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by Kris DigginsFor most of us, 'servant leadership' is a vague concept that really doesn’t have much definition in our day-to-day lives. We can envision what a servant leader must do, or how she should behave, but, how often do we really experience this servant heart in the leaders and administrators of our mission organizations?
Just this weekend I had the privilege of witnessing servant leadership in a way that has forever changed my concept of this term. It now challenges me to live my life in a similar manner of service. Let me tell you my story.
I work as a missionary nurse, attending to the needs of YWAM, Wycliffe, and other mission organization medical needs. I also attend to the medical needs of river communities and indigenous people groups in the northwest region of the Amazon jungles of Brazil.
Getting emergency calls is part of the life of a medical care giver, and this call was no exception to me. I was asked to come immediately to the YWAM girls' dorm as one of them had suffered a laceration on her head. Gathering my medical supplies, I ran to the dorm. Walking in, I was completely unprepared for the scene that greeted me. There, lying on her friend’s lap, covered in blood, was the young woman who suffered a cut on her head. Next to her was Braulia, the base leader for YWAM and the president of YWAM Brazil.
As I assessed the situation and asked what had happened, I was told that this young woman had been on the streets over the weekend and had overdosed on drugs. Because of this she suffered an injury to her head, as well as tremors all over her body. I sat down and attempted to calm her while I sutured her wound. I grieved inside as I thought about how she had remained off the streets for a year, so full of love for the Lord -- and a zeal to serve Him. Yet in one weekend she had given in to the temptation of drugs again.
When I finished suturing, she started waking from her stupor and sat up in the bed. The repentance and servant leadership that I witnessed next, moved me greatly. When the young woman sat up and saw her dear friend and leader, Braulia, sitting on the bed and holding her hand, she began to weep. She grabbed her and clung to her, speaking words of remorse and repentance at what she had done.
It was clear that this young woman was not thinking of Braulia as her base leader, but, as her dear friend. This was a woman whom she loved like a sister, who had opened her life and home to her. I thought about how beautiful a picture this was of how our Lord Jesus served those He ministered to. While He was God, He made Himself a friend to those He ministered to. I thought of Peter, and how he grieved when he betrayed not only his Lord, but also his friend.
This is the kind of leadership we are all called to as followers of Christ. Regardless of our status or titles in this Christian life, we are called to give our very lives to those that He places in our path. That is what missions is all about -- opening our hearts and lives completely so that people can see the Holy Spirit in us. This is what I witnessed on that bed in the YWAM dorm. There was repentance, there was forgiveness; but even more importantly, there was a clear picture of what servant leadership should look like in this world today. We are called to give nothing less than 100% of our lives in ministry, offered in love to the One who calls us to follow Him and His example.
Kris Diggins has lived and worked as a missionary nurse in the Amazon jungle for seven years now. She runs a small rural clinic where she attends to the needs of a community of about 1000 people that live in a impoverished area. Her book, Reflections on the Journey, is available at www.sevenloaves.com.
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