by how well you've served and developed those entrusted to you.

Why Serving Leads

This sounds backwards to our natural thinking. If you serve everyone, won't they take advantage? Won't you get overlooked?

But Jesus wasn't speaking theoretically. He was the ultimate leader, and He led by serving. He taught by example: leadership isn't about being served, but about serving.

When you lead by serving:

You build trust: People follow leaders they trust. And trust comes not from position, but from knowing the leader genuinely cares for them.

You develop others: Serving means helping people grow, not keeping them dependent on you. You're building them up, not building your kingdom.

You create lasting impact: Positional authority ends when you leave. But when you've served people well, invested in them, loved them—that impact continues long after you're gone.

You reflect Christ: For believers, servant leadership isn't just a strategy—it's reflecting the One who "came not to be served but to serve."

What This Looks like Practically

Servant leadership isn't passive. It's not avoiding hard decisions or letting people do whatever they want. It's active, intentional, and sometimes costly.

Put others' growth above your convenience: Take time to mentor someone, even when you're busy. Their development is more important than your efficiency.

Give credit, take responsibility: When things go well, celebrate your team. When things go wrong, own it as the leader—even if it wasn't directly your fault.

Listen more than you speak: Serving means understanding people's real needs, not just imposing your solutions. Listen first.

Make decisions for others' good, not your advancement: Sometimes serving means making choices that don't benefit you but are best for those you lead.

Do the work no one wants to do: Be willing to do the unglamorous tasks. No job is beneath a servant leader.

The Cost

Serving leadership costs something. It costs pride—you have to let go of the status and recognition that come with positional authority.

It costs time—truly investing in people is slower than just directing them.

It costs comfort—serving often means putting others' needs before your own preferences.

But this is the cross we're called to bear. Jesus didn't just teach servant leadership—He demonstrated it by dying for those He came to serve.

The Reward

The reward isn't worldly success, though sometimes that comes too. The reward is:

Seeing people you've served grow and flourish.

Building something that lasts because it's built on love and service, not just your personality or position.

Living with a clear conscience, knowing you've genuinely cared for those entrusted to you.

And most importantly—hearing "Well done, good and faithful servant" from the One who served us first.

Today

Where are you leading? At work? In ministry? In your family?

Are you leading to be served, or to serve?

Ask God to show you one person you can serve today. Not manage. Not direct. Serve.

That's where true leadership begins.