The World Needs More People Like You – Servant Leaders
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Beth Henricks
May 18 2025
Philippians 2: 1-7
2 If then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was[a] in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human.
We are celebrating our graduates, honoring our 2nd and 3rd graders with their own Bible and recognizing our many volunteers that work with our kids today. Bob is teaching the last lesson of our Youth Affirmation program celebrating Quaker artists, musicians and writers which is why I am sharing a message with you. today. So much to celebrate!
I got the best Mother’s Day card this year. The front of the card said The World Needs More Moms Like You and inside the card it read You care about things that matter, you step up to make a difference, doing what you can, with what you’ve got, right where you are.
I wish I could live up to this, but it had me reflecting on the roles we play, the attitudes we have and the actions we take. Our communities need every one of us to step into our gifts and talents and offer them humbly and with a servant’s heart. We need people that live into their passions, are committed and excited about their work, their cause, their life. And we also need humility, grace and compassion to others that might not share our same passion.
Jesus has much to teach us about offering ourselves to each other, and the world with a servant heart. What the world might hold up as success is the opposite of what Jesus teaches us. His life was a wonderful example of reversing the social order of power and success, living into his calling and passions and offering himself with humility and empathy encouraging a philosophy and a way of living that recognizes that the last shall be first and the first shall be last in God’s kingdom.
In John 13:15, Jesus sets an example for us to follow. After washing His disciples’ feet — an act of love, humility, and service — He encourages us to follow His lead and serve one another.
He says, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” This story of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet is a hard one for me. I know that many faith communities have a foot washing ceremony during holy week. I told someone recently that I could never do this as I don’t want to touch another foot. She shared that the point of doing this is making one feel uncomfortable with this physical act of humility and the honor that is bestowed on the receiver. It is powerful to watch Pope Francis and Pope Leo wash the feet of strangers pouring themselves out physically for others.
This story of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet is representative of Jesus’ entire ministry. Jesus never placed himself in a position above others. He led by serving, and He loved by serving. He washed feet. He fed thousands. He walked to heal the sick. He spent time with those no one else cared to spend time with.
As we read in Philippians 2 today, Jesus speaks to us requiring our humility, releasing our empty conceit or self-ambition. We must not look to our own interests but the interests of others. And we must empty ourselves and become a slave or servant to others. The language of slave is problematic as we know the scourge of slavery that has played out in our country and many other countries. How could Jesus call us to be a slave? I believe there is a key difference in the word slave and servant. A slave is a servant but provides services involuntarily. A servant is not a slave as their services are voluntary.
A dictionary definition for servant includes the following:
1.One who is hired to perform regular household or other duties and receives compensation. As op
2.One who serves another, providing help in some manner.
3. A person who dedicates themselves to God.
I believe Jesus is calling us to be servants unto God and each other. It involves humility and sacrifice. Serving others is more than keeping up with your to-do list. To be a servant means we genuinely need to care about people. It’s keeping our eyes, hearts, and schedules open for divine appointments. Jesus was not hurried, stressed by time, worried about what others thought of Him, or overwhelmed by a list of tasks to accomplish each day. Instead, He was led by the Spirit of God and followed His promptings to serve, love, and help others. No task was ever beneath Jesus, and no person was ever unworthy. When we serve others, we grow in our service and our impacted and changed for the better. Service draws us closer to God.
When I think of a modern-day servant that spent his career and life in humility, kindness, grace and care for others it’s Fred Rogers. Mr. Rogers was a beloved figure for decades and his influence has been significant even years after his death. Mr. Rogers was a gentle, caring, knowledgeable voice, to and for children, in a world of turmoil and confusion. He gave the gift of his heart, unabashedly and unashamedly to kids and we responded. Our appreciation for him only continues to increase. And yet he never did this for any reason other than to provide a safe space for children to express fears and concerns as well as expressions of joy and fun.
I also recognize this sense of humility, kindness and care for our children through the many volunteers we recognize today that provide children’s message,s and worship for our kids and youth. The work of these folks is full of passion and enthusiasm for building relationships with our children and youth and offering insights, stories and programming to share the love of God. Thank you to all for being ministers to our kids.
In thinking about meaningful work and giving to others and to the betterment of our communities, I think about an interview with Dutch historian and best-selling author Rutger Bregman, that was talking about his latest book, Moral Ambition which is a call to action of people especially those with education and status of the need to devote their talent and resources to careers and causes that make the world a better place. He and his associates have actually started a School for Moral Ambition encouraging and paying people to leave corporate jobs and transition into careers of positive impact.
As we honor our graduates, today, we honor their accomplishments and encourage them to live into those future opportunities that give them life, excite them and look for pathways to meaningful work and causes that motivate them. Be the best teacher you can be – be the best medical professional you can be – be the best care provider you can be, the best lawyer, the best electrician, the best retail worker…. The list is endless.
Many years ago, when I started seminary, I read and studied everything I could find about Robert Greenleaf. Greenleaf coined the phrase servant leadership in an essay he published in 1970. He said that servant leadership is a non-traditional leadership philosophy embedded in a set of behaviors and practices that place primary emphasis on the well-being of those being served.
Greenleaf was born in 1905 in Terre Haute and attended Rose Hulman for a few years and graduated as a math major. He got a job with AT&T, back then one of the largest institutions in the world. Greenleaf was inspired by one of his professors that said large institutions were not doing a good job of serving individuals or the society at large. Greenleaf quickly rose in the AT&T organization, participating in its first management training program and traveled extensively to troubleshoot the more than 200 “Ma Bells” and observed that thriving organizations existed for the person as much as the person exists for the organization which was not a popular idea at the time. Greenleaf spent 38 years at AT&T as Director of Management Development. He lived out his philosophy within the organization and promoted females and African Americans to non-menial positions, bringing in famous theologians and psychologists to speak about the wider implications on corporate decisions.
The event that crystallized Greenleaf’s thinking came in the 1960’s when he read Herman Hesse’s short novel Journey to the East – an account of a mythical journey by a group of people on a spiritual quest. Greenleaf concluded that the central meaning of it was that a great leader is first experienced as a servant to others and this simple fact is central to his or her greatness. True leadership emerges from those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to help others.
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.
Greenleaf continues in his writing - “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?
“This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able while serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions – often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt . If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open source is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.”
Servant -leadership is not a quick fix approach. Nor is it something that can be quickly installed within an institution. At its core, servant leadership is a long-term transformation approach to life and work – in essence, a way of being – that has the potential for creating positive change throughout our society.
Greenleaf and his wife became Quakers in their thirties and the Quaker way greatly influenced his philosophy where he became a best-selling author after retirement. He was a member at Monadmock New Hampshire Monthly Meeting and Kendal PA Meeting. Greenleaf knew that he was not a perfect servant leader, but it was his ideal and the arc of his life bent in that direction.
As Greenleaf experienced, Quaker leadership was founded on servant leadership. A minister ordained is no more a minister than any other member/attender. Ministry is being a servant, and we believe in the servanthood of all. This is why I believe Quakerism speaks strongly today to many that embrace this idea and why I’m thankful to have found the Quakers.
I close this message with Matthew 20:26-27
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
· I offer the following queries during our waiting worship time.
· Am I living into my gifts and skills with passion?
· Am I serving others before myself?
· Am I focused on the growth and well-being of others?