Welcome
to the Servant Shepherd Seminar,
Becoming a Servant Shepherd Leader
It
is our prayer that this workbook will help you establish a solid,
biblical foundation for leading the Lord's people entrusted
to your care. The purpose of this workbook is not merely to
give you better leadership techniques. Rather it is to enable
you to more effectively fulfill the Great Commission and the
Great Commandment. Effective leadership, based on the principles
of the Word of God, is not an end in itself, but a means to
advance the Kingdom of God. In the Church, leadership is the
handmaid of the Great Commission.
The goals of this workbook:
- To
introduce the principles of leading as taught in God's Word;
- To
underscore the importance that God attaches to leading His
people His way;
- To
call leaders in His Church to a renewing of their hearts and
minds on the subject of leadership;
- To
provide conceptual tools for identifying the leadership culture
of your church or parachurch organization;
- To
help you begin the process of aligning the leadership culture
of your group, church or ministry with that taught in the
Bible and modeled by our Lord Jesus Christ.
As
Leighton Ford puts it, we as leaders are…
… to be led more by Jesus,
to lead more like Jesus,
to lead more to Jesus.
May
God richly bless your ministry of leadership,
Rich Rardin, founder
Servant Shepherd Ministries
Use of the Servant Shepherd Workbook
This workbook can be used in a variety of settings to help train
leaders in the biblical principles of leading. Below are a few
suggestions.
-
Teach the material over eight 60-90 minute sessions. Assign
reading in the corresponding chapters in The Servant's Guide
to Leadership prior to each session. Use the workbook modules
to review and teach the core concepts from each chapter.
- Assign
the reading of The Servant's Guide to Leadership prior to
a leadership retreat. Use the workbook to teach the core content
and discuss the implementation of a new leadership philosophy
in your church or organization.
- Teach
the first six modules of the material in weekly sessions with
your leadership team as preparation for a leadership retreat.
During the retreat complete modules 7 & 8 and return from
the retreat with a detailed plan for implementing your new
leadership philosophy.
-
After teaching the material to your leaders, utilize the Servant
Shepherd Leadership Indicator to provide confidential feedback
to your leaders on how those they lead perceive their practice
of biblical leadership. This format will necessitate beginning
the SSLI data gathering 4-6 weeks before the conclusion of
your seminar. The SSLI feedback can also be provided during
a leadership retreat.
NOTE: Some leaders may prefer to use a certified Ministry Partner
from Servant Shepherd Ministries to conduct their seminar, retreat,
and SSLI feedback. An experienced person can be especially helpful
in facilitating the implementation planning discussion for your
new leadership philosophy.
Introduction
It is quite unlikely that a church or parachurch organization
committed to the worship of Jesus Christ would knowingly elect
a professing but moral atheist to a position of leadership.
But how many of these same institutions elect leaders whose
working knowledge of biblical leadership is no different from
that of a moral atheist? Is it any wonder that our churches
and mission agencies struggle with maintaining healthy teamwork
and avoiding outright conflict within their leadership teams?
Our challenge is to erect nothing less than a leadership culture
built on the solid foundation of God's Word from a blueprint
drawn by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The modules that follow
will take you step by step through the process for building
such a leadership culture. May the Lord himself be your master
carpenter.
Modules
1. Defining the Problem………………………………..……………………7
2. The First Principles of Biblical Leadership ………………….……….
14
3. The Mental Model of a Biblical Leader ……………………………….
19
4. The Driving Motives of a Biblical Leader ……………….…………….
26
5. The Biblical Leader's Manner of Treating Others ..……….........…..
31
6. The Biblical Leader's Priority Methods…………………………….….
37
7. Clarifying Your Own Leadership Philosophy……………….……..….
42
8. Develop and Implement Your Leadership Philosophy…………..…..
47
Resources available from Servant Shepherd Ministries…………..……
56
