The Undergraduate Journal of Servant Leadership

The Understanding and Practice of Servant-Leadership

The Understanding and Practice of Servant-Leadership Larry C. Spears   The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, be­come healthier, wiser, freer, more […]

Savoring Life Through Servant-Leadership

Savoring Life Through Servant-Leadership Richard Leider & Larry Spears   Since the dawn of civilization, great thinkers have debated the quality of human existence, often calling it “the good life.”  To some thinkers the ideal state is one of generating power and wealth; to others, it is about community and relationships; and, yet, to others […]

Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break: From House to Home

Gustavus students in Maryville, TN, 2012 Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break: From House to Home Dave Newell   “May this house serve not only as a shelter, but as a living space for love and community. Bless this house as it has been made with intention, love, care, gratitude and a servant’s heart.  Protect […]

Redefining Service through Servant Leadership

Redefining Service through Servant Leadership Jeffrey Rathlef     In no other way have the principles and characteristics of servant leadership been more personally and professionally relevant and meaningful to me this year than through the recent execution of a new international short-term alternative spring break service-learning program with our newly established Mexican sister city.   […]

A New Staff and Volunteer Training Resource for Congregations

Afternoon seminars at the Africa Jam retreat. A New Staff and Volunteer Training Resource for Congregations Rev. Grady St. Dennis     As I learn more about Robert Greenleaf’s writing on the concept of Servant Leadership, I cannot help but to come back repeatedly to the exchange Jesus had with his disciples in Luke 22: […]

Reach Down as Well as Up – The Servant Leadership Program

Reach Down as Well as Up – The Servant Leadership Program Amy Pehrson     Douglas Woods, Minnesota author, wilderness guide, and musician has written a book titled, “The Things Trees Know.”  It has become an inspiration piece for the re-creation of the Servant Leadership Program (SLP) at Gustavus Adolphus College.  One of the quotes […]

Reflection on Life-Calling Is Focus of Alumni Retreats

Reflection on Life-Calling Is Focus of Alumni Retreats Dr. Chris Johnson     The notion of vocation or calling is at the heart of the work of the Center for Servant Leadership, and – voiced by Robert Greenleaf as “the desire to serve first, then lead” in ways that empower others – it grounds the […]