I went to the Men’s Breakfast this morning at RCCC (6 am!). The parking lot was packed and it was great to see 45+ guys that woke up early and sacrificed that extra bit of sleep to get together with other men for good community and food. Along with the tacos and coffee Sean Azzaro spoke on the subject of “Servant Leadership.” This is a topic that I am excited about and one that I believe is sorely missing from most organizations in our culture. Once you understand servant leadership, leading for the purpose of serving, there is no more freeing, enabling, effective way to be a leader of people. Here are some thoughts that were shared.

The Need For Leadership

Whether it be a CEO of a company, a Small Group leader, a Father, or the organizer of a local ultimate frisbee game, there is a need for people to assume the mantle of leadership and to fulfill that role so that things get done. Servant leaders do not serve for the name tag, status, or fame but because they have been called and equipped with those gifts that enable them to effectively lead. Think of the “best leader” that you have followed and they probably exhibited the traits of encouragement, integrity and service. Too often in our culture leadership is associated with abuse, self-seeking, or lording over. There is a definite need for leadership that is enabling, self-sacrificing, and inclusive.

What It is Not

A point Sean made was that “Servant leadership is not doing whatever everyone wants. We’re not talking about milk-toast leadership.” Being a servant does not equal being totally submissive. It is not giving everyone everything they want. As the leader of my family if I were to allow Annabelle to do everything she desired that would certainly lead to tough times for her. Leaders are called to make the tough decisions. Sometimes they are called to use that ancient word that has escaped our modern vernacular: “No.”

The Solution - You!

Sean encouraged the men, “Don’t stop leading.” I couldn’t agree with this more. What our society needs is for more men to step up and lead their families and communities as servant leaders. Men, if you do that then people’s focus would change and this country would be more positively affected by your house than the White House.