I’m a Leader? Good to Know.

What does it take to be a good leader? That’s a good question. Just type ‘qualities of a good leader’ into Google and you will get 12,200,000 answers. Choose the first couple options and Forbes.com will tell you; a leader is someone who possesses honesty, confidence, creativity, and even a sense of humor. Notre Dame University on the other hand prefers self-assessment, risk taking, good communication and sharp perception. If you read through the other 12,199,997 responses, you will probably get very different answers depending on whom you ask. If you ask me, I would say leadership has to do with service… and feet.

For centuries people have been asking what makes a good leader? This question is important because leaders have power and influence. They are often respected and others listen to their ideas. What if being a leader is more than being respected and having influence, but instead was about serving others and finding ways to respect and listen to them. In Mark 10:43 Jesus told His disciples who were arguing over who was the greatest that, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43). For Jesus leadership was about serving.

So what is service? In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer a brilliant German theologian describes four forms of service. The first is the act of listening. The second is “active helpfulness”. The third is “bearing with others” and the forth and final one is the service of sharing the Word of God. For Bonhoeffer, the first three acts of service must be an active part of one’s ministry before the fourth one can take place. If someone has invested time and energy into listening, helping and forbearing, only then they have developed the necessary foundation for the forth act of service to take place.[1]

We have now reached the point where feet, or more precisely washing feet comes into our discussion of leadership. In John 13, Jesus Christ, my go-to authority on leadership, served his disciples before their last meal together by washing their feet. It was a dirty and gross job to do and Jesus, the leader, humbled himself to do it. For me, washing the feet of others has therefore become a symbol of service and therefore a symbol for leadership. This doesn’t mean that I go around with a bottle of water ready for my next unsuspecting victim, but I do try to come into a group humbly with the intent to get to know, love and serve those around me before I begin to share what I have to say. The other day, after reading Bonhoeffer’s chapter on service I walked into my Bible study and realized that after six months of being a listening ear, a helpful hand and a patient participant of the group, I was now looked up to as a leader. I thought to myself, “I’m a leader? Good to know”.

Written by: Emily Gaddis

Invitation for feedback: I would love to hear what you all think about leadership. What makes a good leader? Do you agree with Bonhoeffer that you must lay a foundation with the three acts of service (listening, active helpfulness and bearing with one another) before you can share the word of God with them? I would love to hear what you think.

[1] Bonhoeffer et al., “Service.” In Life Together ; Prayerbook of the Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 98–107.