Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership is

Ministering more than Administering!

~Alma 22:23-25: Now this was done in the presence of the queen and many of the servants. And when they saw it they greatly marveled, and began to fear. And the king stood forth, and began to minister unto them. And he did minister unto them, insomuch that his whole household were converted unto the Lord. Now there was a multitude gathered together because of the commandment of the queen, and there began to be great murmurings among them because of Aaron and his brethren. But the king stood forth among them and administered unto them. And they were pacified towards Aaron and those who were with him.  

This great example in the Book of Mormon where Aaron was teaching the King of the Lamanites where the King said "I will give away all my sins to know God." After the King was converted, it says that the King "ministered" to his household and they were all "converted." Not long after a crowd gathered outside alarmed that a Nephite was speaking with their Lamanite King. The King then "administers" and only "pacifies" them.

This scripture clearly shows the difference between "ministering" and "administering." Too often it is easy to get into a rut of going to church, teaching our lesson, going to our meetings, and planning our activities and believe that we are living up to the expectations that the Lord has for us. How much "converting" are we involved in vs. how much "pacifying"? Our missionaries are good examples of working with different people one-on-one, helping them return to full activity, or to become temple worthy. Unfortunately, this can be very heart-rending work as not everyone responds to  ministering.

To minister involves visiting, blessing, and teaching.  As we focus on ministering in the church, more fully consecrating our lives to God, and loosing ourselves in the Lord's service; we will be living up the the expectations that that Lord has for us, and we will more fully experience the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The power of the Atonement of Christ, which Christ told Joseph Smith many churches deny, doesn't just Justify us from sin, but will sanctify us and purge us of any desire to do evil. Instead we will only be filled with love of God and the desire to do good continually.

(Excerpts taken from a training by Elder Robert C. Gay, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy)

 

On Thursday September 24th, we gathered the SAJM Leadership Team of the Mission Leadership Council. These 16 Elders comprise our Senior Leadership and make an  impact in the mission. We covered many topics today and also shared the importance of being a servant leader.....

Stepping up to the leadership challenge, Elder Masoka and Elder Olson set the agenda and led out with the meeting.

Agenda for our September 24, 2015 mee

Gathering and getting ready for our meeting in the board room of the Seminary and Institute Building.

Sister Dunn presented a brief "moment" thought on the difference between the ministering and administrating, aka SERVANT-LEADER

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.  The leader first is interested more in the accumulation of power and wielding influence over others.

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?“

A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

Gathered after the meeting: Elders Olson, Clegg, Masoka, Henderson, Jackson, Broadhead, Todd, Holmquist, Nwokedi
Front row: LArsen, Silverster

Elder Silvester and Elder Henderson are enjoying their very last Mission Leadership Meeting because they both go home at the end of the transfer on Tuesday October 27th.

Picking up packages and letters for the zone is an important job of the Zone Leaders. Here Elder Jackson from the Roodepoort Zone and Elder Broadhead serving in the Benoni Zone are loading their supplies into their cars.

Elder Allred and all our amazing office senior couples help to make this day a success. Here Elder Allred is just finishing an ice cream sundae that all of us enjoyed at the end of the meeting

Elder Homquist (left) is a new member  to te SAJM  Zone Leader team.

 Below, Elder Graham (left) is also a new zone Leader. They are with their great companions, Elder Larsen and Elder Lea'aetoa. It is such a wonderful opportunity for missionaries ot be in any of the many leadership roles. They learn a lot as a senior companion, Trainer, District leader, zone leader ot Assistant.  But, as was highlighted in this meeting, the best way to serve as a leraer is to be focused most on how to help and serve others.