SERVANT-HEARTED LEADERSHIP
In the eyes of Jesus, we’re all leaders!
What does it mean to listen, lead, and love like Jesus? Since each of us is a unique member of the body of Christ with different life experiences, to lead well requires constant dependence on the Spirit to grow us as servant-hearted leaders.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
Servant-Hearted Leadership
Biblical leadership is not about education, experience, title, authority, or power. It’s about sacrificially serving one another in love. Jesus is the greatest model of servant leadership ever to walk the earth and is the definition of servant-hearted leadership.
The greatest among you will be your servant. (Matthew 23:11)
Leadership is not a position or title we earn; instead, it is something God created us to live out exactly where He has placed us. Servant leadership equips God’s people to become all He has called, created, and gifted them to be.
THRIVING LEADERS:
- Spend time in God’s Word
- Pray regularly and often
- Treat others with dignity, love, and respect
- Face conflict with humility
- Care for those they lead
- Listen actively
- Experience deep joy
“Great leadership requires a constant willingness to be transformed into the person we were created to be.” (propelwomen.org)
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20a)
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.” What a picturesque and content-laden word! Think about the only thing an ambassador is commissioned to do whatever he is, whoever he is with, whatever he is working on. The single call of an ambassador is to represent [Christ].” (Paul David Tripp)
NINE QUALITIES OF SERVANT-HEARTED LEADERSHIP
- Spend time in God’s Word – Hear the Word, read the Word, study the Word, and meditate on the Word daily.
- Live a life of prayer – Talk to the Lord often about everything until your life is a prayer.
- Integrity – God calls us to be honest and transparent before Him and one another.
- Humility – We need to learn from and listen to those we lead, recognizing their God-given value and worth. Learning about someone else’s journey expands our view of the whole body of Christ on earth.
- Willingness to listen – As leaders, we ask questions and listen to discover the needs of those we lead. We listen to, learn, and grow. Above all, we listen to God, who cares deeply for those He has called us to lead.
- Flexibility – As servant leaders to those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability, we need to be flexible and willing to adapt to each person’s unique needs. Inviting change is an opportunity for both of us to grow.
- Resilience – The only constant we can count on is God’s presence. Resilience grows as we persevere, press on, or take a new route. We will be challenged and face roadblocks. We might even be stopped in our tracks. Those challenges are invitations to lean a little bit deeper into God.
- Stewardship – People are God’s most valuable creation. Calling out what is good and faithful about those we serve brings glory to God.
- Empathy – Whenever Jesus encountered someone who was hurting or in need, He paused and gave them His full attention. He had compassion first, then he acted. Jesus’ model reminds us to pause, smile, and listen. At Chronic Joy, we say it this way, “We’re an illness ministry; people always, always come first.”
LEAD WITH HUMILITY
Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. (Philippians 2:3)
“My prayer is that we as leaders would be empowered by God’s grace to be joyfully willing to live the suffering-servant gospel that is our reason for existing, in everything we say and do, in the place where the Savior has positioned us.” (Paul David Tripp)
In God’s economy, we’re all leaders, serving God by serving His people. At Chronic Joy, our focus from the very beginning has been on making a difference one precious life at a time.
Free Printables
Servant-Hearted Leadership
What kind of leader am I? Am I drawn by God's call to serve the precious people He has placed right in front of me? Do I celebrate, encourage, and listen to others?
Prayers of Servant-Hearted Leaders
Being followers of Jesus, we are all called to listen, lead, and love. Prayer opens our hearts and eyes to those we can guide with a listening ear and a kind word. Begin with the prayers below, use them as they are, or create personal prayers of your own.
Prayers for Small Groups
Chronic Joy’s small-group prayer guidelines help facilitate safe, growing, and trusting small groups. Our nine small-group prayers will kickstart the prayer lives of those with chronic illness, mental illness, or chronic pain.
Hands and Feet: Prayers for Servant-Hearts
God delights in working through His people. Every act of service, word of encouragement, and prayer offered in love is part of the good work He has prepared for us to do. God will use our little loaves and fish, multiplying them to feed and encourage His people.
Statement of Faith
We believe in salvation by grace, a free gift from God, given to all who believe in His Son Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior.
Build an Illness Ministry
This practical guide walks you through the first steps toward building a chronic illness small group.
Small Group Agreement & Prayer of Kinship
These useful tools provide a framework for grace and peace in chronic illness, mental illness, and chronic pain small groups.
Small Group Roles
This downloadable PDF provides helpful tips for organizing your small group and defining group roles.
POSTS TO PONDER
Beyond Traditional Serving Models – Ask Better Questions
I sat there and let the tears fall, realizing for the first time that the traditional roles of serving overlook an entire group of people: those affected by illness and pain. To meet this need, we need to look beyond traditional models of serving.
The Heart of a Servant Leader
I (who thought I had so many lessons to teach) was beginning to see that I had so many lessons to learn. Only Christ is our true leader.
3 Leadership Principles from the Golden Rule
Servant-hearted leaders: learn how the Golden Rule encourages us to think of the kindness we wish others would show us; do the same for them.
Books We Love
SERVANT-HEARTED LEADERSHIP: Called to Listen, Lead, and Love Like Jesus
Chronic Joy
IN THE EYES OF JESUS, WE’RE ALL LEADERS.
This one-of-a-kind resource book includes 12 chapters, each followed by actionable, practical growth tips that you will turn to again and again.
Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to Relate to Those Who are Suffering
Kenneth C. Haugk, PhD
Haugk has written an essential guide on caring for and relating to people as they encounter difficult times in life. This book draws on extensive research of those who have experienced various kinds of suffering and offers key insights and suggestions of what to say and do (and what not to say or do) when people are hurting. With its biblical foundation, compassionate approach, and concrete ideas, this book will help you bring God’s loving presence to hurting people when they need it most.
Serve Strong: Biblical Encouragement to Sustain God's Servants
Terry Powell
Serve the Lord long enough and discouragement or some form of opposition is inevitable. Joy-sapping workloads, feelings of inadequacy, lack of fruitfulness, or battle fatigue from spiritual warfare often spurs God’s servants to quit or sabotages their passion. The purpose of this book is to infuse them with biblical perspectives that buoy flagging spirits, boost motivation, and cultivate endurance.
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry
Ruth Haley Barton
“I’m tired of helping others enjoy God. I just want to enjoy God for myself.” With this painful admission, Ruth Haley Barton invites us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Weaving together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insight from the life of Moses.
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HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION
TED TALK – Simon Sinek has a simple, but powerful model for inspirational leadership – starting with a golden circle and the question: “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Wright brothers. Watch HERE.
EVERYDAY LEADERSHIP
TED TALK – We have all changed someone’s life — usually without even realizing it. In this funny talk, Drew Dudley calls on all of us to celebrate leadership as the everyday act of improving each other’s lives. Watch HERE.
triage your busy life
TED TALK (watch HERE) – ER doctor Darria Long explains key lessons from hospital emergency rooms on handling stress, chaos, and life. Helpful insights and tools, simple applications, and ideas for everyday life that everyone (including small group leaders, church and organization leaders, and pastors) can apply:
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- Crazy Busy vs Ready Mode
- How to Triage
- Prepare for Crazy
- Reduce Your Daily Decisions
- Get Out of Your Head
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Partnering with Chronic Joy
Our Licensing Agreement provides the framework for churches and organizations to launch Chronic Joy programs for those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability. Taking this important step opens the door to community and invites people to discover hope, find purpose, embrace worth, and encounter God’s indescribable joy as they learn to do life together.
Are you interested in starting a small group or a chronic illness ministry in your church?