Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy 1
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy: A Biblical Perspective
Lawrence M. Long
School of Business, Liberty University
Abstract
The modern concept of servant leadership largely follows an interpretation developed by Robert
Greenleaf. Servant leaders, or leadership models applying servant leadership, typically
emphasize empowering others, collaboration, and accomplishing the mission. While these
strands of servant leadership are important, they also are incomplete without the base of
eternal, God grounded service defined by Scripture. This paper takes a closer look at the
difference between worldly (man-centered) and biblical (Christ-centered) servant leadership.
The use of Admiral William H. McRaven, a respected Navy SEAL leader from the last 20 years,
provides a case study of how the contemporary model of servant leadership is specifically lived
out in Navy service. Admiral William H. McRaven demonstrated many aspects of servant
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy 2
leadership admirable and achievable in practice as a Navy leader; however, biblical servant
leadership goes much further by establishing acts of servant leadership through the lens of
humility, sacrificial love, and accountability to God. This study concludes that the biblical, Christ-
centered model of servant leadership is the most transformational and ethically defendable
basis of Navy leadership for leadership intentionally chosen as a method of leading sailors in
times of complexity and challenges.
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy: A Biblical Perspective
Introduction
Leadership within the distinctive context of the United States Navy has its own cultural
weight; as Navy leaders provide guidance and direction for sailors on their critical lives events
and missions that require, anticipate and demand sacrifice, courage and unity. Servant
leadership has emerged as one model that describes serving others as a better pathway to
effective leadership. As contemporary authors, Ken Blanchard and John Maxwell (2018) explain,
servant leadership promotes stronger organizations and healthier relationships. While some
strand models may focus on mission accomplishment and organizational productivity, Scripture
depicts a Christ-centered model founded upon humility, sacrificial love, and accountability to
God. The intent of this paper is to evaluate both man-centered and Christ-centered servant
leadership with Admiral William McRaven as a case study and conclude that biblical servant
leadership offers a more robust framework for Navy leaders.
Man-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy
Robert Greenleaf established and popularized the concept of servant leadership as a way
of leading and managing organizations. Greenleaf defined a servant-leader as someone who
seeks to serve first and lead second (Greenleaf, 2002). In the actualization of this model, it is
concerned with empowering and trusting followers, trust in leadership, collaboration, and other
related themes. By all accounts, the climate of collaboration and empowerment is critical in
highconsequence environments such as the Navy. In a Leadership Theory organization that
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy 3
speaks to servant leadership methods, Admiral William H. McRaven was the epitome of a man
centered servant leader. As a Navy leader, McRaven cultivated a climate of discipline, resiliency,
and a strategic process that emphasizes small, consistent leadership actions in support of
empowering others, a process which he summarized in his book Make Your Bed (McRaven,
2017).
Worldly servant leadership provides many benefits in military environments. By creating
an ethos of focusing on subordinate wellbeing, worldly servant leadership builds cohesion,
loyalty, and trust-making it easier to face challenges that would otherwise seem impossible for
unit or mission success. The support Admiral McRaven received from his leadership team during
the Bin Laden mission exemplifies the way worldly servant leaders can trust and empower their
team to work in their respective circumstances of which McRaven did not issue what would
resemble a command and control atmosphere, rather it looked like an approach to leadership
that embodied humility (Robinson, 2018). A recent study investigating the leadership traits of
U.S. Air Force noncommissioned officers indicated that servant-leadership related traits (e.g.,
empowerment and humility) positively contributed to organizational climate and trust
(Richardson, Earnhardt, Morris, & Walker, 2023).
From a critique perspective, I am not saying worldly servant leadership does not have its
limitations. It often remains results driven and focuses on the achievement of results, whether
the results are defined by efficiency, loyalty, or organizational results. As Crowther (2019)
asserts, worldly leadership can be utilitarian by using service as strategy instead of a calling. This
danger has also been noted in terms of Air Force chaplains, wherein any language of servant-
leadership is sometimes used to advance priorities of an institution (Dyer, 2025). Scripture
warns against any ambition that serves our own needs, or leadership that is primarily seeking
human approval (Philippians 2:3-4; Galatians 1:10). Therefore, while McRaven's style of
leadership certainly reflects a type of service that is admirable, it is not styled in the eternal
orientation of Christcentered servant leadership.
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy 4
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership: A Biblical Foundation
Christ-centered servant leadership has been modeled for us perfectly in Jesus Christ,
who said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45, NIV). Unlike worldly models of servant leadership, biblical
servant leadership is characterized by humility, self-sacrifice, and obedience to God. In John 13,
as Jesus washed the disciples' feet, he embodied service as a leadership posture, as opposed to
a status. The Apostle Paul goes on to instruct believers to have the same attitude as Christ, who
"humbled himself by becoming obedient to death -- even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-8,
NIV). Crowther (2019) acknowledges that a Christ-centered servant leadership acknowledges
the leader is accountable to God and not merely an organization or people. This foundation
leads to a shift in leadership priorities: service flows from a love for God and others, mission
success is framed in reference to eternity, and humility becomes central. Blanchard et al. (2018)
supports this view, noting that the best servant leaders show competence and are principled
individuals who have character greater and higher than themselves. In a similar vein,
McMahone (2023) suggests that servant leadership must be based on biblical truth to reach its
fullest potential; without it, it merely becomes another leadership trend acting without the
authority of God. Within the Navy, leaders influenced by Christ-centered servant leadership see
sailors as people made in the image of God, rather than just elements of the mission. Not only is
moral courage and integrity essential, but so too is the care for sailors with a mind towards their
whole person— factors that will withstand deployment, moral injury, or command pressure.
Integration in the U.S. Navy Context
Admiral McRaven's leadership provides an example of some of the benefits of secular
servant leadership within the Navy. His humility, discipline, and putting the team first align with
the principles of servant leadership theory. However, the values of the biblical model apply even
deeper as they are based upon service to God instead of the objective of a mission. The
differences of Christ-centered servant leadership is that McRaven's language emphasized the
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy 5
mission and resiliency, while Christ-centered leadership means the leader chooses love,
humility, and eternal accountability to God. For example, during moments of stress regarding
ethical problems whether it concerns the rules of engagement or how to care for subordinates,
biblical servant leadership provides a source of moral accountability greater than that of the
organization. The historical profiles of Navy leaders like Admirals Baucom and McCarthy are
examples of how humility, stewardship, and integrity were principles to help guide leaders
through complex military decisions, and may serve as examples in contrast to the principles
within Christ-centered servant leadership (Servant Soldiers, 2022).
Conclusion
Whether one considers servant leadership from a modern stance or from biblical
principles, the fundamental goal is to elevate others above oneself. Admiral William McRaven
shows how servant leadership grounded in man-centeredness could strengthen the cohesion of
the organizational goals and help achieve the mission success of the Navy. Christ-centered
servant leadership provides a better bedrock for the leadership platform because it connects
servanthood with humility, sacrifice, and an eternal accountability to God. Modern studies and
military case studies have shown success with the concept of servant leadership within the
armed forces (Richardson et al., 2023; Dyer, 2025). However, as noted by McMahone (2023) and
implies within the text of Scriptures, it is only the morally clear and eternally significant
Christcentered servant leadership.
Christ-Centered Servant Leadership in the U.S. Navy 6
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