Servant Leadership

 

Servanthood

Matthew 20:26-28 

"Whoever wants to become the greatest among you must be your servant, and whoever want 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."  

      Jesus' teachings on servanthood have always bothered me. Not because I don't think He's right, but because its so stinking hard to do.
        What I love about the teaching is that it is so counter-cultural. I am an antagonist so I love times when Jesus acts against the culture and upsets the order of things. This is one of those teachings: the 1st shall be the last and the last shall be the 1st. He is totally re-arranging the social order; It's no longer the big-wigs who are the greatest, it's the lowest servants. I imagine that really torked off some of Jesus' listeners who had spent so much time and money trying to climb the social ladders of the day.
         But what bothers me about the teaching is that it reveals the true nature of my heart (and I would venture to say others' heart as well). When I'm really honest, I don't want to serve others. I want to be served. I want luxury. That desire is based on a love of self more than a love of others. The teaching reveals my diseased heart and I don't like that. It shows me what I really think and believe about other people. It attacks the real disease and reveals the sickness.
          Jesus says servanthood is a primary requirement for leadership. If you want to lead, you need to love those you are called to lead more than you love yourself. If you are in the workplace, it means you care for your people and don't use them. If you are in ministry, it means you care more about the well-being of your people than you do about growth or personal success. As a father, it means I am a servant-leader at home. My children do not exist to serve me, but I am there to look out for their best interest.
          As a Worship Pastor and lead worshipper, this means that I had better develop an addiction to serving behind the scenes; for the sake of the people I am leading as well as for the sake of my team. It also means that my artistic and music selections, while being true to my heart, primarily serve the congregation and not my own tastes and preferences. It means I stay focused on the mission of the church and the edification of the Bride rather than doing what I like to do.
          I believe we are called to be SERVANT leaders for two reasons; Primarily, for the blessing and betterment of the people we are called to lead. Secondarily, to set an example to those we lead. My kids learn to be servants when they watch me serve them and their mother.
         Step up folks. Step out. Seek out ways today of being a servant leader to those you are called to lead.