The Servant-Leadership Style of Jesus: A Biblical Strategy for Leadership Development is by Dale Roach, published in March 2016 through WestBow Press.
Worth knowing what that means: WestBow is Thomas Nelson’s author-funded self-publishing arm. So the book carries a recognisable imprint name but it was not acquired or edited by a traditional publisher. That does not make it bad. It does mean there is no editorial gatekeeping behind it and very little independent review of it, so you are taking more of a chance than the imprint suggests.
The subject, which is worth a book
Roach’s premise is the right one. Jesus explicitly rejected the leadership model his disciples assumed. In Matthew 20 the request is for status, and the answer is that whoever wants to be great must serve, because the Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom. Leadership in the kingdom runs on service.
That is a genuinely counter-cultural claim, and it cuts against how leadership is taught almost everywhere else, including in a lot of churches. A book working carefully through what Jesus actually modelled has real value.
What I can and cannot tell you
An earlier version of this review made specific claims I could not verify: that Roach identifies five characteristics of a servant-leader, that he builds the argument on the Sermon on the Mount, and that each chapter ends with Scripture-based action steps and small group questions. Those may all be accurate, but I could not confirm any of them independently, so I am not going to assert them as fact.
What is confirmed is the author, the title, the publisher, and the 2016 publication. Beyond that, use the Amazon preview to check the structure before you buy, especially if you want it for a group.
How to decide on it
The honest position is this. The topic is important and this book may serve you well, but with a self-published title and no track record, the preview is worth more than any review including this one. Read the first chapter and the table of contents and judge the writing yourself.
If you want servant leadership handled by a book with a long record behind it, there are better-established options on the same subject, and you would lose nothing by starting there.
Who it suits
Reasonable for a reader who wants a short, direct treatment of Jesus as a leadership model and does not mind an unproven author. Reasonable for a church leader building a reading list who will vet it himself.
Not the pick if you want scholarship, or a book you can recommend onward without checking it first.
Bottom line
An important subject in a self-published package. Judge it from the preview rather than the imprint, and treat our recommendation as provisional, because the available information does not support a stronger one.
Check the current price of The Servant-Leadership Style of Jesus on Amazon