Embrace Servanthood: Not Everyone Gets to Be the Star

Leader or servant—which would you rather be known as?

One conjures up a sense of superiority, the other images of sweeping floors and washing feet. One lives a life of fame and reknown, the other is largely unknown. You know Taylor Swift’s name, but what about her drummer? (His name is Matt Billingslea.) Everyone recognized Lady Gaga when she stepped up to sing the national anthem in the 2016 Super Bowl, but who was the pianist that accompanied her? (Alex Smith.) And who writes Mr. President’s speeches or prepares his suits for public appearances?

Not everyone gets to be the star performer or the leader of a big entity. But behind-the-scenes servanthood is critical to the success of any endeavor, and those who want to lead quietly are the ones who embrace servanthood.

Embrace Servanthood, Become Part of Something Big

I worked in the theater for two years of college. Not the movie theater, but a live theater, with curtains and spotlights and catwalks and mezzanine seating and live performers, some of whom were world famous. Ever heard of The 5 Browns, Rockapella, Angèle Dubeau or Yamato?

I worked for all those, plus more.

I focused lights, built sets, ushered, performed sound checks, clothed and skirted tables, ran seemingly useless errands…the list of things I could be asked to do as a stagehand was limitless.

I’ll never forget the night when jazz pianist Fred Hersch came to Viterbo. I won’t forget because instead of hanging out at stage left and listening to the other theater hands jabber through the clear-com headset until my eyes rolled, I sat on stage, under the spotlight…with the star performer.

I got to be his page turner.

Do you have what it takes to be a servant?

It takes real grit to be a stage performer. I know this because I’ve been in that position. But it also takes real grit to be a page turner for a world-class pianist. You can’t twiddle your thumbs or pick your nose. You can’t even sit back and allow yourself to be taken up by the music. A page turner must be alert one hundred percent of the time, watching the notes while also watching the performer’s body language. If you mess up, he might mess up, too.

It’s stressful, and there’s no glory in it.

Graduating high schoolers are told to dream big and make things happen. Be leaders, conquer the world! I’ll bet many of you are more prepared to lead than to fulfill a supporting role.

You’ve taken speech classes and gone to leadership conferences. You’ve filled your resume in preparation for college. But what happens when you find yourself in the passenger seat of somebody else’s plane? Are you okay with letting someone else steer?

Embrace the role you were called to play.

Not everybody gets to be the leader. Sure, we all have our moments in the spotlight, but most of us will play a perpetual role of support in some capacity. You pass the ball to your teammate, who then gets the glory for scoring the winning goal. You might become an entrepreneur, but most likely you’ll be someone else’s employee. When you start a family, you might be the breadwinner…or you might spend most of your time raising kids and working a side job as a bank teller. 

Every great leader requires the backing of a strong support team.

Want to know the truth? Every great leader requires the backing of a strong support team. In fact, the support team is the most important part of the act. Without stagehands, the stage will stay dark behind curtains that won’t lift. Even Jesus knew this. He surrounded himself with twelve guys whom he expected to spread the word after he left, and thank God for that or we wouldn’t know about him today.

How to Embrace Servanthood:

What makes a great servant?

1. Listen, listen, listen. You may have had to take a class called Speech, but have you ever taken a class called Listen? See my post A Challenge to Be a Good Listener.
2. Hold back on offering advice or opinions. There are enough advice-givers in this world (like I’m doing right now), but not enough who know when someone is overwhelmed by advice. Don’t know when your advice is necessary? Try number one again.
3. Encourage. The world needs more encouragers than advice givers. Because even stars and leaders have moments of insecurity.
4. Be prepared to step in and help, even with unglamorous tasks. I spent large portions of my time in the theater moving chairs around. Boooorrrrrinnnnng! But the show runs more smoothly if the stars can concentrate on what they do best: perform.
5. Spend lots of time with Jesus. When you start feeling insignificant in your role, go to Jesus. Find him in God’s Word and be reminded of his most treasured possession: you!
6. Enjoy being a part of something big! It’s no small thing that you get to be a part of the wind beneath someone’s wings. Mr. Hersch’s performance was incredible, and I had a better view of it than if I’d been in a front row seat.

Bible Verses For Servants:

• Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4
• God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10
• A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
• Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Not everyone gets to be the star, but everyone can embrace servanthood and be the wind beneath a star’s sails. So brush up on your service skills and lead as a servant!