Christian Leadership Development – Growing the Servant Heart

Growing the Servant Heart – Developing Christian Leadership

The goal of the “Growing the Servant Heart” on-line programme is to introduce and explore Christian leadership from the perspectives of Christ-centeredness; examining Jesus, the Servant King, as a model of leadership. It comprises a series of 5 core modules or lessons – links to these lessons are listed at the bottom of the page.

“Growing the Servant Heart” encourages the growth of a Christ-centered Christian leadership character and goes on to recommend practical approaches to help leaders live this out. The tools have been chosen because they enable Christians who are leaders to put into practice the character and attitude that Jesus taught and modelled.

This proven Christian leadership programme is grounded in practical reality but it is not pragmatic, it is not rooted in worldly management philosophies. It is rooted in the character of Christ and is focused on Kingdom principles; essental Christian leadership qualities. It is a journey of discipleship for Christians who happen to be leaders.

As we examine how and what Jesus taught the disciples about leadership, two things quickly become clear: Jesus saw leadership in terms of servanthood not position and status; and that such leadership can only truly be expressed through a character that is both Christ-like and Christ-centred. For Jesus it is more about others than self and centres on attitude not technique.  It is about growing a servant heart and is distinctly different to the leadership models that prevail in the world. Applying our learning we see that Christian leadership is about being Christ-centred servant leaders.

“Growing the Servant Heart” is an on-line, updated, interactive version of the Christian leadership development programme used for many years by Claybury International, which was devised by Rick Sessoms and Colin Buckland. The original programme was delivered around the world, in various forms, to pastors, missionaries and leaders in other Kingdom enterprises. It included a 10 year leadership culture change programme with TWR.

The Christian Leadership Programme

The Growing the Servant Heart programme has 5 main sections. It first explores the Biblical context and Kingdom character of Christian leadership as exemplified by Jesus. It then examines key aspects of  leadership practice which have a day-to-day impact, investigating approaches that exemplify and build on the Christ-centred servant leadership style discovered from the Bible.

The Jesus Model

The essence of Christian Leadership in the Kingdom of God is to be rooted and grounded in the character, teaching and example of Christ. This module is in two lessons, which explore Jesus’ character as a leader and his teaching about leadership and, in that light, reflects upon Chrsitian leadership working in an organisational context.

Leading with Insight

Effective Inter-personal relationships are a vital element of servant leadership. This element explores awareness of one’s self and those with whom one interacts, and then adjusts our behavior to help the other person. This is called “Emotional Intelligence” and this module explores this dimension of relationships.

Leading Through Others

There are two important dimensions to be considered when a leader leads others. The first is the essential leadership practices that the leader must exhibit; the second is the needs of the people being led. “Leading through Others” examines both these areas form the Christ-centered servant leadership perspective:

Leading Through Relationships

This module concerns itself with effective communications, which are the oil that lubricates cooperation between team members, whether they are the leader or team members. In order for cooperative relationships to work, effective communication skills, focused on the needs of others, are vital for all concerned, especially leaders.

Leading the Journey

Leadership is about the journey. Encouraging others to join the journey requires the development of a shared vision.   Leading people on that journey to the destination inevitably means change, which must be sensitively addressed. The servant leader needs to know how to ensure that clear vision is developed and then to inspire others to willingly embark upon the journey that brings it to reality. This lesson examines these skills.

How to complete the course

The course is completely free of charge and you can access all of the modules, topics, and student notes from the page menu bar above. This web site does not track student progress, so you may find it helpful to keep a note of your progress.