Type “servant leadership” into Amazon.com and you will find no shortage of books about leadership that are modeled on this concept. Talk to people within the church today and it is clear that servant leadership is a very popular model for leadership. I confess that I haven’t read any of the books but the image always strikes me as getting at only one part of what it takes to be a good leader. Having found myself the only naysayer in the room when this concept is brought up, I’ve discovered that to be against servant leadership is nearly as bad as being against motherhood, apple pie …. So why do I persist in opening my mouth?

The concept of servant leadership has been, I believe, a great corrective against traditional styles of power-over or top-down leadership where the leader thrusts his or her will upon the rest of the group without consultation or collaboration. I’m definitely in favor of consultation, collaboration, listening to the will of the group. The servant leadership model has also helped identify abuses of power – the ”I’ll ride in a limo but the rest of you can take the subway” approach to leadership. I think that is helpful too. I even usually describe my own work at Drew by saying “I serve as the associate academic dean.”

But I remain profoundly uncomfortable with leaving the image at servant. I think this discomfort stems from an understanding of power. In reality, servants have to exercise power indirectly. They do not decide the agenda, they do not choose the arena, they don’t decide on the tasks. The servant does what the master decides. So of course, the servant can manipulate things and affect the outcome through a certain amount of conniving. And that sounds all too familiar with the way women have had to exercise power through the years – working indirectly to make their husbands think that the idea was theirs, saving money out of the food money in order to buy something they want, etc. Sure the traditional woman has some power in the situation but only by acting in a passive-aggressive way.

Take the position of rector of an Episcopal Parish. The rector has certain powers that the church has assigned to the position. The rector has absolute power over hiring and firing staff. The rector has complete power over the main public presentation or the church  -- worship. To pretend that the rector is just one servant among many is to ignore the reality of the situation. In a healthy church setting, the rector can often work collaboratively 99% of the time, sharing the power to make those decisions. But there are times when the leader has to use his/her power to make the tough decisions. The rector is the one who decides to fire the organist who has embezzled funds or the youth group worker who acted inappropriately. Sometimes those decisions need to be made with minimal consultation in order to protect privacy. Is that servant leadership? Not in a common understanding of what a servant is. Does it serve the best interests of the parish? Hopefully. But it is not a servile act.

Good leadership requires service but it also requires much more. What am I looking for in a rector?

I am looking for a person with spiritual power. The church sets apart clergy because it believes that they have spiritual gifts. I want to be able to sense the vibrant spiritual life of the rector.

I am looking for a person who ministers into the needs of others more than out of his/her own needs. If the tasks of the rector are done to shore up the rector’s ego, to help the rector to look like a good clergy person rather than out of real compassion for the needs of others then the ministry feels fake. I don’t think most of us ever act from pure motives – but someone who is secure in her or his own identity is able to appreciate the gifts of others.

I am looking for someone with imagination – the kind of imagination that allows them to listen to others empathetically, to think beyond the current issues in the church, to hear suggestions from staff and lay people and catch their visions.

I am looking for someone who can empower others to act in ministry in the world.

I am looking for someone who can act decisively and intelligently when needed.

And I’m looking for someone who can inspire the parish to think more broadly and more deeply.

Is that a servant? Yes but so much more. Jesus did wash the feet of his disciples but he also healed the sick, threw the money changers out of the temple, preached the Sermon on the Mount, and offered such a persuasive vision of what humanity could be that we continue to try to live up to it 2,000 years later.  I’m not willing to settle for just a servant.