A Servant Leader’s Survival Kit

Sub-title – Guideline #3: A Servant Leader’s Heart is Humble.

I thank God the inspiration He sent for this blog was a gentle whisper of a thought instead of another jarring experience. He heard the prayer I uttered at the end of my last blog. But without a background story I was in danger of moralizing. I will then be the first to break this principle I am to write.

I became more hesitant when I read this passage in Companion during my prayer time last Monday, June 20, 2011:

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. “ – Matthew 7:1-2

Then I remembered the cheesy survival kits we used to assemble and sell in our now deceased gift shop (May it rest in peace). I decided to put one together instead for me, myself and Mirella. I need to check this periodically like the list used for car maintenance. So here are the things I need for MY leadership to survive the test of humility:

1. Shades – to shield my eyes from the blinding klieg lights when I serve onstage (literally and figuratively) and I take credit for far more than I deserve. To be able to “see the people in the audience”. (I must not forget those who have laid the foundation of commitment before me or who have labored to build the community/ministry with me.) To keep my eyes clearly focused on the only star of the show – Jesus.

2. Sharp pin – to prick my ego for those times I sinfully enjoy having my name bannered in big bold fonts. To deflate me and make me pliant enough to emulate a leader who once gave me the directive to feature another leader’s name instead of his when space is lacking.

3. Disposable cup – to remind me a servant leader is but God’s vessel. For times when I’m feeling on top of the heap and begin to think I’m the only useful person around. May I not forget that God can raise others to take my place when I no longer serve humbly. Maybe I’ll print a caricature of King Saul and David on the side just to drive home the point.

4. “My Way” CD – to crush/break/shatter when this song starts to be my national anthem, when I’m putting my interests above the good of the community and when I start throwing my weight around. I must remember many people have been killed over this song in our videoke-crazy country. I need to be vigilant so that my soul will not be included in the casualty count.

5. Baby leash – to wear when I start to put my nose in other people’s business because I’ve deluded myself into thinking I know better. I will ask Papa God to hold the reins so that He can pull me back when I’m straying to where I’m not supposed to go.

6. Correction fluid – to blot out memories of the time, treasure and talent I have given in service lest they become a source of pride.

This is a standard I’m setting for myself. Please bop me on the head with this hammer

when I forget to use the items in my kit. It will not hurt (as gentle reminders don’t) but it will certainly get my attention. Again, this is my measure but other servant leaders are welcome to use it for their humility check ;)

Focus on the Heart

My God is a sneaky one. There are times when I’m so pre-occupied with a million and one tasks I forget that one thing He has called me to do – write. You know what He does? He sends me experiences so moving that my insides will burst like popcorn if I don’t write about them. The incidents range from the spiritually sublime to the downright infuriating.

This week, He did it again. He prodded me to write Guideline #2 for my “Manual for Servant Leaders Who Insanely Love to Serve God Despite Harassments and Frustrations” (working title). I’m kidding. Scrap the word “prodded”. "Tasered" describes the experience better. The struggle to keep the peace and my cool, to continue loving my siblings in Christ and at the same time nurture those the Lord has given me to shepherd was so unnerving I couldn’t sleep for two nights.

Upon reflection, the Lord once again impressed on me that He allows these things to happen for a reason. The fruit of this experience was a rich harvest of lessons learned. And so I have Guideline #2: Focus on the heart of the servant. When a servant leader is faced with what he or she perceives to be imperfections – even in other ministry’s affairs – (be it a wrong color, sub-standard design, conflicting schedules, erroneous sentence construction, noise, mess, character flaws, etc., etc.) look to the heart of the servant. If there is goodness of intention, zeal and passion to serve present there then everything else becomes a minor, minor thing.

Yes, correction is needed if there is cause. From the book “The Way of the Shepherd”, a gift from a loving sister in my community, I read pain must sometimes be inflicted (perhaps in the form of “reprimands or poor performance reviews”). In Chapter 3, “Help Your Sheep Identify With You”, the story was told about a ewe whose ear had to be tagged to identify it as belonging to a flock. The shepherd had to hold the ewe tight to tag it. Later, the shepherd held the ewe again but this time to comfort it. Both times, the sheep was held close – the “first to cause pain” and the next “to offer encouragement”. The lesson given was “for great leaders, leadership isn’t just professional; it’s personal.”

Taking that lesson out of the corporate world and applying it to community service, I will rephrase that as: for servant leaders, leadership is less professional; it’s more personal. I remember this line from a mass song: “I will hold Your people in my heart.”

Another thought flashed in my head as I prayed about the situation: focus on the heart of the servant to keep it from being broken irreparably. Handle it carefully like fragile china. Undue criticism could after all dampen the spirit of a volunteer. Let me stress this vital point: community servants are volunteers. Their only compensation is love.

The calm slowly creeping inside me as I write this is proof positive that the Lord tasered me just to get this guideline recorded. And so I pray that the next guideline He sends will descend upon me from a serene cloud of wisdom. My servant leader’s heart is fragile too.