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Rev. Min Jung Park, D. Min., on the role of leadership
Being a Servant-Leader
I recently had the opportunity to lead a diverse, multifaith, and multiethnic memorial service for over 200 people at Winthrop University Hospital. A Nurse Manager named Sally had died after dedicating more than 30 years to the hospital. During “Celebrating the Life of Sally,” fifteen members of the interdisciplinary team participated in the service. The attendees who came to pay their respects were from different religious, cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds. Yet, there was a strong bond between those present at the service. It was so crowded that there was barely enough space to stand in the back of the room; this was a testament to Sally’s high regard throughout the hospital.
For weeks afterwards, hospital staff were reflecting on the beautiful service. Those who knew me from the memorial service started reaching out to me. These interactions led me to think about leadership. In my CPE residency program at The HealthCare Chaplaincy in New York, leadership has been emphasized from day one. At first, I wondered why leadership was important for a hospital chaplain. The answer came to me after the memorial service.
Pastoral care ministry, which provides emotional and spiritual support for patients and their families and hospital staff, typifies Robert Greenleaf’s term, “servant-leadership.” [1] According to Greenleaf, leadership is a service, and the actions of serving can transform relationships for the better; a servant-leader eagerly helps others through attentive listening and a nonjudgmental attitude.[2] In servant-leadership people accomplish common goals – together – in the community and maintain their organic relationships through interaction, regardless of the diversity of their beliefs and opinions.
I aspire to be a servant-leader with the vision and creativity to make a big difference. Years ago, when I faced discrimination and subordination at a church because of my gender, I pushed myself to become a scholar in the seminary and was rewarded with the knowledge that I did not have to accept patriarchal social oppression. This oppression caused feelings of inferiority and powerlessness. Through self-actualization and the “action-reflection-new action,” learning method of CPE, I became a better leader. As a marriage counselor at the Korean-American Family Counseling Center, I applied this knowledge of self-realization to help battered women emancipate and empower themselves.
The Scripture instructs that faith without accompanying action is dead (James 2:17) and assures us that we are God’s ambassadors. Sally influenced many people as a nurse educator and a faithful Catholic. I believe that she will be remembered as a true servant-leader. My hope is that I, too, can be a true servant-leader.
Footnotes:
[1] Robert K. Greenleaf, Servant Leadership (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1977)
[2] Larry C. Spears (ed.), The Power of Servant Leadership (San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1998)
Rev. Min Jung Park, D. Min., is a resident chaplain at The HealthCare Chaplaincy in NY. She serves as an interfaith chaplain at Winthrop University Hospital in Long Island, NY, and as an Associate Pastor at Arumdaun Presbyterian Church in Long Island. She received her M. Div and, D. Min. degrees from New York Theological Seminary in New York. She also earned a Certificate of Pastoral Care Studies from Blanton Peale Graduate Institute. She is a member of American Association of Pastoral Counselors and a founding member of The Association of Korean Chaplains in America. She is ordained by the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA).
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