Examples of Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is one of those topics we talk about a lot in the church world. We preach sermons about it, read devotionals about it, and celebrate Jesus washing his disciples’ feet as the ultimate servant leader.

Still, when it comes to living out servant leadership in our churches, our careers, our relationships, and our homes, we sometimes struggle to know what it actually looks like in practice. 

A Theology of Servant Leadership

One of the most important things I learned while studying in seminary is that theology cannot stay theoretical. Good theology has to be lived out. 

And our theology of leadership is no exception. It's one thing to admire Jesus' example of servant leadership. It's another to follow it when a difficult employee needs correction, when someone else gets credit for your hard work, or when serving others means setting aside your own plans.

From Theory to Practice: 5 Examples of Servant Leadership

Thankfully, Scripture doesn’t just tell us to serve. It shows us what servant leadership looks like through the lives of real people.

Let’s look at a few examples of servant leadership in the Bible and what they can teach us about the way we lead today.

1. Esther: Use Your Influence for the Good of Others

Esther probably isn’t the first person who comes to mind when you think about biblical examples of servant leadership. But her story gives us a powerful picture of what it looks like to use our influence for the sake of someone else.

When Esther learns that her people are in danger, she is in a unique position to help. She has access to the king that they do not, but using that access comes at a cost. Approaching the king without being summoned could mean losing her life.

Still, Esther chooses to act.

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me… When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

Servant leaders recognize that influence is something to steward for the good of others.

For those of us in leadership, that might mean asking a simple question: Who could benefit from the influence I have?

Maybe you have a seat at a table someone else doesn’t. Maybe your voice carries more weight in a room. Maybe you have a relationship, resource, or opportunity that could open a door for someone else.

Esther reminds us that servant leadership is about choosing to use the influence we have on behalf of someone else.

2. Moses: Know When to Share the Load

It can be far too easy to confuse servant leadership with doing everything ourselves.

Moses certainly did. In Exodus 18, we find him sitting from morning until evening helping the Israelites settle their disputes. The need was real, and Moses was trying to serve his people well. But when his father-in-law, Jethro, saw what was happening, he told him plainly: “What you are doing is not good” (Exodus 18:17).

Jethro’s solution was simple: share the load. Jethro encouraged Moses to appoint capable leaders who could help carry the responsibility of caring for the people. Moses listened, delegated authority, and created space for others to lead.

That is an important lesson for those of us who genuinely want to serve. Being indispensable isn’t necessarily a good thing. In fact, sometimes the most loving thing you can do is trust other people with meaningful responsibility.

If you’re a church leader, that might mean resisting the urge to be involved in every decision or giving an emerging leader room to try, fail, and grow.

3. Barnabas: See the Potential in People

When Saul first wanted to join the disciples in Jerusalem, no one wanted anything to do with him. And honestly… who could blame them? It would be like someone known for violence against Christians in your neighborhood suddenly walking into your church service and saying, “Hey, how can I help?”

But Barnabas saw something different in Saul. He took Saul to the apostles, told them what had happened on the road to Damascus, and vouched for him when no one else was quite ready to trust him (Acts 9:26–28).

And this wasn’t a one-time thing for Barnabas. Years later, John Mark had dropped out of a missionary journey, and Paul wasn’t interested in bringing him along again. But Barnabas was. In fact, he believed in Mark so strongly that he and Paul ended up going separate ways over it (Acts 15:36–40).

We know what happened next in each account. Saul became Paul, one of the most influential leaders in the early church. And Mark eventually earned Paul’s trust, too. Near the end of Paul’s life, he specifically asked for Mark, saying, “he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Barnabas seemed to have a habit of seeing potential in people before everyone else did.

That is a pretty important quality for those of us who lead. People will disappoint us, because people will necessarily make mistakes. They will be inexperienced, complicated, and occasionally require us to take a risk on them.

Servant leaders see potential and help people become who God is calling them to be.

4. Priscilla and Aquila: Correct with Humility

Anyone who has ever led people knows there will eventually come a moment when someone needs a little guidance.

Priscilla and Aquila give us a beautiful picture of what that can look like.

In Acts 18, a teacher named Apollos arrives in Ephesus. He is educated, passionate, and knows the Scriptures well. But his understanding is incomplete. When Priscilla and her husband, Aquila, hear him teaching, they don’t write him off. They also don’t publicly call him out or interrupt his teaching to prove what they know.

Instead, “they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).

They taught him. They corrected what needed correcting. And they did both in a way that helped Apollos grow rather than making him feel small.

Servant leaders don’t just recognize what people are doing wrong. They take the time to teach, encourage, and help them get better. That might mean having a hard conversation. It might mean sharing what you’ve learned. And sometimes it might mean seeing enough potential in someone to invest the time.

Priscilla and Aquila remind us that one of the best ways we can serve people is by helping them grow.

5. Nehemiah: Let Leadership Cost You Something

Leadership usually comes with some kind of privilege. Maybe it’s a title, a paycheck, a platform, a nicer office, or simply the ability to make decisions that other people have to live with. None of those things are necessarily bad, but Nehemiah gives us an interesting picture of what it looks like when a leader is willing to sacrifice his own gain for the sake of the people he leads.

When Nehemiah became governor of Judah, the people were already under an enormous financial burden. There was a famine. Some families were mortgaging their fields and homes just to buy food. Others were borrowing money to pay their taxes. Some had even been forced to sell their children into debt slavery.

As governor, Nehemiah was entitled to a food allowance from the people. Previous governors had taken it. Nehemiah could have, too.

But he didn’t.

“But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine… But out of reverence for God I did not act like that” (Nehemiah 5:15).

Nehemiah understood that just because he was entitled to something didn’t mean he had to take it, especially when doing so would add to the burden of the people he was called to lead. That is a challenging picture of servant leadership.

There will always be things we can do as leaders. We can take the best parking spot. We can let someone else handle the inconvenient task. We can protect our schedule while expecting everyone else to be flexible. We can enjoy the perks that come with being in charge.

But servant leadership asks a different question: Just because I can, does that mean I should?

Sometimes serving the people you lead means being willing to carry a little more so they can carry a little less.

Living Out Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is easy to admire in theory, but living it out can be a little harder. These biblical examples of servant leadership remind us that leadership is often shaped by the ordinary decisions we make. How we use our influence, share responsibility, respond to mistakes, correct others, and give something up for someone else all matter.

This is where theology becomes practice. And ultimately, it is where our leadership begins to look a little more like Jesus.

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