Does Servant Leadership Fit into Business Leadership?
Have you ever wondered if servant leadership fits in the world of business leadership? For sure it fits into the church and ministry, but do the principles of work for:
A corporate executive at AT&T?
A president of an airline?
A business entrepreneur?
A general manager at Starbucks?
A doctor, dentist, lawyer?
A school principal? A schoolteacher?
A little league coach?
The Lord Jesus knows your work environment, whether it’s pastoral, business, athletic or school related. Remember, He spent the first thirty years of His life on earth in the family’s carpentry business. He knew what it was to work with His hands, earn a living, make decisions, deal with customers, and be exhausted at the end of a day.
Would you hire Jesus to be your leadership consultant? Does He have the expertise to deal with the leadership issues you face every day? Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges in their fine book Lead Like Jesus (pages 16&17), reflect on some leadership challenges Jesus encountered:
Working with or living and caring for imperfect people.
Taking time to train, develop, and delegate
Under constant scrutiny and testing of commitment and integrity
Facing fierce competition and conflicting demands from friends and foes
Tempted by instant gratification, recognition, misuse of power
Facing serious personnel issues, including turnover and betrayal
Communicating in a multicultural environment
The need to challenge the status quo and hierarchy to bring about change
The need to call attention to poor leadership at great personal risk
The need to put career or relationships on the line to serve a higher purpose
In your darkest hour, to be abandoned by your friends
When you hire a consultant, you want to hear from the best. So why not bring in the Lord Jesus, who is perfect in everything? He isn’t just smart. He’s brilliant. He’s the smartest, the wisest leader who ever lived. He always has the best information on everything and certainly on the things that matter most in human life. AND, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. . . For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15)
Fred Campbell lives in Ovilla, Texas, just south of Dallas. He pastored two independent Bible churches for 40 years. Currently, he is the president of Living Grace Ministries, a ministry committed to helping churches develop servant leaders, following the model of the Lord Jesus. Fred has traveled to 29 countries and 15 states to lead the workshop. He received his ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and his D Min from Phoenix Seminary. Fred is married to Carolyn and has a married son and two grandchildren. His web site iswww.livinggraceministries,com and his email is fred@livingraceministries.com
