5 minute read
High Impact Insight
Servant leadership is woven throughout the AHG Program.
The Pioneer Level Award namesake, Harriet Tubman, is a fitting example of a servant leader. Time and again she put others’ needs in front of her own as she led them. We see this same servant leadership in other Christian figures mentioned in AHG Programming, like Mother Teresa, Abe Lincoln, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But the best role model for a servant leader is at the center of AHG, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate servant leader role model. And He must be at the center of our service and our leadership if we are to be successful. Truly, He is the very heart of service and of true servant leadership. We can turn to Scripture, specifically Matthew 20:25-28, to read His blueprint for humility and service.
Servant leadership is counter-cultural, it’s upside down to what the world says leadership is. Many things in God’s Kingdom seem upside-down to this world. The world says leadership is about authority, but we know it’s about influence. The world says it’s about dominance, but we know it is about service. Leadership is not about you as the leader, it’s about God who has placed you in service to bring glory to Himself. We’re called to live out the words of Matthew 5:16, NIV: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
A few years ago, AHG held the 20th anniversary Girl Convention with the theme “Upside-Down, Inside-Out”. We continued the counter-cultural lesson at our local regional summer camps with a similiar theme “The Upside-Down Kingdom” where we taught the girls the Beatitudes. Teaching kids about this upside-down kingdom is a great way to help them to see the dichotomy of the world’s kingdom to the Lord’s Kingdom. This world throws its culture, its beliefs, and its worldview on our girls all of the time. So, we, as the girls’ leaders need to give them ways to process the information, assimilate God’s Word into their lives, and look at things through this upside-down, Biblical Worldview. Want an exercise in counter-cultural thinking? Check out 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, now that’s an upside-down way of looking at things.
We as leaders need to fill our hearts with Jesus until they overflow into the hearts and minds of the girls we get to serve. Service for the Christian is not an option or the backup plan—it is mandatory. Jesus told us how the world did things, and then He said “Not so with you. Instead,” and then He went on to tell us how we are to lead and how we are to serve. We are to model ourselves and our service after Him. We are to ‘wash the feet’ of those we lead. Metaphorically. I don’t think He wanted us to literally wash each of our girls’ feet, though if He calls you to it, do it! I think He wanted us to serve them to bring Him glory. In doing this, we exemplify servant leadership in action—a natural model for our girls to follow. I know you have heard the saying “girl leadership is messy.” After all, letting girls wash the feet of others is bound to lead to a few spills, a few dirty rags being left out, and a few stinky feet being exposed—but that’s okay, it is a lesson in the upside-down. The heart behind that action and the mistakes made along the way lead to growth in the hearts of young servant leaders.
Recently, I gave a devotional at a Troop Ministry Team meeting. I promised to tell the leaders how they could keep Jesus at the center of their AHG Program implementation. I told them that we had a way to make sure that the girls heard about Jesus Christ and that He would make a huge impact on the girls. Of course, all the leaders wanted to know how to make this happen. The answer was not a new program you could purchase or a great new leader who was joining the Troop. The answer was simple: make sure you fill your cup, your heart, to full and overflowing and then come and serve the girls that the Lord has put in your path. You, with Jesus in your heart, serving the girls while leading them is the answer to this discipleship call.
Follow your servant leader role model, Jesus Christ, give Him the glory and honor, and He will work in the lives of the girls you get to serve… and in your life also.
LeAnn Russell served as a PI/PA Unit Leader for over 12 years and continues to volunteer with the PI/PA Unit in her local Troop. She is the Troop Shepherd for TX0407, and the new Area Shepherd in Fort Worth. She has created and implemented local PI/PA Multi-Troop events and Girl Leadership events for 10 years. She enjoys mentoring Stars & Stripes Award Candidates. She has three daughters: Jordan (24), a Dolly Madison Award Recipient, Sarah Beth (27), Stars & Stripes Award Recipient #72, and Hannah Ruth (18), Stars & Stripes Award Recipient #986.
