The term servant-leadership was first coined in a 1970 essay by Robert K. Green Leaf (1904-1990) entitled “The Servant as Leader”. In the development of leadership theories, there has been no consensus for the definition of leadership. In the course of explosion of many theories in the middle of 20th century, many people were tired of the emphasis on the styles, traits and other secrets for successful leadership based on the achievement. In this context, the servant leadership opens a way to give room for human beings, that is, relationship and emphasizes the importance of leaders’ identity rather than methodology. Greenleaf defines Servant leader as what is sharply different from the person who is leader first. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. But because the words servant and leader are usually thought of as being opposites, they frustrate and annoy scholars and practitioners. Furthermore, some critics criticized Greenleaf’s writings are discursive because he never defines nor argues for any coherence in the features of leadership that he proposes. Others also point out that its biblical background is not based on the sound Christology. To overcome the shortcoming of the servant leadership theory, witness-based leadership, which is based on the atonement and the great commission of Christ, is suggested in this paper. The servant role is not inferior to the vocation of witness, but the two are seen as constituting a whole.

• 전한봉(삼육대, 선교학) | John Hanbong