Page 110 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

Notice in the above model, in the center is the word relationship. John Maxwell says, “When you become a
leader, you give up your right to think of yourself first. Servant leadership is about always putting others first…
and we have concluded that the only way to create great relationships and results is through servant
leadership.” 231 Writers on servant leadership will teach us that transformational leadership always happens in a
community context. It is always a group effort that has leaders and followers. And that the vast majority of
leadership challenges and opportunities are relational in nature. Therefore, the starting point of servant
leadership must focus on building strong relationships. Notice this important truth brought out in Mark 3:14.
And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and send them out to
preach. Notice that before our Lord ever sent out the disciples to preach, He first worked on building a
relationship with them. Greenleaf believes that for years, leaders have viewed followers as objects. It is not
until leaders enter into relationships with their followers and are deeply committed to their growth and well-
being that dynamic teams will be formed.

In the above quote that I used from John Maxwell, he linked relationships and results together. He put
relationships before results, but I need to remind you that this relationship is held in tension. “Our challenge as
a leader is to manage the tension.” 232 People will always watch you and will be asking themselves, do you value
results more than you value people. This will be a constant challenge, especially for more task-oriented leaders
than those who are people-oriented.

Appendix II

Pluralism: Religious pluralism is the state of being where every individual in a religiously diverse society has
the rights, freedoms, and safety to worship, or not, according to their conscience.

Hedonism: The term "hedonism" means "a living for pleasure." If the chief end of man is to enjoy God forever,
then we should live our lives for pleasure.

Materialism is defined as “the preoccupation with material things rather than intellectual or spiritual things.” If
a Christian is preoccupied with material things, it is definitely wrong. That is not to say we cannot have material
things, but the obsession with acquiring and caring for “stuff” is dangerous for the Christian for two reasons.

First, any preoccupation, obsession, or fascination with anything other than God is sinful and displeasing. We
are to “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might”
(Deuteronomy 6:5), which is, according to Jesus, the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).
Therefore, God is the only thing we can (and should) occupy ourselves with habitually. He alone is worthy of
our complete attention, love, and service. To offer these things to anything, or anyone, else is idolatry.

Second, when we concern ourselves with the material world, we are easily drawn in by the “deceitfulness of
wealth” (Mark 4:19), thinking that we will be happy or fulfilled or content if only we had more of whatever it is
we are chasing.

Relativism is the belief that there's no absolute truth, only the truths that a particular individual or culture
happens to believe. If you believe in relativism, you think different people can have different views about moral
and immoral. A combination of two religions, as in Israel, when the worship of Yahweh, who had led them
through the wilderness, became infiltrated, according to the biblical narratives, with beliefs and practices of
the Canaanites, who worshipped the gods El and Baal. Those prophets sternly resisted such mixtures.

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