SERVANT LEADERS FORMATION PROGRAM

LEVEL 1 BASICS OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP

Module 1 My Identity as a servant leader

SLFP 1.1.1 My Identity as a Servant

A Introduction

1. We need to understand the nature of Christian service

1.1 What are we expected to learn in this session:

 What it is to be a servant?
 Who am I as a servant?
 Why do I serve?
 How should I serve?

2. The two basic realities in our spiritual life:

2.1 There are two kingdoms opposed to one another: The kingdom of darkness under Satan and
the Kingdom of Light under our Lord Jesus Christ.
 Satan has real spiritual power (Eph 6:12). He has forces under his control which are
opposed to God and His followers.
 Our enemy is not principally social problems, human weakness, lack of education, etc.,
but a whole kingdom. Our battle is a spiritual one.
 Any Christian service is automatically spiritual warfare. E.g. evangelization.

2.2 Man is in the bondage of sin, and needs to be redeemed.

 The fundamental problem of the world is not social ills (this is just the manifestation of
the problem), but sin.
 Man needs to be reconciled with God, and only Jesus is able to do this.
 You and I are the instruments that God uses to bring others back to Him.
 The above two realities should form our vision for our Christian service.

3. Christian service is not simply what you do, but who or what you are as you do it.

3.1 The emphasis is on being a servant rather than on doing service.

3.2 The story of Martha and Mary. Lk 10:38-42

B The three important New Testament passages that will examine clarify our understanding of
what it means to be a servant.

1. Lk 17:7-10. The duty of a servant.

1.1 We have lost touch with the real meaning of the word "servant" as understood in Jesus'
time.
 During those times, a servant (or slave) was someone who was another person's
property and had no rights whatsoever.
 Thus Jesus' story must have been amusing to his listeners. They could not comprehend a
situation where the servant is served by his master.

1.2 We are the Lord's servants. We have been bought at the price of his blood. We no
longer own ourselves. We are to be men and women who serve the Lord without
regard for ourselves.

2. Phil 2:5-8. The identity of a servant.

2.1 We must see this from the perspective of Jesus himself.

2.2 Christian service is not meant merely for self-fulfilment. As servants we cannot insist
that God give us work that we want to suits our personality, interests or personal gains.

2.3 The servant of Christ is not self-seeking. Rather, he humbles himself and puts himself at
the disposal of everyone else.

3. Heb 5:8. The obedience of a servant. Under the lordship of Jesus, servanthood involves
obedience to His authority. There is no half-way. Either Jesus is Lord of all areas of our life,
or our ascription of master and Lord to him is meaningless.

C Obstacles to obedience

1. Natural disinclination to being a "servant".

1.1 The position of "servants" as lowly, doing menial work, less in dignity that the others.

1.2 The idea of serving other’s interest first.

2. Reasons why there is this disinclination:

2.1 Human Rebelliousness that says, “I will not serve.”

2.2 Lack of trust (in the Lord, our heads, our brothers and sisters).

3. Solution:

3.1 Have the correct concept of being the Lord's servant. Realize that God calls us to serve
 Him and that He will care for us as a loving Father.

3.2 A fundamental reorientation of our lives. Realize that a servant of the Lord never goes
into a situation for his own benefit, but always looking out for how he can serve others.

3.3 Realize that God puts other people in leadership position over us and He works through
them.

3.4 Realize that God wants us to experience brotherhood and sisterhood in the Lord. Have
faith!

D Growing into maturity as Christian servants.

1. The Lord does not want us to be merely enthusiastic and willing servants; more than this, he
wants us to be mature Christian servants that can be truly count on.

2. Some signs of maturity:

2.1 Christian wisdom and teachings are being applied to your lives.

2.2 Relationships (both with the Lord and with one another) are strong and full.

2.3 Faithfulness characterizes your lives.

2.4 Daily personal prayer

2.5 Attendance at meetings

2.6 Fidelity to service assigned. You are men and women of your word who can make
commitments and stick to them.

4. You are working on the various obstacles and shortcomings in your lives as Christians. Every
new day should be taken as an opportunity to become more Christ-like.

5. You are servants who can serve without having to be acknowledged, appreciated or
rewarded.

5.1 Our motivation in the service is not reward or recognition for our person.

5.2 We simply serve out of our love for God and neighbors.

E Conclusion.

1. The cost of servanthood. 2 Cor 11:23-28.

1.1 Perhaps none of us would ever have to go through Paul's experiences. But being God's
 servant will involve some hardship and suffering.

1.2 All the difficulties involved with being a servant will produce joy for us. There is a purpose
for the difficulty.

2. Our lives are like a grain of wheat. Jn 12:24-26.

2.1 To be fruitful we must fall into the ground and die.

* We die to our self-interest.
* We put the Lord first.

2.2 Our dying to ourselves is life-giving to others.

3. We are all privileged to be the Lord's servants.

LEARNING & DOING JOURNAL:

1. Please write down one or two reasons why you are serving in your parish?

2. LEARNING POINTS:
a. List down the learning-points for you in this session.
b. In this session, please share one or two learning-points to purify your reason why you are
serving your parish.

3. RESOLVE: To grow in your identity as a servant in your parish, what would you do about these
learning points?

4. OVERCOMING OBSTACLES: What obstacle/s in your life that hinders you from serving your
parish better? What would you do to overcome these obstacles?

5. GROWTH: As you try to exercise these learning points in the next 30 days, in the scale of 1-10,
rate your improvement in the area of HUMILITY. Please share about this in our next session.