Servant: The Master Principle

The Artios Outpost blog series.

The chapter I read today was chapter 3, The Master’s Master Principle. In this chapter Sanders tells us that the word leader is rarely found in scripture. In fact, when God calls “leaders” he refers to them as servants. When God called Moses he said, “Moses my servant”. When we consider who our “teacher” is, Jesus, we see that he does not call himself a leader, but rather a servant.

“… I am among you as the one who serves.” -Luke 22:27

Before we can lead, we must acknowledge that as a leader, we are leading to serve. To illustrate this point, Sanders looks to Christ and his “attitudes and inner-motivations” in Isaiah 42:1-4.

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”

There are six attitudes that Sanders draws from this passage about Christ and how they relate to being a servant leader.

• Dependence: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights”.
• Approval: “whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights”
• Modesty: “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street”
• Empathy: “a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice”
• Optimism: “He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”
• Anointing: “I have put my Spirit upon him”

As I said in an earlier post, Sanders uses scripture to target the hearts, motivations, and attitudes of the leader. We must acknowledge that the call to be a leader is really a call to become a servant. Only through acknowledging that we are servants can we begin to model ourselves after Christ’s example.

What are your thoughts on this passage? Do you find it hard to lead to serve?