Leading through Service

ByPLI Leadership

 Across PLI, I see leaders who are masters at leading as servants.

 


 

They invest in relationships. They know it’s the currency with which they will lead long into the future.

They live, they speak, they lead with integrity. Depth of faith. Humility. What they say and what they do? They match.

Woven through both is the spirit of a servant.

Like Jesus! Coming not to be served but to serve.

Some of these folks carry high profiles. Who they are and what they do are known by many.

Many more are known in the local circles in which they lead and by those whose lives they influenced, but not beyond that. They’re content to faithfully lead as servants being used by God to change lives and eternal destinies.

Caleb, a young man in the upper Midwest.

“I want to form a group for guys like me who want to stay sober. A place to hang out. Share life. Help each other. Christians and not yet Christians. I’ve been sober for 18 months. God has redeemed my life. And my discipleship huddle in 1,000 Young Leaders is transforming my life.”

A servant leader!

Servant leaders have a unique way about them!

  • They’re willing to sacrifice for the sake of the mission.
  • They need little praise and recognition. They’re audience is One. And, that One counts!
  • They have an internal “motor” that knows they’ve been forgiven much, so the gift of grace is great.
  • They eschew personal comforts for Kingdom accomplishment.
  • They frequently pursue more difficult leadership pathways when easier ones are available to them.

And servant leaders? They attract others to follow, to participate in something greater than themselves.

Emmanuel, a bishop in Africa. He and his wife are investing themselves in training pastors and their spouses.

“Where PLI training has been, I see the church growing very fast. We had 2 young men be converted to Jesus and before they had been baptized, they had shared Jesus with others who came to faith and started a church!”

This is a bishop who’s willing to step down from his position to dedicate the next season of his life to training leaders full time for the church across the continent of Africa in PLI! A servant leader!

My guess? You’re that type of leader!

So, a simple word of thanks to you! You do it. You do it well. Not perfectly, but you do it well. You’ve tasted the Great Discouragement these days. Perhaps considered the Great Retirement. Maybe, but probably not the Great Resignation. (Let’s be honest: the effects of the pandemic are much farther reaching than we all imagined!)

So, to you I doubly commend a word of thanks.

It’s not easy to model a different path when people have been discipled more by culture and cable news than by the words and ways of Jesus.

Debbie, the wife of a pastor. She has the clarity of conviction to not be simply conformed to the will or the wishes of congregation members, but follows her passion to invest in the marginalized and those who always feel like they’re looking in from the outside. Operating deeply from the character God has formed in her and with the skills of a trained social worker, she invites the outsiders in and the abandoned to find adoption. And, along the way, some are found by Jesus. And, Debbie is willing to help you do the same. (Learn more about the Art of Invitation and contact Debbie today.) A servant leader!

So, my question to you: Is it time to take a “next step” in lifting your Servant Leadership, your character and your competency?

Let’s be honest. Even the best of us feel a little tired and isolated.

Raechel is waiting to talk to you today! She’s eager to help you figure out how PLI can best walk alongside you and put a fresh spring in your step and leadership tools in your hands. Tools like:

Senior Leader – starting soon – gives you the tools to multiply kingdom impact of larger ministries.

Discipleship to Missional Community – starting soon – guides you in launching and multiplying new communities of believers.

Leadership Essentials – starting in spring 2023 – lays a leadership foundation, because it matters what you build on.

Or better yet, in addition to one of those Learning Communities, gather of 5 or 10 of the people in your congregation and encourage them to join:

1,000 Young Leaders – For those in their 20s and 30s who want to reach their own generation.

Multipli’s Genesis Leader – For those who know that it’s just not fair to be sent into the mission field but never trained for the mission field.

It’s time to stop endlessly recruiting volunteers for programs and start building a growing cadre of servant leaders equipped to lead!

PLI learning community is a vibrant community of pastors, spouses and ministry leaders who learn together and create deeper connections of accountability, trust and encouragement. Through ongoing coaching and investing, each participant learns how to have wider influence for the sake of the Gospel in their own unique context.

PLI Learning Communities: D2MC, 1,000 Young Leaders, Leadership Essentials, Senior Leader.

PLI is devoted to empowering leaders for wider influence for the sake of the gospel in their communities and effective leadership in their ministries. Join us at the PLI upcoming events we've planned to receive God in our hearts.