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The Greatest Among You: A Student's Guide to Servant Leadership
Book by Randy Sims
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 1, 2011
This book look me a very VERY long time to finish... I got it this summer when I went to worldview academy, and started reading it just a few weeks later. After procrastinating much, I finished it last weekend. It had some great treasures to dig up out of it, but overall it was not what I expected it to be...
I was excited to read this book(and go to worldview academy) mainly cause of the "servant" part.. I long to serve God with all I am, without expecting credit for it.. To give Him my all and go wherever He leads.. To do all He has planned for me to do with complete readiness!..
That's pretty much what I think it is to be His servant.
But I didn't really get that kind of stuff from this book.... I honestly can't really grasp what it was fully about.
It was a good book, filled with some great inspirational stories and metaphors.. But I didn't get what I thought I would get out of it.. And my expectations weren't set so high.
I was offended by chapter 3, which initiated my slow pace at finishing the book.. Since I had expected this book to be about SERVANT leadership, I thought that Randy Sims would be targeting people that already want to live selflessly.. So the third chapter freaked me out a bit! It starts out;
"The leader you will become is not what you are now. You are not the person today you will be tomorrow. The way things are now, you probably don't think of yourself as the next leader of the free world. Your mother may think so, but in reality you're right-you aren't that impressive and neither am I."
Then it went on with talk of different famous people, and the struggles they went through that made them grow/made what they did even more amazing(LOVED hearing this stuff!!).. But next, comparing us to them "These future leaders had much to overcome-probably more than you." I just think this chapter could have been worded differently.. In an encouraging way, rather than a rebuking way.
This "ruined" the book for me for a long time... To get myself to enjoy it again though, I grabbed a pencil and went back to mark out all the things I DID get out of it and folding the corners of those pages.. :) It helped me to see there was good in it; "treasures"!
Things like what it means to be an ambassador from Christ(page 11), the freezing man and the wood-burning stove (page 55) and all the other stories and quotes all throughout!.. I liked chapter 9 a lot!
But yeah, I don't recommend this book if you're wanting to learn how to be a servant leader (keyword being "servant" rather than "leader").. It's more about what qualities make up a successful leader, I guess..?
I was excited to read this book(and go to worldview academy) mainly cause of the "servant" part.. I long to serve God with all I am, without expecting credit for it.. To give Him my all and go wherever He leads.. To do all He has planned for me to do with complete readiness!..
That's pretty much what I think it is to be His servant.
But I didn't really get that kind of stuff from this book.... I honestly can't really grasp what it was fully about.
It was a good book, filled with some great inspirational stories and metaphors.. But I didn't get what I thought I would get out of it.. And my expectations weren't set so high.
I was offended by chapter 3, which initiated my slow pace at finishing the book.. Since I had expected this book to be about SERVANT leadership, I thought that Randy Sims would be targeting people that already want to live selflessly.. So the third chapter freaked me out a bit! It starts out;
"The leader you will become is not what you are now. You are not the person today you will be tomorrow. The way things are now, you probably don't think of yourself as the next leader of the free world. Your mother may think so, but in reality you're right-you aren't that impressive and neither am I."
Then it went on with talk of different famous people, and the struggles they went through that made them grow/made what they did even more amazing(LOVED hearing this stuff!!).. But next, comparing us to them "These future leaders had much to overcome-probably more than you." I just think this chapter could have been worded differently.. In an encouraging way, rather than a rebuking way.
This "ruined" the book for me for a long time... To get myself to enjoy it again though, I grabbed a pencil and went back to mark out all the things I DID get out of it and folding the corners of those pages.. :) It helped me to see there was good in it; "treasures"!
Things like what it means to be an ambassador from Christ(page 11), the freezing man and the wood-burning stove (page 55) and all the other stories and quotes all throughout!.. I liked chapter 9 a lot!
But yeah, I don't recommend this book if you're wanting to learn how to be a servant leader (keyword being "servant" rather than "leader").. It's more about what qualities make up a successful leader, I guess..?
July 19, 2013
I couldn't get through the 1st chapter. When you want to read about leadership and how best to lead from a Christian perspective, you do not need a whole chapter about how screwed you are if you do no rely on God. If you did not believe in the importance of a relationship with God you wouldn't be reading this book to start. This first chapter really hit you over the head repeatedly of literally how screwed you are without Jesus. Why is this even necessary?? It wasn't even tasteful or presented in a positive light.
After this first chapter I reviewed the other chapters and did not see a need to continue. It was more of the same. I remember meeting the author at Worldview Academy and liking his speech. But again, if you're at Worldview Academy you do not need to be told of the importance of reliance on God. You're there looking for a deeper level of theology, not missionary preaching.
After this first chapter I reviewed the other chapters and did not see a need to continue. It was more of the same. I remember meeting the author at Worldview Academy and liking his speech. But again, if you're at Worldview Academy you do not need to be told of the importance of reliance on God. You're there looking for a deeper level of theology, not missionary preaching.
November 9, 2015
This is a compelling and an outstanding book on "Leadership". Certainly, it breaks down exactly the genuine qualities and characteristics of a leader. But before you discover that, you learn what the main thing is and that is first and most importantly is a real leader is Christ-like. But, for such a leader to execute the office of leadership, principles such as meekness, integrity, vision, attitude the ability to empower must be prevalent.
I commend Randy Simms for such a powerful and influential message which he portrays throughout the pages of this book. It is a must read ~ must apply principles for any man or woman who aspires to be a leader who knows true leadership is in making others Christ-like leaders.
I commend Randy Simms for such a powerful and influential message which he portrays throughout the pages of this book. It is a must read ~ must apply principles for any man or woman who aspires to be a leader who knows true leadership is in making others Christ-like leaders.
August 30, 2012
A must read for all young people in this generation. Everyone should read it, but I think the youth and young adults need to learn how to be effective in their community by becoming a servant and serving with joy.
December 12, 2012
An amazing book! Highly recommended for every young adult before, during, or after college. It will inspire you!
February 1, 2013
Was pretty cheesy with odd examples. But I think it had valid points that has stayed with me since I've read it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews