human dignity

Feet pattered against the floor as the attendees shifted into a position where they could see the presenter without smacking against the wall or another attendee as they followed his movements. Three-quarters of the way through a three-hour workshop, the opportunity for activity was welcome to the group of mostly kinesthetic learners. The presenter jumped off the stage to demonstrate, not entirely unexpected as he had revealed himself to enjoy participant interaction versus the distance of the stage. The group gathered closer, eager to catch every move.

Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence. Motioning with his hands, he calmly asked if folks could clear a path so that the videographer could see...and then interrupted himself again, shaking his head. "That's just brutal," he smiled as he walked toward the back of the room. A few seconds of quiet conversation, a handshake, and he returned to the front. "Would you folks mind moving to the side so that Darren can get a good shot of the demonstration?"

The workshop continued uneventfully, but the 45 second encounter stuck in my mind. This presenter, a "famous in his field," knowledgeable, and busy man, had taken 10 seconds to recognize the dignity of a fellow human, a human who expected to stay in the background, whose job was to record unobtrusively the session to further increase the presenter's fame. 

Those 45 seconds encapsulate the heart of a servant-leader to me.

"But whoever would be great among you must be your servant." - Matt. 20.26