The concept of a servant leader is unique and subtle but clearly puts forward the idea that a leader has to be humble yet possess a charismatic personality to be bestowed with the title of a leader. The political anarchy can be dealt with using this concept (Greenleaf, 2002). Furthermore, it is the people who, by listening to the words of wisdom of those amongst them choose leaders.
This concept is very helpful in everyday life especially at school levels where a positive attitude can be adopted in the interaction between students, teachers and staff by the role of a servant leader (Tan, 2006). They need to possess idea, reliability, reliance and service. The Holy Bible also mentions the role of Moses as a servant (Rapids, 2011).
Franklin Graham was born on 14th July 1952 in North Carolina. His parents Billy Graham and Ruth Bell Graham brought him up with good moral character and he grew up to be a servant leader. He received his early education from Stony Brook School in New York (Franklin Graham – Biography). He went to LeTourneau College, Texas in 1971 but was expelled from there. He graduated from Montreat College, in 1974. He committed his life to religious work at the age of 22 when he was in a hotel room in Jerusalem. He married Jane in 1974 and has four children.
He started working at Billy Graham Association in 1989 and was helped by Billy Graham’s close friends who supported and guided him at all steps. With this support and his own insight and hard work, he became the CEO and later the president. He has met many renowned people all over the world, including presidents. He believes in helping the humanity and makes it a prime target to help the victims of various terrorist attacks or natural disasters. His support was noteworthy at the time of 9/11 attack. His efforts are not confined to USA but extend all over the globe. He preaches the Christians to adopt a humanitarian attitude.
He was invited by Dr. Bob Pierce, who was the creator of Samaritan’s Purse, to a meeting in Asia, where the plight of the sufferers of famine and war afflicted people was made obvious to him. He started working to help such people and joined Samaritan’s Purse in 1978 and today he serves as the CEO there. He has proved that he has really taken forward the mission of Billy Graham.
References
Biography of Reverend and Evangelist Billy Graham. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from http://www.inspirationalchristians.org/biography/reverend-billy-graham-ordinary-man-extraordinary-call
Franklin Graham – Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2015.
Greenleaf, R., & Spears, L. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness (25th anniversary ed.). New York: Paulist Press.
Rapids, M. (2011). Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan.
Tan, S. (2006). Full service: Moving from self-serve Christianity to total servanthood. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.
(n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from http://billygraham.org/about/biographies/franklin-graham/
