see below

Work is due on Sunday (2/2/20) at 1300 hours (1pm eastern time zone). Work needs to be completed according to the Turabian writing style. 

See attachments and Complete assignment In around 100–300 words.
 

Review and evaluate the two attached sources that you could use in a paper on the research topic: Servant Leadership. Argue for the use of these two sources given the topic of choice. Why would you choose these sources?

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Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations 15, 2016
pp. 239–245, ISSN 1841-2394, eISSN 2471-0881

EFFECTIVE SERVANT LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR

IN ORGANIZATIONS

DOINA POPESCU LJUNGHOLM
dopopescu@yahoo.com

University of Pitești

ABSTRACT. Scholarship about the multidimensional servant leadership behavior,
the direct and mediating influences of servant leadership on job contentment, and the
mechanisms via which servant leadership impacts outcomes has increased and con-
solidated, especially in recent years. The purpose of this article is to gain a deeper
understanding of the relevant consequence of servant leadership on group member
performance evaluations, the antecedents of servant leadership, and beneficial influ-
ences of servant leadership on main organizational results.

Keywords: servant leadership behavior; organization; follower; performance

How to cite: Popescu Ljungholm, Doina (2016), “Effective Servant Leadership Behavior
in Organizations,” Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations 15: 239–245.

Received 11 October 2015 • Received in revised form 8 February 2016
Accepted 9 February 2016 • Available online 20 May 2016

1. Introduction

Leader behaviors that apply more significant influences on workers’ self-
identity have more powerful effects on subordinate behaviors. On account of
the inconstant, active, and people-oriented character of service sectors
(Lăzăroiu, 2015a, b), servant leadership may associate relevantly to workers’
self-identity, and eventually to their operation: the former contributes more
conspicuously than the latter in influencing frontline workers’ self-identity
(Nica et al., 2016) and successively their service performance. An extremely
competitive group atmosphere determines clear requirements regarding work
roles and powerful stimulants for workers to provide better customer service
if they are capable and disposed to do so. (Chen et al., 2015)

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2. Beneficial Influences of Servant Leadership
on Main Organizational Results

Workers’ self-identity entrenched in the group, which comprises self-efficacy
and group identification (Mihăilă et al., 2016), conveys the influences of
servant leadership on employees’ performance behaviors. Group competition
atmosphere improves frontline workers’ inclination to associate their service
operation behaviors with their self-identity entrenched in the group. Recog-
nizing that their own importance stems from their group belonging (Nica,
2016; 2013), people become institutionalized to their group and empathize
with the other fellows. Servant leaders further frontline workers’ service
operation through the latter’s self-identity, implied by their self-efficacy and
group identification. Mediocre servant leaders are self-centered, being un-
successful in showing a selfless and developmental predisposition that is
significant in service contexts. (Chen et al., 2015) Effective leadership
demands that followers be regarded before leaders. The latter should assist
their followers so that these can develop into relevant actors who assist their
organization (Popescu Ljungholm, 2015) and who can accomplish better
outcomes than the leading participant would be able to create independently.
Servant leadership tackles individuals who aim to be servant leaders as it
demands them to annihilate their own inclinations, necessities, and/or inten-
tions to foremost satisfy the topmost prime concern necessities of their
followers. Servant leadership is established in a for-profit entity by a servant
leader displaying managerial expertise and coherence in assisting followers
work out the diverse issues that they tackle every day, by complying with
followers’ workplace demands in order that the latter commit themselves
thoroughly to their activities in the entity (Popescu and Ciurlău, 2016), and by
generating an atmosphere where teamwork and synchronization are appreci-
ated among followers when they accomplish their activities. (Ozyilmaz and
Cicek, 2015)

Communication is an essential element that will interact with leadership
features and workgroup results. Successful individual behavior in the work-
place may be most highly accomplished by a powerful cognizance (Bondrea
and Ștefănescu-Mihăilă, 2014a, b) and compliance to cultural standards and
desirable communication approaches in the workplace. Leader–member man-
nerliness of exchange is an indication of the culturally suitable interactive
exchanges that take place between leaders and fellows. The social and cul-
tural standard exchanges between leaders and their group fellows are essential
to the servant leadership process within the workgroup. Servant leadership
concerns to the level to which a leader performs as a role pattern for an
individual’s followers and displays consideration for the followers’ advance-
ment and development. (Bakar and McCann, 2016) Being a servant leader

241

incurs dedication to make personal renunciations to develop other individuals
to their greatest capacity. In servant leadership connections the leaders
function as stewards: their followers are individuals who have been assigned
to them to be lifted to their superior selves (Popescu and Predescu, 2016)
and to be what they are qualified of becoming. Followers are likely to react
well to servant leaders as they have established themselves reliable as ser-
vants. The authentication of servant leaders is their intentional option to assist
individuals. Servant leadership is an integrative and value-laden leadership
pattern that enables individuals to be both successful and ethical, providing a
ground-breaking leadership fabric around which entities can establish benefi-
cial work settings that regard profit as an essential means. (Sendjaya, 2015)

3. The Mechanisms via which Servant Leadership Impacts Outcomes

Servant leaders tend to regard their followers to be supportive and responsible
fellows and consider them in an egalitarian manner, encouraging followers’
communion aim and stimulating them to become more uncompelled and
caring to their customers (Popescu, 2016; 2014; 2013), and influencing
frontline workers to manifest more citizenship behaviors. Servant leaders’
developmental, self-reflective, and selfless predisposition makes them success-
ful in altering all features of workers’ service operation. Servant leaders dis-
play consideration and recognition toward their followers. From the latter’s
view, servant leaders regard them as proficient and trustable service suppliers.
(Chen et al., 2015) As servant leaders do not employ coercive power in their
interplays with followers, a social exchange link in the type of services
supplied to followers (Popescu, 2015a, b) is utilized by servant leaders to
compel their followers to perform well. After the followers obtain services
from their servant leaders, they feel constrained to return them by using
servant leadership behaviors that serve their followers: the social interplay
between a servant leader and her followers generates a psychological atmos-
phere as grasped by followers that is advantageous to their professional
advancement. (Ozyilmaz and Cicek, 2015)

Servant leadership and dyadic mannerliness of exchange influence perfor-
mance evaluations when team fellows perform in accordance with culturally
suitable interactive exchanges (Devine, 2015): a leader who can stimulate
team fellows’ association and dedication to the activity and objectives of the
workgroup is well balanced to accomplish better outcomes. Servant leader-
ship is appropriate to advance workgroup fellows’ operation, particularly
when leader and fellows interplays within the workgroup are compatible with
cultural arrangements: the servant leader, instead of participating in time-
serving behaviors, is involved in the separate group fellow’s growth and
career improvement. (Bakar and McCann, 2016) Because servant leaders

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maintain their prime concerns on the followers, they persistently inquire
themselves whether they accurately configure individuals (Mircică, 2014), or
shape their personal intentions and employ the latter to accomplish them.
Servant leaders are moral participants who strive to take part in moral
undertakings and their followers, while being assisted, are reconstructed into
moral participants and finally servant leaders themselves. Servant leadership
demands that leaders guide followers for the latter’s own eventual advantage.
The precondition of servant leadership is followers’ holistic moral and ethical
advancement. The genuineness of servant leaders arises out of a spiritual and
moral source of inspiration (Nicolaescu, 2015) moderated with an unselfish
inclination to assist other individuals. Servant leaders depend on unbiased
moral values external to themselves to obtain their assessment regarding what
is right and wrong: they would not establish their decisions and undertakings
exclusively on their presumed idea of morality. Team fellows’ affect-based
trust in the servant leader stimulates them to characterize themselves regard-
ing their link with the leader. (Sendjaya, 2015)

4. The Direct and Mediating Influences of
Servant Leadership on Job Contentment

Servant leadership has a developmental, self-reflective, and considerate
inclination: servant leaders show a powerful developmental and selfless
predisposition (Mihăilă, 2011), which may encourage workers’ irregular
subsequent thinking and make it more probable that the latter perceive each
other as fellows, and not autonomous, distinctive persons. Self-efficacy and
group identification moderate the link between servant leadership and the
measures of workers’ service operation. Individuals tend to associate their
behaviors with their identity if they think it significant to preserve and
support those identities. (Chen et al., 2015) When the topmost prime concern
requirements of workers are satisfied via servant leadership, separate
workers grasp the work setting as a place where leaders are proficient and
consonant (Petcu, 2015), workers pursue fully on commitments, and every-
one collaborates to accomplish the organizational goals. Followers return the
services that they acquire from their servant leaders by displaying and
expressing their contentment with the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics
of their responsibilities. The more workers are psychologically accomplished
by the practice of assisting other individuals and the more persons gain from
the undertakings of their servant leaders, the more the followers will be
pleased with the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of their responsibilities.
(Ozyilmaz and Cicek, 2015)

The worker-oriented focal point of servant leadership is revealed in a
greater recognition of leader–member dyadic mannerliness of exchange within

243

the workgroup: the servant leader’s “subordinate first” stress assists the
leader in accomplishing better operation of workgroup fellows. When the
latter are aware that the leader is interested in their advancement, they are
likely to more thoroughly accept group objectives (Nica, 2015a, b) and
mechanisms via their interplays with the workgroup leader. The effective link
between servant leadership and group member operation is more noticeable
when leaders and fellows in workgroups are relevant in mannerliness of ex-
change in their interplays. Leader–member dyadic mannerliness of exchange
generates the exchange of culturally accepted duties. (Bakar and McCann,
2016) Leader’s decision making process and organizational structure function
as barrier requirements for servant leadership to influence worker job
satisfaction. Psychological capital is the process via which servant leadership
affects employee participation (Lăzăroiu, 2013; 2012; 2011) and workplace
abnormal behaviors. Servant leadership arises from a personal belief to alter
other individuals with moral boldness and spiritual comprehension into what
they are competent of becoming. Followers are likely to react positively to
servant leaders as they have confirmed themselves reliable as servants.
Whereas servant leaders attempt to alter other individuals to be more
servant-like (Pera, 2015), there is a more relevant goal that both the leaders
and servants reciprocally strive to carry out. Instead of employing power to
assist their demands, servant leaders abandon personal rights so they can
successfully assist other individuals. Being a servant represents the self-notion
of the servant leader: servant leaders’ main purpose to assist may emerge
from their self-notion as selfless people. The self-sacrificial character of ser-
vant leaders supplies a foundation for their behaviors to be readily mirrored
by their followers. (Sendjaya, 2015)

5. Conclusions

Followers return their servant leaders’ behaviors by evidencing comparable
serving behaviors, generating intended employee behaviors (Bratu, 2015) that
further a psychological and social setting in which significant organizational
duties can be carried out. Reciprocation arises from a series of exchange
processes that take place at a distinct level of the managerial pecking order
(Nica and Potcovaru, 2015a, b, c) in which each servant leader assists to
stimulate her followers to become servant leaders. Acquiring servant lead-
ership furthers valuable employee positions, behaviors, and psychological
atmospheres at work. (Ozyilmaz and Cicek, 2015)

244

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GYEONGCHUN CHOI
THE LEADING SERVANT

Servant leadership theory and practice emerged in the late 1960s
and early 1970s to become a global phenomenon. Since 1969, when
Greenleaf (2002) penned “the Leader as Servant,” the first chapter of
Servant Leadership, the conversations—both scholarly and common—
have continued for nearly five decades as efforts have been made to
apply the principles to various fields.

Greenleaf (2002) strongly argues that “leadership was bestowed
upon a person who was by nature a servant” (p. 2). his view of a
servant-leader is that the person must first be a servant. according to
Greenleaf, someone’s ability to lead is demonstrated by his or her
disposition to serve. It is well known that Greenleaf’s concepts of
servant leadership (e.g., listening, acceptance, empathy, foresight,
awareness, persuasion, conceptualizing, healing and serving) were
inspired by hermann hesse’s Journey to the East. In that story, it was
the servant Leo who did menial chores, but who was eventually
revealed as the real leader.

the biblical narrative depicts many examples of those who embody
the characteristics and principles of servant leadership as defined by
Greenleaf (2002), characters such as Jesus, Moses, Joshua, Samuel,
David, Paul, and John. also, there are Old and New testament stories
that contain accounts of servants in their socio-cultural background.
God uses the slavery system devised by fallen human beings to describe
his own character as he leads his people. It seems that whenever fallen
human beings ignore the humble-serving characteristic of leadership,
God deliberately inserts the stories of exemplary servants into the
biblical narratives.

Remember the stories of the servant of abraham (Gen. 24:1-67), the
servant Joseph (Gen. 39:1-23), abigail (1 Sam. 25:2-42), a maidservant of
Naaman’s wife (2 Kings 5:1-3), the song of the suffering servant (Isa. 53),

Gyeongchun choi is an associate professor in the theology Department of Sahmyook University in
Seoul, Korea.

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the story of Onesimus (Philemon), and the teaching of Jesus on
servanthood (Matt. 20:25-28; 24:45-51; 25:14-30; Mark 10:42-45; 13:34-37;
Luke 12; 22:24-27; and John 13:3-17).

Of the many biblical stories that demonstrate servant leadership,
1 Samuel 9 gives a profound case of the “leading servant” when Saul
was selected as the king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. I suggest the
phrase “leading servant” because it helps us to remember that Saul’s
servant was first a servant, even though his actions were more like
those typically attributed to leaders.

the story of 1 Samuel 9 relates the account of Samuel anointing
Saul as “leader” (v. 16). Most commentators describe this story of Saul’s
encounter with the prophet Samuel within the Lord’s providence. While
generally the role and function of the servant in this event is treated as
additional or ancillary information, Jacobs (2008) gives attention to
the role of the secondary characters in this narrative (1 Sam. 9-10)
by the chiastic structure. his conclusion is that the story shows God’s
guidance in selecting the king of Israel through the many secondary
characters surrounding Saul. the whole story can be divided into four
scenes in terms of the progress of the story encircling the servant of Saul.

The First Scene
the first scene (vv. 1-4) is the background of the story, which

contrasts Saul and his servant. God said to Samuel, “about this time
tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. anoint him
leader (emphasis added) over my people Israel” (1 Sam. 9:16, NIV 1984).
Mccarter (1980) claims that the term “the leader” appears here for the
first time in the Old testament. It means, as a passive form, “the one
proclaimed, designated” or “one who is made known, singled out,
designated for office” (tsumura, 2007). Evans (2004) sees the
distinctive role of Saul as leader. She argues that Saul was primarily
anointed as a nagîd (leader), which has military connotations and
could have been applied to any of the earlier judges. the word melek
(meaning “king”) is not used here (p. 66).

From a human point of view, Saul had enough qualities to be Israel’s
leader. Despite Saul’s reaction—“But am I not a Benjamite, from the
smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of
the tribe of Benjamin?” (1 Sam. 9:21, NIV 1984)—his genealogy shows
that he could get strong assistance and protection from his family. his
father, Kish, is introduced as “a man of standing” (1 Sam. 9:1, NIV
1984) who owned slaves, donkeys, and oxen (cf. 11:5). also, Saul was

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“an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a ב
(tôb) means that he was noticeably handsome and attractive in his
physical appearance (Mccarter, 1980).

In contrast, Saul’s servant had no name, no family background,
no career or accomplishment, but was just “one of the servants”
(1 Sam. 9:3) of Kish’s family. From the beginning of the story, the
servant’s position seems to be hidden and passive. there is no evidence
of other accounts of this servant outside this story. In fact, the rest of
the chapters are filled only with accounts of King Saul’s life, his
victories, and his defeats.

this story thus gives a paradoxical comparison between Saul and his
servant. One is a well-equipped leader; the other is a fully subordinated
servant. Nevertheless, the story of this anonymous servant has an
inseparable linkage to Saul’s selection as the first king of Israel.

The Second Scene
the second scene (vv. 5-10) describes the purpose of their journey, to

search for Kish’s lost donkeys. In God’s providence, Kish asked his son,
Saul, to go with one of the servants and find the donkeys (v. 3). Saul
and his servant searched for the donkeys for a while but they could not
find them. Finally, “Saul said to the servant who was with him, ‘come,
let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and
start worrying about us’” (v. 5, NIV 1984). here, the servant plays a
pivotal role in what happens next: “[he] replied, ‘Look, in this town
there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says
comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to
take’” (v. 6, NIV 1984).

While Saul was considering returning to his father, his servant
suggested they meet with the prophet Samuel. the servant was
proposing a spiritual solution to their problem. Bodner (2008) points
out that the servant was “remarkably well informed, knowing the
minute specificities of the ‘man of God’” (p. 82).

Bergen (1996) identifies three features in the brief interchange
between Saul and his servant in verses 6-10:

First is Saul’s profound ignorance of Samuel. though Samuel
lived nearby and was known to “all Israel” (3:20; 4:1), even Saul’s
young slave (hb. na`ar), he was unknown to Saul. Second is
Saul’s failure to consider seeking divine help in the trials of life.
It was Saul’s slave, not Saul himself, who recognized the need for
spiritual help in coping with their problems. the future king’s life
at this point was devoid of a spiritual sensitivity that looked to the
Lord for help. third is Saul’s assumption that spiritual favors had

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to be bought; though some unscrupulous prophets might have
demanded this (cf. Mic 3:11; acts 8:20), no true servant of the Lord
would. (p. 121-122)

Saul demonstrates his limited perspective with the recognition of his
empty hands. he said, “If we go, what can we give the man? the food
in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What
do we have?” (v. 7, NIV 1984). Gifts were an integral part of social
intercourse in the ancient world. they were given to friends, guests,
and almost anyone whom one wished to treat honorably or have good
relations with (Mccarter, 1980). his observation was correct, but not
constructive. Without giving up, “the servant answered him again.
‘Look,’ he said, ‘I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the
man of God so that he will tell us what way to take’” (v. 8, NIV 1984).
the hebrew suggests that “the money seems to have turned up
adventitiously” (Mccarter, 1980). Evans (2004) suggests that “the
servant’s willingness to contribute what appears to have been his own
money to aid their search indicates a close relationship to Saul and his
family” (pp. 63-64). although we do not know how the servant found
the money, what is clear is that the servant was prepared to use it. this
scene reflects the servant’s future-oriented attitude. While Saul was
about to quit, his servant unwittingly found a way to keep them within
God’s providence.

Because he was a servant, he could have merely followed his
master’s instruction without question or argument. however, his
attitude was active rather than passive, participative, and even
stubborn or argumentative (Jacobs, 2008). Gordon (1986) refers to the
servant’s attitude as “a critical intervention,” and points out that the
servant was “able to offer just the right information and requisite item
(v. 8) to keep his master in business” (p. 113). although the servant’s
status was that of a follower, he was not merely a follower. according
to Evans (2004), “the servant, who appears, at this stage, to have rather
more initiative than Saul, suggests that while they are here they might
as well look up the man of God” (p. 63). consequently, if the servant
had not shown the stubborn determination and had not carried a
quarter-shekel of silver, the journey would have been a failure.
Magonet (1992), seeing the characteristics of a leader in the servant’s
attitude, argues that “this young man had imagination and
resourcefulness, two valuable qualities in a leader. But he remains
anonymous, literally hidden by the large shadow cast by Saul—an
unknown youth who might just conceivably have become king” (p. 53).

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The Third Scene
In the third scene (vv. 11-24), Saul and his servant set out to find

Samuel. they meet some women coming out to draw water. When they
ask the women where the “seer” is, they are told that Samuel will be in
the “high place” to sacrifice that very day (v. 11). White (1958) explains
what the “high places” were, but not before setting some background.
She says that “when the call of God first came to [Samuel] the services
of the sanctuary were held in contempt,” but that a “great change had
taken place under Samuel’s administration” (p. 609). then she clarifies
the high places:

But the worship of God was now maintained throughout the land,
and the people manifested an interest in religious services. there
being no ministration in the tabernacle, sacrifices were for the
time offered elsewhere; and the cities of the priests and Levites,
where the people resorted for instruction, were chosen for this
purpose. the highest points in these cities were usually selected
as the place of sacrifice, and hence were called “the high places.”
(White, 1958, p. 609)

While it appears that Israel was turning toward God, Saul was
somewhat oblivious to this. he did not even know who Samuel was and
asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?” (v. 18).
God had been speaking to Samuel and informing him as to who Saul
was and that he should be anointed leader over Israel. So Samuel
identified himself as “the seer” and invited Saul and his servant to eat
with him in the high place. he also told them that the donkeys had
been found.

“then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated
them at the head of those who were invited—about thirty in number”
(v. 22, NIV 1984). the servant was seated beside his master at the head
of the table. Interestingly, both Saul and his servant—not only Saul—
were seated at the head of table. the undeniable fact is that the servant
was also honored by the prophet.

In spite of their difference in social status, the writer of this story
uses the third person plural pronoun “they” to denote a close
relationship between Saul and the servant. “They reached” (v. 5), “they
set out” (v. 10), “they were going up” (v. 11), and “they went up” (v. 14).
In this scene God teaches us that the servant was not inferior, but
highly valued.

The Fourth Scene
In the fourth scene (vv. 25-27), although the servant had great honor

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and opportunity to meet the prophet, the next morning he was sent
ahead of Saul. the prophet said, “tell the servant to go on ahead of us”
(v. 27). the servant continued to carry out his duties as a servant. after
he attended the feast, he returned to his anonymous status.

Implications for Christian Leadership
as we read this story, we come face to face with several questions

in terms of the role of the servant. Why was this story written? Who is
the real the hero of the story? Why was the servant honored with his
master? If the servant was important in this story, why was he not
mentioned afterward? What is the intention of the writer in describing
the servant’s role in this story? Is there any connection to servant
leadership principles?

My opinion is that God is using this story to help people (Saul in
particular) become aware of the role and attitudes of leaders. the
background of the story is the event of choosing the first king of Israel.
as God reluctantly accepted the Israelites’ request for a king (1 Sam. 8),
he certainly faced the urgent need to show appropriate attitudes for
leaders. In contrast to the kings of the other countries, the leaders of
Israel would need to show God’s character through their leadership.
Because God himself was to be marginalized due to the stubborn
request of his people, it seems that he had to teach leadership
principles in an indirect way. Furthermore, through the story of Saul’s
servant, it seems that God is teaching the attitudes and behaviors of
spiritual leaders. here we can grasp what God expects each of his
servants to be.

this story has many implications for christian leaders. First, every
christian is fundamentally a servant; therefore, every christian leader
is fundamentally a servant. there is no difference between leaders and
followers in that regard. Saul’s servant was a servant in status, and so
every christian is a servant first and always. Jesus reminded us of this
when he said, “So you also, when you have done everything you were
told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done
our duty’” (Luke 17:10, NIV 1984). In order to help us remember that we
are servants, we’ve reversed the emphasis on “leader,” placing it
instead on the “servant”—the leading servant.

Second, christians are not only leading servants but leading servants
who have a spiritual focus. they seek and expect to find the solution to
life’s challenges in the providence of God—even mundane challenges.
they will be quick to remind others that God knows the way and will

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constantly and prayerfully seek God’s will, even while others may be
seeking after and trusting other gods or themselves.

third, leading servants are the ones who find fulfillment in meeting
the needs of people. they are not passive followers; rather, they are
proactive participants. Saul’s servant was ready to serve and to meet
his master’s need, even using his own resources. he wasn’t self-
centered and selfish. he was ready to share. at the moment he offered
his own quarter-shekel of silver, he was being used by God to fulfill
his purpose. the purpose of leading servants is to lead people to be
victorious over their trials. their satisfaction and reward are the souls
who are saved by their sacrificial ministries.

Fourth, although christian organizations can functionally categorize
leader and follower, both have existentially the same value because
both are servants of God who are seeking to obey their Master’s voice.
the author of hebrews knew this principle, saying of Jesus that
“although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for
all who obey him” (heb. 5:8-9, NIV 1984). If christian leadership is
christ-like leadership, our main attitude will be obedience. and we
will acknowledge that others are seeking to obey God also. can we
have confidence that God is enlightening all of his people and that
each one is seeking to obey God’s will? We must wonder if Saul in this
story learned that his servant had something of value to offer. after he
became king, did Saul ever reflect on the moment when he was
anointed and how his servant was critical to the fulfillment of his
anointing?

Fifth, leading servants are honored by God. their service is valuable
in his sight. In fact, the contribution of the leading servant may not
even be noticed until a time of risk. In this story, Saul and his servant
were both invited to sit at the head of the table together. how do we
acknowledge the contributions of those who have lesser positions in
our culture? Or are we following a worldly way by primarily affirming
those in power positions?

Sixth, the ministry of leading servants is an ongoing task. Many
leaders want to ascend because of their achievement. Leading servants,
however, are content to remain in their original position or to go back
to their original position after times of unique contribution. Just as
Jesus keeps his ministry after his ascension, leading servants continue
their ministries until the end of their lives.

Seventh, in reality, leading servants derive their behaviors from the

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character of God. We must never underestimate the power of a biblical
worldview—what happens when we place our confidence in biblical
concepts and embrace biblical narratives. We should anticipate that
people’s worldviews will influence how they experience and interpret
ideas—even ideas like servant leadership. Flaniken (2006), for example,
demonstrates his biblical worldview by selecting seven characteristics
of the servant-leader in Greenleaf’s book and comparing them to
biblical references. In contrast, Rigaud (2012) indicates the
compatibility of servant leadership theory with the New age/New
Spirituality leadership movement. this article has attempted to show
compatibility of servant leadership with a biblical narrative by
emphasizing the role of the servant in Saul’s anointing as king. Is this
helpful? Which comes first, our confidence in the biblical narrative or
our confidence in a widely accepted leadership model?

In summary, if Saul had followed these principles, he would have
been a great leader of the Israelites. Likewise, if we follow these
principles, the kingdom of God on earth will expand. the biblical
principles of leading servants are so clear that we do not need to be
confused in choosing our attitudes and behaviors as leaders. Obedience
to God’s teaching secures our leadership. Fundamentally, christian
leadership is exemplified in the leading servant. all the success and
failure of the church depends on the understanding and practice of
leading servants at every level of the church. although leading
servants’ humble attitude makes them seem inferior, they are leaders
who draw people to God. christian leaders are leading servants.

References
Bergen, R. D. (1996). 1, 2 Samuel: An exegetical and theological exposition

of Holy Scripture (New american commentary, Vol. 7). Nashville, tN:
Broadman & holman.

Bodner, K. (2008). 1 Samuel: A narrative commentary (hebrew Bible
Monographs). Sheffield, England: Sheffield Phoenix Press.

Evans, M. J. (2004). The message of Samuel: Personalities, potential, politics,
and power. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Flaniken, F. (2006). Is the Bible relevant to servant-leadership? The Journal
of Applied Christian Leadership, 1(1), 32-39.

Gordon, R. P. (1986). 1 & 2 Samuel: A commentary. Exeter, Devon, England:
Paternoster Press.

Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of
legitimate power and greatness. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Jacobs, J. (2008). the role of the secondary characters in the story of the
anointing of Saul (I Samuel IX-X). Vetus Testamentum, 58, 495-509.

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Magonet, J. (1992). Bible lives. London, England: ScM Press.
Mccarter, P. K., Jr. (1980). 1 Samuel: A new translation with introduction, notes

and commentary (anchor Bible, Vol. 8). Garden city, NY: Doubleday.
Rigaud, O. (2012). A Christian servant leadership model and training for the

Adventist church in France (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). andrews
University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

tsumura, D. t. (2007). The first book of Samuel (New International commentary
on the Old testament). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

White, E. G. (1958). Patriarchs and prophets. Mountain View, ca: Pacific Press.

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