Thursday: Be a Servant Leader
Read Luke 22:24-27. Even as the disciples were preparing for the Last Supper, they were arguing about who among them would be the greatest in the kingdom. How does Jesus respond to their foolishness, and what is so revolutionary about His reply?
Jesus’ answer is unique in the history of leadership. Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, and Genghis Khan all saw leadership in terms of power and authority over others.
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That’s pretty much how the world has always worked in regard to power.
But not so among you; on the contrary, said Jesus, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves (Luke 22:26, NKJV). In so saying, the Lord of the universe reversed the definition of leadership: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:26-28 NIV).
In so defining servanthood and self-denial as the core principles of His way and His leadership, Jesus introduced a new dynamic to human relations: fulfillment comes not from power but from service; leadership derives its authority not from position but from servanthood; transformation begins not with the throne but with the cross. To live is to die (John 12:24).
In Luke 9:46-48 something similar arose among Jesus’ disciples about who would be the greatest. The principles of the world were still firmly entrenched in His disciples’ minds.
The Master’s answer gets to the heart of the problem and poses one of the most difficult challenges in life in general and in the Christian life in particular. Jesus’ words, especially the part about being the least among you (vs. 48) show how completely backward the world’s priorities are.
With the principles of the world so utterly opposite of what Jesus taught here, how are we to survive if we implement His principles in our own lives?
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We should be vigilant as to what our hearts desire since the Bible says that the human heart is deceitful. Once contention arises as to who is bigger, greater or supreme; we know then that we have enthroned the evil one in our hearts
In response to the dispute over power and position Jesus said, "...For he who is least among you all will be great." (Luke 9:48) What difference might it make if we really believed and practiced this?
I thank God and prsise him for all of you people who share your thoughts on this blog. I use your comments to help me learn and share at my Sabbath School class discussion. This is the first time I am making a comment.
In following the lifestyle of Jesus Christ and calling for a working bee and nobody turns up at church, what do I do?
I am so scared that most of our (my) church members could be only Sabbath goers - not doers.
The Sunday lesson on the Pharisees (lawyers) is a lesson for Adventists today. Are we the Pharisees today? Are we the legalists? Am I one? This is a frightening situation for me when I look at it.
This lesson is really questioning my heart. Am I going to allow Jesus to really transform and strengthen me (Philippians 4:13) from within or just be another Sabbath goer?
Liars, thieves, tax-collector, adulterers etc repented when Jesus encountered them.
It is my prayer that that I see myself as a sinner in need of a Saviour. That I have the humility to be a servant.
Peter, from what you write I presume you are in a leadership position. If this is the case, your church is blessed. Our church is in the position that prayer meetings are organized and attended by a few church members - but the leaders are seldom present. A small congregation of under 50 active members we have three elders one deacon and four deaconesses. If anything is done it's the deaconesses who do it.
We have just heard of over 30,000 souls baptized in our neighboring Zimbabwe! "How is it possible?" I asked a Zim young man and his reply was - "The members share their faith and invited their friends to the meetings". That's the only way this message is ever going to reach the world - our leaders down to the Sabbath 'bench-warmers' need to wake up and get out there sharing! Keep on being living example and working and praying for your church and God will touch hearts and souls will be saved.
While Church leaders are responsible of creating an enabling environment for personal evangelism, it is a responsility of each one of us as Gods children to do such work.
Peter,
I presume your concerns arise from a position of leadership in your church, first i praise GOD for leaders who take the time to read and learn from different avenues before sharing with their members, but also I glorify GOD for leaders that are concerned for their members.
I think you should spend more time praying for your members that they not end up being just benchwarmers, but also active in the commission that Christ left us, but also i think you might want to change tactics to get them to come for different programs, some that i know have worked for me are...conducting programs with family and a few friends and taking pictures and videos and creating short documentary/testimonial like videos and then using these to inspire others to join in, you could also change modality of your programs...
About being Pharisees, i believe we all fall short in that avenue and we only need pray and ask for humility while practicing it by faith each day.
Lastly, it soothes the heart to know that the church belongs to Christ, and whatever we plead him for on behalf of the church...HE is already on our side before we utter a word, and HE is eternally inclined to doing what is best for HIS people.
GOD bless you.
Implementing what Jesus taught shows that we are His disciples and enables us to be the salt of the earth. We need to show and live by example in accordance to what our Master demonstrated. This is the fruit of the Spirit. The world must see the difference in Christian leadership by the way we exercise our own leadership style which will clearly yield better results and greater impact the same way our Lord and Saviour did.
To me leadership has always been about being grease in the transmission, not the motive force. I think the real role of leadership is to be a coordinator and example. The parable of Jesus leading the sheep out who goes before them I think is the real lesson for us to learn (Jn 10:4; Jn 13:15).
While all authority was given to Him He doesn't force His will on His creation. This whole controversy thing is one of learning and choosing in the open environment of free will.
What I like about jesus is that he defied everything that man in his natural mind understood about what a leader should be let's look at the conceptuion of jesus he was conceived out of wedlock obviously noone would have beleived mary if she told them that the holy spirit was the power behind that that is why god had to send to joseph his messenger to bethrthe her secondly mary and joseph couldn't consumate their marriage until after jesus was born 3dly jesus was born in a stable dirty smelling stable with Cows cot was a trough from whuich the animals drank water it must have been rough and here we have thge saviour of our world wrapped in swaddling coth now if u have to look at all the great leaders u c that they came from prestigious backgrounds jesus came in a lowly state he came as a servant he came to sympathise with the lowliest of men and even as a leader to his disciples he showed them what humility was in his everyday walk and in the washing of their feet before his capture jesus showed us that we need love to walk in his footsteps love is the foundation of gods kingdom u cannot do anything pleasing to god if u have no love all the knowlege and the outward shows if the phrasees did nothing for their salvation until one has love and reverence for god and doing of his goodwill how can we go wrong never if we are doing the will of the father