Servant Leadership: A Biblical Theology, Pt. 2

What comes to your mind when you hear the term “servant leader?” In our first post on servant leadership, we noted that servant leaders are not docile doormats, but careful cultivators who steward their leadership gifts and opportunities to see others flourish. In today’s post, we will explore the commitment servant leaders have towards developing and equipping new leaders to carry out the work of ministry.

Servant Leaders Equip

Why did God bless the church with leadership gifts? Ephesians 4:11-16 provides the answer. God raises up leaders to equip His people for ministry work so that the body of Christ is built up. Servant leaders know that God’s eternal purpose is to redeem and transform a Christ-like people who will glorify His name for all eternity. They seek to labor with God to see His redemptive mission flourish.

Captivated by God’s Kingdom-advancing agenda, servant leaders are far more interested in building Christ-like people than they are in building programs or platforms. They diligently work to provide the tools, discipling, and training necessary for God’s people to grow in grace and effectively use their gifts for the gospel’s advance. They long to see each person they serve flourish in their spiritual growth and usefulness for Christ (Col. 1:28-29). Like the apostle John, they have no greater joy than hearing that those under their care are walking in the truth (3 John 1:4).

In short, servant leaders do far more than simply meet peoples’ needs. They equip and empower people to be all that God has called and gifted them to be. Sadly, equipping God’s people for God’s work might be one of the most neglected aspects of servant leadership today. But if Christian leaders truly believe that the church is called to make disciple-making disciples (see Mt.28:18-20; 2 Tim. 2:2), they will orient their ministries around developing and deploying godly people for ministry work.

A Biblical Philosophy of Leadership Development

Equipping God’s people requires a commitment to leadership multiplication. Guided by Biblical convictions about servant leadership, Christian leaders should seek to cultivate a culture where leaders are continually raised up and trained to serve in various ways for the advance of God’s Kingdom. To create this culture, servant leaders must be intentional about their process of leadership development. Below is a three-step process currently being used by our pastoral team to identify, develop, and deploy potential leaders.

Identify

The first step in leadership development is to identify people who can be trained and entrusted with real leadership responsibility. The importance of this first step cannot be overstated. Leaders who desire a fruitful ministry that reaches beyond their immediate influence will spend most of their time and energy pouring into the lives of potential leaders. Commenting on Paul’s strategy for gospel multiplication, Dr. Ken Cochrum writes, “Paul invested in people as his primary strategy. He aggressively entrusted others with the mission. Paul also had clear selection criteria for his missionary teams and local church leaders (Acts 15:36-40; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5-9, 2:2-10).”¹

It is interesting to also note how deliberate and prayerful Christ was when He chose His disciples. Jesus knew that, humanly speaking, the future success of His mission would rest on the leaders He trained and developed. Robert Coleman states, “Though he did what he could to help the multitudes, [Jesus] had to devote himself primarily to a few men, rather than the masses, so that the masses could at last be saved.”² What criteria should servant leaders be looking for in future leaders? At our church, the elders use the acrostic STAFF to identify the qualities that are essential for potentials leaders. STAFF refers to servants who are teachable, able, faithful, and fruitful.

Develop

Once STAFF people have been identified, they need to be developed so that they can effectively serve as ministry leaders. Training will take place both informally “on the job” and in more organized, formal venues. Initial and ongoing development should focus on three major areas: convictions, character, and ministry competence.

Convictions. It is vitally important that everyone involved in leadership be on the same page when it comes to the beliefs, vision, and values of a ministry. In our church, the pastors makes sure that future leaders are well-versed in our fundamental beliefs, core values, and overall ministry philosophy.

Character. Because Christian leaders serve out of the overflow of a vibrant walk with Christ, character development is crucial to the health and effectiveness of future leaders.

Far too often, character development is either neglected or assumed in many Christian organizations. In our church, discipling groups are the primary vehicle used to help leaders mature in Christlikeness. In this more intimate, relational environment, future leaders receive encouragement and accountability in their walk with Christ. They are encouraged to confess their sin struggles and welcome correction, counsel, and exhortation from others.

Competence. Future leaders need to have the knowledge, training, resources, and skills necessary to accomplish their ministry responsibilities. The intensity and length of skills training largely should depend upon the nature of the ministry task. Although skills training can and should be specific, training should also be applicable enough to help future leaders grow in their other leadership responsibilities as parents, workers, and citizens in their communities.

Deploy

STAFF people who have been trained will then be entrusted with real ministry responsibility. Following Bill Hull’s six step approach to ministry development, the pastoral team “tells them what, tells them why, shows them how, does it with them, lets them do it, and releases them” to lead in ministry.³ Ministry leaders then meet at designated times throughout the year for ongoing encouragement, accountability, prayer, and further training.

Conclusion

True servant leadership is empowering and transformational. Servant leaders don’t simply do things for people. Rather, they equip people to be all that God has called and gifted them to be. Guided by the mission of God and the Word of God, servant leaders humbly lay down their lives so that those under their care can thrive and flourish. Servant leaders intentionally develop other leaders so that fruitful ministry can multiply beyond their immediate influence.