Jesus Life of a Servant Leader

The specific learning objectives for Week 6 are:

Critically reflect on the Gospel readings and the relationship of core course concepts to one’s life and calling as a servant leader

To achieve these objectives, you will complete the following assigned work:

Read the selections from the Gospels (provided as a word doc in this week’s folder), in order to explore the key principles of servant leadership as reflected in the life of Jesus Christ, after whom Catherine MacAuley patterned her own ministry of service. I have included some reflection questions under each selection, to assist you in identifying the most important parts of each passage in relation to the topic of servant leadership. Be sure to read the Gospel selections closely, as I will be asking you to reflect on the reading in a deeper way as a part of next week’s midterm exam. You may also want to review the readings and assignments from the past six weeks in preparation for the midterm.

To better understand the assigned reading for this week, take some time to watch the Video Discussion between myself and Professor Bo Bonner regarding the enduring significance of Jesus’ historical example of servant leadership.

Additional Information

[Just to be clear, we will be approaching these readings from a historical perspective—seeking to learn from the concrete example of how Jesus lived —not from a theological perspective (e.g., asking questions about his divinity, messianic identity, resurrection, etc.,). Consequently, you should not feel like it’s necessary within a reflection or on the exam to write, “Well, I’m not really a religious person, so…” We are asking you to read this material carefully and charitably, seeking to understand it in the way you would any ancient text that is considered a classic source of wisdom and human insight. Any person of good will from any religious background, or none at all, should be able to understand and benefit from these texts, specifically with regard to the question of becoming a servant leader]