DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

INTEGRATIVE PAPER ON SERVANT LEADERSHIP

SUBMITTED TO DR. RICK GREGORY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
MACE 5302 N1 BIBLICAL SERVANT LEADERSHIP

MEGHAN MURRAY
DECEMBER 12, 2015

This semester has taught me a lot about what it means to be a leader. Not only have my
classes provided me with new insights about the subject, but I have also been learning from
experience. I have recently been promoted to the position of a director at my childcare facility
and I have also been working as an intern at a youth ministry at a church in Keller. Honestly,
leadership is a new field for me. Before God called me into the ministry, I was going to settle for
staying behind the scenes. I do not like talking in front of others and the idea of leading a group
of people honestly makes me nervous. However, God has revealed a lot to me during this
semester and I am so excited to continue growing in this area of my ministry. I want to be a
leader that others look to and more than anything, I want to be like Jesus in my ministry and in
my leadership. My prayer is that Jesus uses me, regardless of my position, to be a light to others
and to be a reflection of him in everything that I do.
It is difficult to really pin down my leadership style because I honestly do not have that
much experience in leadership. It is only in this semester that I have been put in a leadership role
in my job (that I am still in the process of sorting out) and in a leadership position in a youth
ministry as an intern. For the past few months, I have been learning a lot about myself and a lot
about leadership and these lessons have slowly but surely begun affecting my leadership style.
First and foremost, I would say that my leadership style is easygoing and flexible. Although I
appreciate having a fixed schedule and a set way of doing things for organizations sake, I have
found that it is best to be adaptable when it comes to leadership. This leadership style works for
me because I have worked with kids and students from ages five to eighteen. When you work
with young children especially, you cant be too caught up in the details. Things are going to
happen, not just in childcare but in life in general so its best to leave room in your day-to-day
activities to be flexible.

In addition to being adaptable, I also enjoy working with my team, rather than just
delegating. I do not like telling people what to do without helping out in some way, shape or
form. I understand that leadership does involve giving directions and instructions, but I do not
like to stop there. Oftentimes, I will provide instructions for an assignment and either offer my
assistance or will attend to another task that needs to be taken care of. However, that does not
mean that I do not supervise. I want my team to be equipped to grow in their work experience.
Therefore, instead of pouring my energy into the actual task that needs to be done, I pour my
energy into the team to help them to perform their tasks. I am currently involved in a youth
ministry internship and as a part of our program, we have been asked to read My First Two Years
in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields. In his book, Fields states that No matter how much you love
God and students or how gifted you are, youll never be able to accomplish as much on your own
as you can with teammates1. In a ministry context, one person cannot pour into the lives of each
and every person in their ministry unless their ministry is made up of a mere handful of people.
Jesus had hundreds of followers but only 12 disciples. Of his 12 disciples, he especially focused
a lot of his time and energy on three of them. While one person cannot accomplish each and
every task at hand, one person can pour into others, who will then pour into others and so on.
That is the type of leadership that I am trying to incorporate into my leadership style at work and
at church.
Having to focus on what my core values are has been a challenge, but it has really helped me as I
have begun forming my leadership style. Like I mentioned before, leadership is very new to me.
I am aware that leadership is a continuous learning process throughout ones life, but recently, I
have only begun to a build a foundation on which my leadership style will continue to be built.
1 Doug Fields, Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry: A Personal and Practical Guide
to Starting Right (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).

This is where my core values come in. Having core values and recognizing them has been such a
helpful tool for me in my first few months of leadership. Currently, I have five main core values:
listening to and following God, sharing the gospel, being an example, being a servant, and
encouraging others. First and foremost, I value what God has to say more than anything.
Although I am not always obedient, I strive to always be aware of him and to grow closer to him
with each passing day. I fully believe that my life is not my own, but it belongs to God. Secondly,
I value sharing the gospel. When Jesus addressed the disciples before his ascension, He says,
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth2. This verse is so
important to me and is a commandment for all believers to participate in the rescue mission.
Third, I strive to be an example for others. I make mistakes every day, but my students in church
inspire me to grow closer to God and to follow him in obedience. I also value service. Service is
so important, not only in ministry but also in leadership. Jesus was the ultimate example of what
service leadership is. When washing the disciples feet, he tells them, Now that I, your Lord and
teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one anothers feet3. If Jesus, the Lord and
Savior of the world exemplified service on earth, then so should I. Finally, I value
encouragement. When I volunteered in the preteen ministry at my church, the mission verse of
the ministry was 1 Timothy 4:12. It states, Dont let anyone look down on you because you are
young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity4.
When I saw how this verse encouraged our students to be bold in their faith outside of church, I
2 Acts 1:8, NIV
3 John 13:14, NIV
4 NIV

recognized the importance of encouragement in ministry. A lot of people dont participate in

ministry because they dont feel qualified. I want them to know that God doesnt call the
qualified. He qualifies the called5.
Based on the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, I am a healer, or an INFP. According to the website,
healers care deeply about the inner life of a few special persons, or about a favorite cause in the
world at large6. I could not agree more with this statement. In my own personal life, I surround
myself with a close, small group of friends. In addition, I do have a passion for two different
causes in the world: missions and human trafficking. It goes on to say that a healers great
passion is to heal the conflicts that trouble individuals, or that divide groups, and thus to bring
wholeness, or health, to themselves, their loved ones, and their community7. This most
definitely reflects my desire for unity, especially in the church. We are all individuals and we are
all human, so there will always be disagreements, but I desire for more people to have the
courage and decency to set those differences aside and love one another. Since this is only truly
possible through the work of God and that is another reason why missions are so important to
me. The personality profile also states that they are dreamers, flexible, easily relatable, are led by
their hearts, and are creative writers and story tellers8. All of these further explain my personality
and how I relate with others. I find my words best in writing and I follow my heart more than my
head in a lot of decisions. Although I am shy, I enjoy having conversations with others and can
5 Christine Caine, Undaunted: Daring to Do What God Calls You to Do (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 25.
6 Dr. David Keirsey. Idealist Portrait of the Healer (INFP), keirsey.com, accessed
December 13, 2015, http://www.keirsey.com/4temps/healer.asp.
7 Keirsey, Idealist Portrait of the Healer (INFP).
8 Keirsey, Idealist Portrait of the Healer (INFP).

usually find some kind of connection with a person in a short amount of time. After reviewing
the personality profile of a healer, I see a lot of connections with my life mission statement.
My values and my personality profile play a big role in my life mission statement. My mission in
life is to follow God wherever He may lead me and to share the gospel with anyone who will
listen. I want to be an example and servant to my students, and to encourage them to be bold in
their faith. This mission perfectly reflects my values and my personality. More than anything, I
want to live my life as a follower of God. I want to be a light to others and for them see the love
of Jesus reflected in me. This mission requires to turn my values into actions. If I truly am going
to follow God wherever He leads me, then I have to be in tune with him. I have to spend time
with him daily in his word and in prayer. I also have to be sensitive to the Spirit and be obedient
when he calls me to do something. If I truly do care about sharing the gospel, then I have to be
willing. Instead of worrying about what others might say or how they may react, I am going to
choose to focus more on presenting the gospel of salvation to someone who has never
experienced it before. Also, I consider being an example and being a servant as two actions that
go hand in hand. I have to begin living a life of repentance and obedience to God and that means
living counter-culturally. It means leading others by example rather than with words. It also
means serving those that I lead. I also want to always encourage and remind others of what they
are capable of when they rely on God. I want to share the love of Christ with my students, my
family, my church, and with the world. As someone with a healer personality type, I am a
dreamer, so I think big when it comes to my mission. I do not know where God is specifically
leading me yet, but I trust him with whatever He wants to do in my life.
According to a recent spiritual gifts survey, my three main spiritual gifts are apostleship,
faith, and knowledge. Right behind these three were exhortation, mercy and teaching.

Apostleship was ranked highest on the list, reflecting my heart for missions. This gift most
definitely needs to be utilized in my leadership. Whether I am practicing leadership in the church
or outside of the church, missions most definitely has to be involved. If I am in a secular
environment, that is my opportunity to share Christ with those that I am leading. If I am in a
ministry environment, then that is a chance to minister to my staff and volunteers through
encouragement and service. One of my favorite lessons to teach my students in church is to get
involved in missions. I Love to see the look on the faces of my students when I share with them
that they can take part in Gods mission today as they are now. Faith also needs to be utilized in
my leadership because it is necessary in all aspects of the life of a believer. If my faith is small,
then my ministry will be small and my effectiveness as a leader diminishes. It goes without
saying that knowledge should be incorporated into leadership. Leaders pass on their experience
and their knowledge with their followers. 2 Timothy 2:2 reminds us that leaders reveal their
knowledge to others so that they may also entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified
to teach others9. Exhortation, mercy and teaching are also important gifts that should be
involved in my leadership. I have already mentioned the importance of encouragement in my
ministry. I want to see others live up to their potential. Mercy allows me to understand others,
which is necessary in leadership. It requires me to really have relationships with my staff,
volunteers, and students. Finally, teaching is a part of leadership. The goal of leadership is not to
just tell others what to do or how to live. It is to prepare them for bigger tasks and to help them
grow to become leaders themselves.
There are several areas in which I need to grow, especially in leadership. First, I need to learn to
give more responsibilities to my staff. In my first semester of leadership, I have really struggled
with giving more responsibility to others. I am a very independent person and as much as I value
9 NIV

teamwork, I prefer to do tasks myself. From this semester, I have learned a lot about leadership,
especially my own. I have learned that I need to relinquish control on certain things. Instead of
focusing on doing everything myself, I need to learn to entrust more responsibility to others. This
will allow me to focus more on other tasks and will also give my staff and volunteers more
responsibility and experience. Another skill in which I need improvement in is time
management. Because I have a difficult time saying no, I often put too much on my schedule.
This past semester, I have found out just how difficult it is to manage my team. Being in two
different leadership positions has left me worn out and has really affected my anxiety levels. I
need to learn to set aside more time for myself and for fun. For next semester, I am going to
make sure I have at least one day a week that I devote to rest and to fun. Finally, another major
area of growth that I need to work on is my organization. Although being flexible and adaptable
is a strength of mine, sometimes I tend to be too flexible. This is a problem that affects my time
management as well, as I often dont schedule that much needed time for rest. It also affects my
planning. During this semester, I have learned that, although its important to be flexible, its also
important to have set plans as well. Leadership is all about balance, and I need to work on
finding that balance in my own leadership style. I know that there are many aspects of my
leadership that need improvement, and will continue to require growth as time goes on, but these
three aspects of my leadership stick out to me most of all as areas which require more focus and
change than others currently.
My philosophy of leadership is still in the developmental process, but I do have some
principles that have become the foundation of how I lead others. If I were to state my philosophy
as it is now, I would say that my philosophy of leadership is to be just as much of a servant as I
am a leader, to build relationships with those I work with, to equip those that I lead, and most of

all, to do all of this in love. Service is absolutely necessary in leadership. Jesus was in every way
a leader, no one could deny that. He spoke with authority10, crowds of people would follow him
and some people pushed for a chance to just touch his robe11, and He had 12 disciples that He
taught and poured life into. However, there was another side of his ministry. He healed people,
spent time with them and in everything He did, He did it with love. Not only did He teach with
his words, but also with his actions. That is the type of leader that I strive to be. Jesus also built
relationships with his followers. Jesus ate with his disciples and spent time with them in
fellowship. He especially poured into three of his disciples, Peter, James and John. I want to
build relationships with those under me as well. I dont just want to be their leader, but also their
friend. I want to eat with them, pray with them, and be there for them. I also want to equip those
under me. From the first time Jesus called his disciples, the plan was always to make [them]
fishers of men12. He taught them through stories, through miracles, and through experience. He
taught them everything they needed to know before his ascension. Of course, the Holy Spirit
continues to work in followers today, but the disciples had a model to emulate. They witnessed
for themselves how Jesus lived during his life on earth and they strived to live like him after his
ascension. Finally, everything Jesus did, He did in love. This is evident in his prayer which is
found in John 17. He prays that his followers would be brought together in unity, that the world
[would] know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. If I dont have
love, then everything I do suffers, including my leadership.

10 Matthew 7:29
11 Mark 5:24-29
12 Matthew 4:19, ESV

10

Its not enough to have a philosophy of leadership, it is more important to put that philosophy
into practice. It is difficult to have a plan for incorporating service into leadership, but I will
begin by praying for my staff. Prayer is something I can do every day for those that I work with
so I will set aside time each day to pray for growth, wellbeing, and any needs that they may have.
Secondly, I will be observant of those that I lead. Instead of only focusing on what I have to do
or on the tasks that I need done, I will take time to notice if there is anything I can help with or
do for those that are working for me. By being observant, I will be more aware of their attitudes,
behavior, and needs and address them. Next, I will build relationships with my staff by spending
time together outside of work. When people are at work, it is difficult to build relationships at
times because everyone is so focused on their own tasks. However, by setting time aside each
week, every two weeks, or monthly to spend time in fellowship with one another, those
relationships will have a lot more opportunities to grow and build. One of the reasons why my
mom likes her job is because of the time she gets to spend away from the office with her
coworkers. That time brings them closer together and increases teamwork when they are back at
work. Finally, I will equip those that I lead by giving them opportunities to grow and expand on
their experience and work. I will share my experiences, while also providing them with their own
experiences and opportunities to learn new things. One thing that my internship supervisor does
is meet with me each week to go over our progress and what we have learned. He doesnt give
me a report card or anything, but just seeks to hear about what I am learning and if I have any
questions. Also, if I delegate a new task to someone, I will make sure that I help prepare them for
it. When I preached for the first time in my youth ministry, my supervisor met with me each
week to go over the message. I have appreciated the time and energy he has taken to equip me
for leadership and I will be sure to incorporate these things into my leadership style as well.

11

More than anything, I want to be motivated by love. I will not speak about other staff behind
their backs and I will do my best to support my staff in any way that I can. I will address conflict
directly and calmly and I will strive to lead as Jesus led.
The more I learn about Jesus and his leadership, the more I realize that there is a lot of
things that I need to work on. As difficult as this semester has been, it has taught me some
invaluable lessons. I have learned what leadership is, as well as what it isnt. I have had to adjust
the ways that I approach certain tasks and I am still in the process of figuring out what my
leadership style truly is. However, God has revealed so much to me in such a short amount of
time. I have come to recognize my values and my personality. I have been developing my own
leadership style and have started to notice the strengths and weaknesses that I have. I have
developed a life mission statement and a philosophy of leadership. As I have said, I still have a
lot left to learn, but this semester has become a great starting point and a great foundation for
what my ministry and leadership will look like in years to come.

12

Bibliography
Dr. David Keirsey. Idealist Portrait of the Healer (INFP), keirsey.com, accessed December 13,
2015, http://www.keirsey.com/4temps/healer.asp.
Doug Fields, Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry: A Personal and Practical Guide to Starting
Right (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).
Christine Caine, Undaunted: Daring to Do What God Calls You to Do (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2012), 25.