EDUCATION MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THAILAND Asian Academy for Leadership and Peace, India Christian Educators Leadership Training ROLE OF CHRISTIAN SERVANT LEADERSHIP CHURCH OF CHRIST THILAND, BANGKOK, THAILAND OCTOBER 9-10, 2015 Prof. Dr. John Zechariah Chairman AALP

Church and its Organizations needs urgently great leaders The world needs more men and women who are more than just managers of people, money and organization Leadership is always crucial to the church and its organizations But at present movement, it seems to me great leadership is essentially urgent

Who is a leader? A leader is one who leads others in a course of action or in a direction. Who is Christian leader? A Christian leader is one who profess and beliefs in the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Who is a Christian leader? One who directs another to believe in the teaching of Jesus Christ A Christian leader is one who inspires to live in a Christ like manner and lives with integrity A Christian leader not only one who directs another to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ but also sets and example and inspires other to live as we do

Continuation… A Christian leader helps others in need, shows his passion and love for the Lord and is humble in all things A Christian leader does not have to be a pastor, deacon or elder of the church Just being a Christian you are already a leader, just by attending this training/ capacity building, now you are a better leader.

Christian servant leadership: Who is a servant leader? A servant leader is someone who is servant first, who has responsibility to be in the world and so he contribute to the well-being of people and community A servant leader looks to the needs of the people and asks him how he can help them to solve problems and promote personal development Servant leader places his main focus on people, because only content and motivated people are able to reach their targets and to fulfill the set expectations Servant leader is one who first wants to serve and not be served.

We can describe leaders from several perspectives, each of which casts different light on what goes into the complex task of leadership responsibilities. Leadership Responsibilities: The leader is a visionary The leader is determined man or woman with integrity The leader is a team builder The leader is a victorious sufferer The leader is a fighter The leader is a influencer with value

Continuation… The leader is a helper and giver The leader is a encourager The leader is a stabilizer The leader is a compromiser The leader is a compassion-infuser The leader is a servant leader

What is servant leadership? A servant leadership is best defined by Jesus Himself “whoever wants to become great among, you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first, must be your slave- just as the Son of Man, did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28) In a Christian realm, all leadership should be servant leadership.

Continuation…. The bottom line to the application of servant leadership is that we don’t imitate the examples of the world: our example is Jesus, who came as a servant Therefore, our mission is to serve one another, to give of ourselves like Christ came to give His life We are to give our lives not only in service to Him, but to our fellow men, including those in the church and outside it (Mark 12:31)

But common misconception among those who want to exercise a leadership role over other is that it comes: With glory With power With position and honor From biblical perspective servant leadership is not only being free of abuse of power and coercion/pressure, but is first and foremost based on mutual respect and love for one another.

Characteristics of servant leadership: 1.Listening: Traditionally, leader has to be a good communicator and have competence to make decisions A servant leader has the motivation to listen actively to subordinates and support them in decision making The servant leader particularly needs to pay attention to what remains unspoken in the management setting This relying on his inner voice in order to find out what the body, mind and spirit are communicating.

2. Empathy: A servant leader attempts to understand and sympathize with others Workers may be considered not only as employees but also as people who need respect and appreciation for their development. As a result leadership is seen as a special type of human work, which ultimately generate a competitive advantage.

3. Healing: A great strength if servant leader is the ability for healing one’s self and others A servant leader tries to help people solve their problems and conflicts in relationships, because he wants to encourage and support the personal development of each individual This leads to the formation of a business culture, in which the working environment is dynamic, fun and free of the fear of failure.

4. Awareness: A servant leader needs to gain general awareness and especially self-awareness He has the ability to view situations from a more integrated, holistic position As a result he gets a better understanding about ethics and values.

5. Persuasion: * A servant leader does not take advantage of heir power and status buy forcing compliance, they rather try to convince those they manage * This element distinguishes servant leadership most clearly from traditional authoritarian models and can trace back to the religious views of Robert Greeleaf

6. Conceptualization: A servant leader thinks beyond day-to-day realities That means he has ability to see beyond the limits of the opening business and also focuses on the long term operating goals A leader constructs a personal vision that only he can develop by reflecting on the meaning of life As a result, he derives specific goals and implementation strategies.

7. Foresight: Foresight is the ability to foresee the likely outcome of a situation It enables the servant leader to learn about the past and to achieve a better understanding about the current reality It also enables the servant leader to identify consequences the future This characteristic is closely related to conceptualization.

8. Stewardship: All leaders of the organization have the task to hold their organization in trust for the greater good of society Servant leadership is seen as an obligations to help and serve others

9. Commitment for the growth of people: A servant leader is convinced that people have an intrinsic value beyond their contributions as workers Therefore, leaders’ should nurture the personal, professional and spiritual growth of employees. For examples leader spends money for the personal and professional development of the people who make up her organization The servant leader will also encourage the principles of everyone and involve workers in decision making

10. Building communities: A servant leader identifies means to build a strong community within his organization and wants to develop a true community to stake holder and his organization The servant leader concept has been mentioned in most religious texts:

Continuation….. Christian New Testament says: “But ye (shall) not (be) so but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger and he that is chief as he that doth serve” Yet it shall not be so among you but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant And whoever of you desire to be the first shall be slave of all For the son Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. Islamic Text: “the leader of a people is their servant”

Leaders lose the Right to be selfish: (Romans 15: and 4 How can leader gain a servant heart? A servant leadership is – serving others Not wielding power A servant leader declines self- serve others not self A servant leader – develops others before self and values to others life A servant leader accept mistreatment – forgive wrongs of others A servant leader be a student always – remain teachable A servant leader pursue the harmonious relations – pursue unity and peace A servant leader imitate Christ – Jesus as out Model.

What is a spiritual leadership? (servant leader has to be spiritual) There are many definitions for “spiritual leader” and the term brings to mutual different things? To different people Some think of spiritual leader as a sort of “guru” Others think of him as a life coach, one who can guide others through the problems and trials of life The Bible describes a spiritual leader as one who possesses the spiritual gifts of leadership, the ability to lead others as a direct result of the gift received from, and performed by the power of the Holy Spirit Finally, the spiritual leader is concerned with the souls of those he leads. This is not to say that he cares nothing for the physical needs of the people.

God invites you to be leader: (Genesis 1:26) God is the ultimate leader and He calls every believer to lead others God choose human beings to lead, not any animal because man possesses spirit and capacities to relate to Him and follow Him Yet, God won’t force any one When man fell into sin, God should have executed a His plan by finishing Adam and Eve But yet, He called us to follow Him and lead others

Continuation…. God made that clear from the beginning when He stated, “Have dominion” (Genesis 1:28) God’s call to lead is consistent He not call masses but individuals For example: - Abraham – to raise nations - Moses – to deliver His people from Egypt - Joshua – to lead His people to promised land

Continuation …. Every time God desired to do something great, He called a leader to step forward Today also He calls leaders to step forward for every work – both large and small God calls you to teach for great task to build children for His glory ARE YOU READY?

Conclusion: We learnt: Church needs urgently great leader Who is a Christian leader? Christian servant leadership Leadership Responsibilities What is servant leadership Characteristics of servant leadership Servant leader loose the Right to be selfish Spiritual leadership God invites you to be leader.

GOD BLESS YOU TO BE SERVANT LEADER