​Everywhere He went, He was leading, He was teaching, He was creating a new culture for those who would follow Him.  

When the children came to Jesus, He embraced them with tenderness. When the woman touched the hem of His garment, though unclean by her flow of blood, He accepted and healed her. When demoniac of the Gadarenes, disheveled and filthy, chased after Him cursing and swearing, He set him free and put him in his right mind. When the prostitute washed His feet with her hair, when the adulteress was condemned before Him, He offered them forgiveness and restoration. He said love those that hate you, forgive those that malign you, give to those that ask you and pray for those that spitefully abuse you. And when He wrapped a towel around His waist, took a basin of water and a rag and knelt before His disciples and washed their feet one by one, He was showing them a new way to live and lead. It would be a culture where every person was valuable and no one, regardless of their title or position, could lord their authority over another. It was to be a culture of collegiality. 

The gospel of John tells the story: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. …So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.’” (John 13:3-15) 

This is leadership according to Christ. Yes, one may have a title; and yes, one may have authority and the right to command others; but never should that leader seek to elevate his worth over others or somehow imply that he is more important. Each of the disciples whose feet Jesus washed would become the future leaders of the church He was building. The message to them was clear: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” Do not elevate yourselves over one another. Don’t allow your egos to get in the way of serving together. Be a servant to one another. Value each other more than you value yourself. Defer to one another, support one another, trust one another and serve one another. The culture of leadership in His Kingdom was to be a culture of collegiality. And when leaders serve as a collegium, then the trust of leadership is secure. 
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So how does a leader promote collegiality? There are several practical elements that come together to demonstrate it. 
 
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The presence of humility in the life of the leader is demonstrated by “servant-leadership.”

The phrase “servant leadership,” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf wrote: “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

Greenleaf further wrote, “The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

Taking our example from Jesus Christ, a servant-leader primarily focuses on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While carnal, self-centered leadership pursues the accumulation power, servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

This is the humility of leadership. It is the lowering of one’s own self and giving preference to others. It is caring about others more than I care about myself. It is building a vision that is more important than my popularity—a vision that will outlast my life. This is the rock of leadership. This is the trust of leadership: I lead, not for my own benefit, but for the benefit of others.

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​There are two types of motivations that drive leaders. There are leaders who are driven by selfish ambition, and then there are leaders who are motivated by a love for others. The former are much like James and John; they are concerned primarily about personal elevation and act out of self-interest. The latter, like Christ, are more interested in serving, edifying and accomplishing good for the benefit of others. This truth is not some ethereal idealism; it is based upon practical examples demonstrated in the life of the ultimate servant-leader, Jesus Christ.

First, the servant-leader has an awareness of his accountability to God. Jesus said, “The Son of Man can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19) In other words, the servant-leader realizes he must pattern his leadership after God. He knows that God has set the standard for right and wrong and he will ultimately answer to God for his conduct, especially as a leader.

Secondly, the servant-leader recognizes the worth and value of every soul. This was what motivated Jesus. In Luke 15:4-6, He told the parable of a man who had a hundred sheep. After realizing that one lamb was lost, the man left the ninety-nine and searched after the missing lamb until he found it. Just as the one lost lamb held significance to the shepherd, so does every individual life have incredible value to God. Nowhere was this demonstrated more than on the cross. Romans 5:8 tells us, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The cross is the revelation of the love of God for the human soul. For every person, God has a plan. For every life, God has a purpose. Jeremiah 29:11 reveals this: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Thirdly, the servant-leader is focused on the long term good he can achieve for others. The self-centered leader cares only about immediate, self-aggrandizing gratification. In fact, great servant-leaders exhaust their lives building a vision that will outlast themselves. Consider the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day.

Taking our example from Jesus Christ, a servant-leader primarily focuses on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While carnal, self-centered leadership pursues the accumulation power, servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first, and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.
 
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