Are You A Servant Leader And If Not Why Not?
Good Morning Friends,
In the passages just before today’s text Jesus is walking ahead of the disciples and telling them what is going to happen in Jerusalem during his passion. They do not get it. As the text pictures…Jesus was walking way of ahead of them.
Then James and John ask in all sincerity something that today seems so clearly wrong. It is as a prayer for Jesus to fit into their plans instead of for them to fit into his. The problem is that it is not a prayer at all for if they had been praying and not just wanting, their unconscious desires might have become conscious enough to better form their choice of words. They wanted to be great in their own way not realizing the cost. Jesus teachers them the only way to be truly great has a price.
At the core of the transaction for us today is a question about how much we want the peace found in a life of purpose. Are You A Servant Leader And If Not Why Not?
Scripture: I also said to the people at that time, ‘Let every man and his servant pass the night inside Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.’ So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me ever took off our clothes; each kept his weapon in his right hand.
Nehemiah 4:22-23 (NRSV)
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They replied, ‘We are able.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’
Mark 10:35-45 (NRSV)
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4 (NRSV)
Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7 (NRSV)
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
John 13:12–17 (NRSV)
Message: A common misconception among those who want to exercise a leadership role over others is that it comes with glory, power, and positions of honor. In fact, such a mistaken belief was the occasion for Jesus’ words in the above passage from Mark. James and John had just asked Jesus to place them at His side when He assumed His throne in the kingdom to come.
We have the same problem today when we confuse wants and desires and needs.
To lead Jesus style we have to discern the difference while having the ultimate interests of others at heart. We have to be willing to wash another feet in the Spirit of love. You see, we are to be blessings to others. We have been blessed for a purpose. We are to lead others to God, for God and with God. Today’s message is simple: One cannot be real disciples without service and we cannot lead without serving. We are to seek to invest ourselves in the lives of people so that, as a whole, the community is challenged to grow to be more like Christ. This is to be demonstrated in our willingness to give of ourselves to meet the needs, but not necessarily the wants of others. Like a good parent, we are to know the difference between the needs of spiritual children and their selfish desires. Our example in all this is Jesus, who came as a servant. Therefore, our mission is to serve one another, to give of ourselves. Jesus is really the only great example of Servant Leadership in the Bible. We get a hint of it in Nehemiah for he was personally involved, rational, motivational and encouraging and stood by with others in service. But today servant leadership is best viewed as an act of prayer bringing the Spirit’s filling and God’s wisdom and God’s power as it relieves our stress and reveals God’s agenda. Yes we are to be servant leaders mindful that Christ came to give His life and that we are to live by His example.
Pray we make a difference. Pray we recognize the characteristics of good Christian leadership. Pray we realize that the church was not created to serve us but to be a staging ground for us to serve Jesus. Pray we value the called out assembly of believers and their collective purpose. Pray what we do advances the cause of Christ. Pray we never are afraid to do what is right for fear of others. Pray we reach the seekers. Pray we keep the main thing the main thing. Pray we serve others by example. Pray our actions demonstrate our value of the Word and the Spirit and the Body of believers in unity. Pray we lead in a worship of God in all our life’s roles. Pray we network with other believers. Pray we thrive in a prayer that opens our mind to the truth and helps us not just to survive but to thrive as servant leaders.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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