Jesus and Judas: A Picture of Servant Leadership

Some people seem born with the gift of servant leadership.

I wasn't. Mine came through heart surgery. Not the kind performed in an operating room, but the kind only God can perform.

There was a season in my life when I finally became brave enough to hand God my heart in all of its unrecognizable pieces. Like handing my dad a broken Barbie doll as a little girl and trusting he'd somehow make it whole again.

I expected God to repair what was broken and hand it back to me. Instead, He sat me down. He didn't begin by fixing my heart but by asking questions. He began by exposing my circle and exposing trauma’s that shaped my behaviors. He taught me through ordinary moments: Conversations, relationships, disappointments, small acts of obedience, disobedience and surrendered prayer.

And there are more than a few moments where prayer sounded remarkably similar to Jesus' in the Garden of Gethsemane:

"Father... if it is possible, let this cup pass from me."

The beautiful thing about God is that He never leaves the examination room. He stays beside you until your heart has learned what your mind could never teach it.

Years later, I would begin leading organizations, convinced that leadership was about strategy, execution, and solving problems but God had other plans. While serving as the Executive Director of Pour Over Love, I spent my first year walking alongside young adults experiencing homelessness. One evening we gathered for bowling. We laughed and forgot, if only for a few hours, the weight everyone was carrying. Then the night ended. Some of our young adults returned to their apartments. Some returned to transitional housing. Some returned to shelters. And some returned to the streets.

I remember driving home with a heaviness I couldn't shake. For perhaps the first time in my career, I encountered a problem that my competency or sheer will couldn't solve. No operational system could fix it. No spreadsheet could solve it. No strategic plan could erase it.

Sometimes leadership looks like sitting with problems that don't have immediate solutions while pouring your heart into those who need your presence the most. Presence over solutions became a defining lesson in servant leadership for me while healing became discipleship.

Another lesson came through an onboarding call that lasted nearly ninety minutes. A therapist was joining a startup in which I was contracted and wearing many hats within, and I quickly realized she was independently blind. No one had prepared me for the conversation. So I stopped trying to get through the checklist and instead, I asked questions. I wanted to understand how she experienced the world. What technology she relied upon. Where unnecessary barriers existed. How our systems could better serve her instead of expecting her to adapt to us.

Together, we rebuilt the onboarding experience around her needs. Weeks later she wrote something I'll never forget.

"I cried after our onboarding session. The professional world is not always set up to patiently support those of us who have barriers to digital and other types of vocational independence. You were so patient and respectful of my needs and it so boosted my confidence. Barriers to getting the job done can be very frustrating and discouraging. You, Gwenn, shifted that for me in a powerful, relevant and empathic way. THANK YOU!"

Her words stayed with me. Not because they affirmed my work but because they revealed that servant leadership isn't measured by how much authority you hold but by how well people flourish because of how you lead them.

Then I think about Jesus. On the night before the cross, He wrapped a towel around His waist. He knelt. He washed feet. Every pair of them. Even Judas'.

Jesus already knew who would betray Him. He already knew who would deny Him. He already knew who would abandon Him. Yet He served them anyway. Not because they earned His service. But because servant leadership is rooted in the character of the servant, not the response of the person being served.

I think that's where many Founders misunderstand leadership. We often believe leadership is about casting vision, making decisions, or inspiring people. Those things matter, but servant leadership asks a different question.

What barriers can I remove so the people entrusted to me can flourish and trust themselves?

That question has changed how I coach Founders. Most leaders come to us asking for better operations, clearer processes, stronger teams, or scalable systems. Those things matter. We build them every day. But before we strengthen an organization, we often find ourselves strengthening the person leading it.

As Founders, our habits become culture. The healthiest organizations are led by people who are willing to let God refine their hearts just as intentionally as they refine their operations.

That is why our work at Good Ground Co. is never just creative operational consulting. It is leadership formation. We help Founders develop the wisdom, rhythms, and operational disciplines that allow both people and Missions to flourish together.

Jesus didn't wash feet because feet were dirty. He washed them because hearts needed to understand what leadership looked like.

As Founders, we have the same invitation. To build organizations that don't simply accomplish great work. But become places where people encounter dignity, care, and the heart of a servant. 

Because sometimes the greatest thing you'll ever build isn't your organization. It's a heart for serving people and serving people well.

Serve well dear Founder,

Gwenn M

Related Scriptures:

Matthew 26:39

John 13