James Stytle brought the message this morning, centered on Mark 10:35-45. He shared context of the relationship between Jesus and his disciples, particularly James and John (aka “sons of Thunder”). Throughout his ministry, Jesus modeled servant leadership and tried to teach the concept to his disciples. Although we have the advantage now of being familiar with the scriptures that talk about it, James posed the question whether we understand servant leadership any better than the original apostles did?
He shared ten characteristics of servant leaders (quoting Larry Spears of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership). The ten characteristics are:
1) they listen
2) they have empathy
3) they support people physically and emotionally
4) they are self-aware
5) they are persuasive
6) they look at the big picture
7) they consider consequences of actions
8) they exercise stewardship
9) they are committed to the growth of people
10) they build community
It is unlikely that any of us will be asked to die for our faith, but we do have to choose whether we will live for our faith. Working on being a better servant leader is an example of how we deepen our discipleship. Which of the characteristics do you want or need to work on? Food for thought. Thanks, James!