Not-So-With-You
A Servant Leadership Imperative for Christendom Enhancement
Dr. Madana Kumar, PhD
Not-So-With-You
A Servant Leadership Imperative for Christendom Enhancement
Dr. Madana Kumar, PhD
Forewords
Dr. Ian Payne
I’m privileged to write a foreword to this book. I’m delighted it is, for Dr Madana Kumar, a continuing exploration of the counter-intuitive leadership theme of Jesus and the Bible—that leadership and servanthood go together. That’s so relevant in India, in the West—everywhere.
I thought I’d begin with a joke! I once met a friend in Delhi. He told me about Isidor Lowenthal, a pioneer missionary to northern India, now Pakistan, in the 1850s. He longed to enter Afghanistan, but the authorities said ‘No!’ because of the danger. So, he stayed in Peshawar and translated the New Testament into Pushtu. My friend had studied this wonderful scholar, linguist and friend to Muslims. He told me that Lowenthal had died after only nine years on the mission field. After a late night in his study, he took a walk on his verandah and was shot by mistake by his own gate-man! My friend thought it was funny that on his gravestone it had, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
I agreed with him. It makes a funny story!
Actually—I checked. It is not true. Lowenthal’s gravestone has a different Bible verse on it: — ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation for any who believe’ (Romans 1:16). That’s much more fitting for someone who was not ashamed to be a servant of the gospel.
India has many servants. Many are simply slaves. Sometimes they are shockingly treated. Aakar Patel insightfully identifies three reasons why we have servants.[i] Firstly, because of status. We feel above them. Another reason is ritual pollution. Our caste doesn’t do this or that. We let others do the dirty work. Thirdly, power. We enjoy making others work.
Patel goes on to suggest, ‘Only one thing brings equality in India, and that is knowledge of English.’ Yes, education. I’ve observed that sort of influence at work. Perhaps, however, a deeper answer is found in this book. Dr Madana points us to the teaching of Jesus: service is not the contradiction of leadership. With Jesus it is the epitome of leadership. He is the one who embodied and taught Servant Leadership.
So, there are better reasons why we can choose servants. Better reasons that emerge from Jesus’ teaching. We can choose them, firstly, because we can see their potential. Secondly, we give them the dignity of employment. They can be useful. Thirdly, by serving, they help us do more work than ever. They’re part of the team. Fourthly, by rewarding them, we encourage them.
Service, you see, does not have to be an indignity, a drudgery, a slavery. Service can be noble. Service can be ministry. I’ve seen such servants in India, for instance, be-turbaned bearers in posh restaurants offer dignified service. This vision of service is the reason we call India’s leader the Prime Minister.
Dr Madana digs into lots of places in the Bible to illuminate how noble servant leadership is. I’ll highlight one too: the suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. The Servant’s suffering is undeserved and for others (53:4–6). The astonished and chastened Israelites realize, ‘He was wounded for us.’ His surprisingly submissive self-sacrifice was undeserved and for God (53:7–9). It is voluntary and innocent. He is someone, willing to suffer for others. Similarly, ‘Not so with you,’ Jesus says in Mark ch 10:43–45, ‘Instead… [a true leader does] not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
One definition of leadership is the ability to carry the suffering of others. “You can exercise and sustain personal leadership only to the extent of your capacity to bear pain. If you can bear only your own pain, then you can’t really lead. If you can respond to and bear only the pain of your family, then your family represents the full scope of your leadership potential. If, however, by God’s grace you can recognize and bear the pain of those around you, then the breadth of your leadership potential is limited only by the scope of your burden and capacity.”[ii]
Part of growing up is an increasing ability to deal with trouble, first of all your own and then that of others. People recognize in leaders the ability to bear the suffering of others for the sake of the group. Enduring leadership flourishes where we recognize, not only that our leaders have a vision they’d die for, but that in some sense they’d die for me.
We don’t often think of leaders as sufferers, but this chimes with each of Madana’s themes of the leader being for others, not self-centred, ethical in behaviour and more concerned with significance than success. Thank you, Madana, for unpacking and exploring Servant Leadership in deeply practical and powerful ways.
Dr. Ian Payne, PhD
Theologians without Borders.
Former Principal of South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS)
[i] Aakar Patel, Mumbai Mirror, Jun 17, 2009, downloaded from https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/the-servant-in-the-indian-family/articleshow/15932324.cms
[ii] A. Scott Moreau, Gary Corwin, Gary B McGee, Encountering Missions, A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Introduction, Baker, 2004, p. 228.
Lyle Tard
In 2015, on a the plane ride from Pensacola International Airport to Reagan International, I took a deep look at my life and contemplated a close to my United States military career. The sounds of people from all walks of life saying “Thank you for your service” consistently rang in my mind as I looked back with appreciation and confusion on my journey. Many of my co-workers and predecessors wanted to achieve notoriety and status within the military ranks or the hierarchy of federal service. The consistent still small voice of the Holy Spirit, whom I accepted back in 2001, softly whispered and reminded me, “Not So With You.”
I desired more and more to take the phrase “Thank you for your service,” often applied toward members in military service and make it applicable to my life beyond the uniform that I once represented for more than 20 years. I found the practice of Servant Leadership. Encouraged by leaders at the former Atlanta Leadership College, I began to explore what it meant to live this lifestyle In 2017, I found the writing of one Dr. Madana Kumar.
Dr. Kumar mentored, stewarded, and guided my life and work in Servant Leadership through his biblical teaching of Servant Leadership concepts found on his website (www.menorahleadership.com ) His masterful doctoral thesis on the effects of Servant Leadership on NGO’s in India produced three categories where the ‘10 Characteristics of a Servant Leader,’ developed by Larry Spears, are simply divided into, vision imperatives, character imperatives, and relationship imperatives. These three categories are catalysts for my own work in Servant Leadership development through my organization, IMPACT Servant Leadership (www.impactservantleadership.com ) and podcast Service is Power (www.serviceispower.webnode.com ).
In this book, Not-So-With-You, Dr. Kumar challenges our vision of our world now, coming off the heels of a global pandemic. He helps us prepare for a new world by establishing a new normal, not just in our behavior and practices, but in our character as well. Not-So-With-You will confront the relationships we currently foster by teaching how to lead with the values that only come from the foundational teachings of the Holy Bible and the core tenets of Servant Leadership. In following the ideas of the book, Dr. Kumar will help you to see, just as he did with me, that being significant is a far more powerful endeavor when done selflessly than striving for success.
Not So With You is not just a book that will accost your current viewpoints on life and leadership. It is a “How To” manual that will guide you through the rough, muddy waters of the mental, emotional, and social changes needed to overcome the obstacles that come with the current trends of our world. I implore you to allow Dr. Kumar to take you through, step-by-step on how to “…not conform to the pattern of this world…” (Rom. 12:2) but to look back in history, both world and biblical, assessing our current challenges and predicting the future of our global woes.
Not-So-With-You will push you and pull you into a thrilling ride of discovery and purpose for your life!
Lyle Tard
Servant Leader Catalyst, Certified Life Coach, Emotional Intelligence Influencer
Founder and CEO of IMPACT Servant Leadership. Retired United States Air Force member, Motivational speaker at institutions such as American University, Harvard Business School, and the University of Arizona Global Campus. Consults with leaders in government in Washington D.C. Moderates the Service is Power podcast. Serves as staff pastor at National Community Church in Washington D.C.
Rajan Mathews
Dr. Madana Kumar, Madana to those of us who know him, lives, breathes and practices Servant Leadership (SL)! He is known as an “Evangelist” for the cause; which means he is passionate in preaching, teaching, practicing, living and mentoring aspirants for SL. At a time when the term “leadership” has evoked so many books, articles, conferences, studies, gurus and would-be role models, one may be excused for asking whether we need another book on “Leadership”. Even a cursory inquiry on Google yields thousands of responses! Why then another book on Leadership, even if it is nuanced in terms of “Servant Leadership”?
For those taken up by “academic qualifications” as a reason, Madana excels! A Ph.D., whose doctoral dissertation was on the subject of Servant Leadership in Indian NGOs, Madana also has a B.E. from the prestigious Indian Institute of Science. It has been half-humorously said, that it is easier to get into Harvard than into IISc! Dr. Kumar has completed Certificate Programs in Leadership from Cornell University in the USA, and is the recipient of several recognitions from industry bodies, such as CLO of the Year, Global CLO of the Year, Talent Development Champion of the Year, etc. Madana has also written extensively on the subject of Leadership. He taught for several years to Postgraduate students at the South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS, Bengaluru, India), who have been deeply impacted by Dr. Kumar’s wisdom, insights and practical approach to the subject. It was at SAIACS that I had the privilege of meeting and working with Madana and I was instinctively impressed by a man who wore his credentials with humility and grace!
Madana is also an expert practitioner of Leadership and Servant Leadership in particular. He has consulted for scores of organizations in both the for-profit and NGO worlds and has a rich legacy of organizations that have been transformed and positively impacted by his skills and approach. He has worked at such companies as Bharti, HCL and IBM among others over a span of over four decades in the industry. Madana has eaten enough of his own “dog food” to be a credible voice in the industry!
While all of this would normally be enough for the reader to investigate the ideas, approach and practices championed in the book, it is another facet of Madana’s experience which I believe should compel one to read on – the personal transforming experience of a man touched by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ that serves as the bed rock for his convictions and the legitimacy of his ideas. Dr. Kumar has rightly observed that to be a Leader, one must first learn to be a follower. It is out of this “following” of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ, that Madana has come to grips with the transforming experience of “servanthood” as the compelling force for Leadership”. Madana did not come to this experience lightly or by convenience of birth. Born into a devout Hindu family, Dr. Kumar came to experience the Lord Jesus in personal ways that forms the DNA of this book. So, dear readers – read on and be ready to be transformed!
Rajan S. Mathews
President, Nyack College, Seminary & Graduate School, Manhattan, NY 10004
Previously served as the Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India
[1] Aakar Patel, Mumbai Mirror, Jun 17, 2009, downloaded from https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/the-servant-in-the-indian-family/articleshow/15932324.cms
[1] A. Scott Moreau, Gary Corwin, Gary B McGee, Encountering Missions, A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Introduction, Baker, 2004, p. 228.
