When we were in elementary school, there was nothing like being line leader.
Whether it was to the bathrooms or the cafeteria, the destination did not compare to the few glorious minutes of guiding your class around the corners and through the halls.
Opportunities to lead are sprinkled throughout our lives, from line leaders to CEOs. Yet, while society often acknowledges the person in charge, it is important not to seize these opportunities carelessly.
The world’s idea of a leader is often of a manager or someone who wields a lot of power over a group of people, Jeff Groeling, department chair and professor of communication, said. However, being a leader does not always take the form of official roles.
“As Christians, I think we have to make a conscious effort to lead where God has placed us, no matter where that is,” Groeling said. “We’re all leaders.”
Similarly, Kelly Yordy, director and assistant professor of Master of Arts in Leadership, said we have all been given spheres of influence, whether that is in our family or friend groups, and we should seek to impact others well in these spaces. On the other hand, there are specific positions of leadership that come with formal titles.
We may often see any form of governance as something to be pursued. While we should seek to exercise good leadership, Yordy said, we should be more discerning when we approach official leadership roles.
“If someone wants to be in a position of leadership because they enjoy the accolades it provides for them, or they enjoy the attention, or maybe it makes them feel significant in a way, that’s actually not where our identity and our significance is supposed to come from,” she said. “So I don’t think everyone should (always pursue positions of leadership). I think It’s really important that people are examining their motivations behind it.”
As Christians, we are called to be servants just as much as leaders, and disciples just as much as directors.
We can best see this balance in none other than Jesus Christ, who came as both a servant and a king. In his time on earth, Jesus welcomed little children, washed his disciples feet and most importantly died for our sins.
His type of leadership was very countercultural, May Young, department chair and professor of biblical studies, said.
“It is a leadership, but it’s characterized by servanthood, and not by power and dominance in the way we normally think about it,” Young said.
We are called to look to Jesus as our model for leadership. His example shows us that leadership is ultimately about our inward posture.
Young mentioned how in 1 Samuel, God says He does not look at the things man looks at. Rather, God looks at the heart.
Passing up on opportunities to assume governing roles, therefore, is sometimes better than to serve in these positions for the wrong reasons, Yordy said.
Furthermore, if we do decide that God has called us to formal leadership, our dependence on God must not stop when we are placed in roles over others. Young said prayer is very important in leadership.
“It’s not necessarily that God puts us (in a position of leadership) and then we’re like, ‘Okay, God, I got it from here.’” she said. “It’s really leading with the Lord and having him lead this whole process and depending on him.”
Yordy referenced a book where the author describes a coat with two pockets. One pocket has dust in it and the other has gold. These pockets remind us who we are, she said.
The word “servant-leadership” may seem overused on Taylor’s campus, but as we quickly approach the real world and all of its opportunities to rule, we may find that this trite term has more significance than we thought.
Servant-leadership is about having a right perspective of who we are: dust and gold.
“We are sinners. From dust we’ve come and from dust we shall return,” Yordy said. “And we’re also gold. Because we are created in God’s image. So if we can hold that simultaneously, that is significant.”
