Biblical Leadership & Ethics

Week five – Case Study:

The Leader as a Servant

1. In this careful demonstration of love (agape) to His disciples, why do you think Jesus chose to wash their feet instead of doing something else?

I believe that Jesus chose to wash his followers feet because it was something that could not be mistaken for just kindness. We can tell by Peters reaction that it was a job that is normally left for a slave of the house. To have this person who has been an incredible leader, and was thought to be the next King of Israel, do the lowest job they could think of was almost too much. They were probably confused and MacArthur says that they were probably embarrassed. I know when I am in an uncomfortable situation I can miss the point too, just like the disciples. Jesus was showing that leadership is not always the “power”, but sometimes the willingness to serve.

2. What does the example of love Jesus chose tell you about His perspective as a leader?

As Hunter pointed out in the book The Servant, Jesus was the greatest leader of all time. That is exemplified in how the world was permanently changed by Him and even to this day His influence (read Spirit) is changing people. Christ chose to be a servant leader. We are called to be like Christ in all that we do. It follows easily to say that we as believers, trying to emulate Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit should also practice servant leadership.

3. How does Jesus’ statement in verse 14 relate to the praxis principle? What outcome do you think Jesus was looking for from it?

This verse shows us that Jesus was very concerned about proper Hygiene. (sorry... I couldn't resist!)

Actually, Jesus knew that serving others was not a natural thing to do. It was important for these men to start practicing their service toward one another so that it would naturally progress to the people they would be leading in a few weeks, the first Church. By giving them the command to serve in this particularly lowly position, they truly learned to love through their actions. That is what the praxis principal is; acting in a particular way and the aligned feelings follow.

Jesus was preparing them to love and support one another. He knew that he would be dragged away and crucified in just a few hours. He also knew that when he was taken away the disciples would be scattered, and would need the support of each other in the next few days. This love would then transfer to how they served others in the carrying out of the Great Commission.

4. Looking at this brief episode as Jesus’ seminar on leading from authority, how would you organize and present its key concepts in contemporary terms to your own audience so they could understand them?

Training: (John 13:1-3~Jesus needed to prepare his followers to lead) Look for weakness and train to make them strengths. Make sure followers are prepared to take your place, cross train. Have a forward plan that includes “plan-b”.

Demonstrating: (John 13:4-8~Jesus showed his followers through action) Do what you expect your followers to do. Don't be hypocritical.

Defining: (John 13:9,10~Jesus makes a distinction between wants and needs) Clearly state what the objectives are, and make sure they are written down and understood by all.

Implementing: (John 13:12-14~Jesus made serving a policy for everyone) Ensure everyone within the organization is aware of the policy. Plainly state the expectation as well as the results of not meeting the expectations.

Exemplifying: (John 13:15-17~Jesus practiced the policy and told them “do as I do”) Carry our the policy visibly and make sure it is clearly in the center of everyones attention.

5. How does the “payoff” for leading from authority mentioned by Hunter in the final chapter of The Servant relate to the following verses?

Matt. 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24, 17:33; John 12:25

Generally speaking, when a key concept is presented in scripture, it is repeated or restated in keeping with its importance. The number of times this idea occurs suggests that this concept is one the Lord wants us to understand and practice during our time to serve Him here.

For believers, our payoff will be spending eternity with Christ. We are to use any and all skills of leadership not just to improve our ability to be successful in a work environment but to lead others to Christ. We can be leaders with authority and people will trust us, they will try to understand what makes us different. We must take advantage of that questioning. It is how seeds are planted and are cared for.

6. To sum up, if you begin to look for ways to establish authority and then lead from it in your present circumstances, what will that look like? How might it be different from the way you interact with others now?

Clearly the improvements would be seen in how people respond to me when I am in leadership roles. If I am able to establish the authority with people, they would trust that I not only say I have their best in mind but I actually do.

The things I will have to change are:

- Becoming better at analyzing needs vs. wants. Then to act accordingly with a good explanation of why the decision was made.

- Listening and removing my inner dialog to hear what the person is trying to communicate.

- Keeping my word. Do what I say I will do, when I say I will do it.

- Making sure that my goals and the company goals are clearly communicated.

- Be more Christ like!