I can't help but reflect on Christ's response to His disciples' piercing question, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" In Christ's wise response, he insightfully explained that, "Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:1-4, New International Version ). Jesus later goes on to say that, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). 

There are many common misconceptions of what it means to be a servant leader. Traditionally the concept of a servant leader is a nameless blue collar worker who is viewed more as an object than a person, at times absent of human dignity and purpose. Charles Swindoll goes on to add, "The mental image (of servant hood) turned me off completely-a caricature of a pathetic creature virtually without will or purpose in life crushed in spirit, lacking self-esteem, a human mule that trudges down the long rows of life." What a shame that living out a servant's heart is often misconstrued as something other than what God intends.

As both a child of God and a Christ-follower, we have one major objective while here on earth-to continually be conformed into the image of Christ. If Jesus stepped out of eternity and humbled Himself by becoming a man and lived a life of service to others rather than being served, then I, too, must reflect this same behavior and priority by living a lifestyle that daily dies to self and seeks to serve those around me. I must live a purposeful life understanding that greatness is embodied in my service and not in my accomplishments for Him.

At the recent Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast in Atlanta , servant hood and humility were personified in Jim Haney, this year's John Wooden "Keys to Life" award winner. The award is given annually to the person in the basketball community that exemplifies character and faith on the court, in the community, and in the home. Jim is the Executive Director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and previously the head basketball coach at the University of Oregon . He also once served as the commissioner of the METRO Conference. 

When Jim was introduced as the "Keys to Life" award winner the audio accompanying his video was lost, and he stood silently at the podium while the video played on. Once the video ended Jim said he thought it was not an accident but appropriate that the audio glitch had occurred. In his acceptance of the award he stated that his life wasn't worth recording audibly, but rather his life and sizable role with the NABC gives an opportunity to serve and humbly represent Christ to others. Jim took the challenging situation presented during the program and turned it into something very positive and rather insightful, validating him as the appropriate choice for the award winner. 

After meeting many great folks that demonstrate Christ-likeness, such as Jim Haney, I've drawn a few conclusions. First, our goals are often reflective of the preparation and process we are willing to go through to accomplish our goals. Vince Lombardi stated it correctly, "If you fail to prepare, you're prepared to fail." As we approach any situation in life with a servant's heart, we must be prepared to respond as a servant. Our preparation is our engagement in the daily and ongoing spiritual disciplines:  prayer, meditation, reading, and studying the Word. It is seeking honest, authentic godly counsel and accountability. It is being an ongoing lifetime learner seeking to grow and be all that God has created us to be. Our faith demonstrated is then displayed as an act of service.  Next and arguably foremost, we must continually seek to ask God for help-a help to discern His voice and obediently submit to His good and perfect will, ultimately trusting that His will is, indeed, good and perfect. Finally, we simply need to trust God to make us servants like Him.

Trusting Him for things that-when they happen-can only be attributed to Him.
Bill