Leaders and Servants…
Since grace at “Emerging Grace” has been discussing “Leadership“, I have started thinking about leadership again. Specifically, I have been meditating on Jesus words to his disciples concerning “leaders” among his followers. Consider this passage:
But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28 ESV; see also Mark 10:42-45)
Luke uses different verbs to communicate the same message in a similar passage:
A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” (Luke 22:24-26 ESV)
What does Jesus mean in this passage? Whatever he meant, he understood that he was speaking contrary to way people normally think about leadership. According to Jesus, the leader of a group of believers is the one who serves. Now, this order is very important. It seems at times that we get this backwards. We think that a true servant is the one who leads. Thus, we equate service with leadership. Who is the biggest servant? We would normally answer: The one who is leading us.
(This raises the question: If this understanding is correct, then what kind of “service” do those who do not “lead” provide? It must be a lesser kind of “service”. Thus, we make that which is not service to be called service, and that which is service to be called “not service” or “lesser service”.)
This is the opposite of what Jesus meant. If he were asked, who is the biggest leader? He would answer: the one who is serving most. It seems that Jesus would say, “Do you want to know who to follow? Look around you. Who is serving the most? Follow that person. And, you can think of me as an example. I have demonstrated this by being the servant of all. I did not come to be served, but to serve. Go and do likewise. Serve. And follow those who are serving.”
Jesus did not mean that the greatest service is leadership. He meant that the greatest leadership is service.
Is this the way we recognize leaders? Or, do we consider leadership skills, decision-making ability, educational background, communication skills, personality traits, charisma, etc.? When have we asked ourselves, “Who should we follow?”, and then answered, “Look how much that person serves others. Let’s follow that person.”
But, this is exactly what Jesus was telling us to do. Do you want to lead? Then serve. Do you want to know who to follow? Then look for one who is serving.
Let’s stop equating leadership with service, and let’s start following those who serve others.
Body life…
In The Community of the King (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977), Howard Snyder describes what he calls “body life” of the church. Consider the following quotes:
God does not use the Church as a lifeless object, for this would be contrary to all he wants to do within the Church. God’s will is that the Church and each member within it attain “the full measure of perfection found in Christ†(Eph. 4:13). God wants spiritual growth-to-maturity in the Church. As the Church thus grows, it will accomplish God’s plan to make known “through the church, the manifold wisdom of God… to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms†(Eph. 3:10). (pg 69)
Too often the Church has been seen more as a mere collection of saved souls than as a community of interacting personalities. Christian growth has been a matter of individual soul culture rather than the building of the community of the Spirit. (pg 74)
Spiritual growth occurs best in a caring community… The Holy Spirit ministers to us, in large measure, through each other. This is what Paul is talking about when he says “we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work†(Eph. 4:15-16). This interaction of the many members in one body is body life. (pg 75)
Interestingly, science tells us that a living organism grows, while a dead organism does not grow. This is what God is telling us through Paul in Ephesians 4:11-16. That growth is measured according to the person of Jesus Christ.
But, that does not mean that “body life” and growth are always measured in giant steps or even in public demonstrations. Consider what Dave Black said on his blog yesterday (Wednesday, February 7, 7:08 pm):
The church is not the extravagant structure on main street. It is Mary serving breakfast to her family, John taking the 7:30 train to work, April in her chemistry class, and Josh in his suburban business office. The church is a living, pulsating organism. This is a crucial issue, though it is frequently brushed under the carpet.
Too often, when we think of and speak of “body life” and “body growth” we either think of numbers or we think of grand expressions of “ministry” as a vocation. Sometimes we think of “body life” as our “church job”, whether we are paid or not. Our ideas of a living body are usually centered around positions such as Bible study teachers, ushers, deacons, preachers, greeters, or nursery workers. While many with these “positions” are laboring to serve people and the Lord, others rest on their title or position, with little, if any, thought to their cooperation in the life of the body of Christ.
But have you thought about how “serving breakfast” can demonstrate “body life”? How about riding the train to work, taking a class, or working in an office? Our location does not negate our presence in the body of Christ. Could you imagine changing a diaper causing the growth of the body? Yet, that is just what happens when these activities are seen as service to others and to the Lord.
Can you demonstrate the “manifold wisdom of God” while shopping? Can you help others “grow up into Him” while walking around your neighborhood? Can you “build the community” while driving your children to their activities? Or, is your idea of “body life” centered around a specific location at a specific time?
How has “body life” and growth been demonstrated to you? How has God used you to demonstrate “body life” to others and to grow others? In what areas of life do you think God may want to use you to grow his church – perhaps in areas you have never considered before?
Relationships and Ministry…
A young man who is a part of our fellowship recently told me that he was having trouble building relationships. He lives about 30 minutes away from others in our fellowship. Several of us suggested that he look for a group of believers who live closer to him.
Why would we do that? Do we want to break fellowship with him? Absolutely not! And, we are not breaking fellowship with him at all. Don’t we care about growing the church? Certainly! But, we recognize that we will not grow the church. Only Christ will grow the church. Why would we suggest that someone meet with other believers?
First, we recognize that the Christian life is designed by God to be lived in fellowship with other believers. This cannot happen for this young man if he only meets with his Christian brothers and sisters for a couple of hours on Sunday. This is not fellowship… this is attendance. There is a difference. We desire more for this young man and for all brothers and sisters in Christ. We desire to see all believers developing real relationships (maturing relationships) with other believers.
So, I saw this young man a couple of days ago. He has had a great time getting to know some Christian men who live near him. Besides spending time with them, he has also started ministering to his community with them. They are playing basketball at a local partk, getting to know some of the other young men there, and sharing Scripture with them.
What a joy to see real ministry (both to the church and to those outside the church) growing out of fellowship with other believers!
Encouraged by the church again…
Last night, a dear friend of our family handed me a hand-made card with a very encouraging note inside. I asked her if I could share it here, and she said that I could. I pray that this encourages you as much as it encourages me:
I want to say “thank you” for the way you “pastor” our church family. We were talking with another couple today over lunch and I shared with them that I’ve always been a person that is very “involved” at church (volunteering for this & that), but I’ve never been more challenged to minister than I have been as part of this church. Your philosophy of ministry, that each member is to minister, causes me to continually reflect on how I personally am ministering to/through the church. When I see a need not being met, I know that instead of just complaining about it, I should pray about and act on it. Thank you for this challenge you have given me. I pray that I will depend more on the Holy Spirit to use me within the body.
How encouraging! This dear sister has stopped trying to “get involved” in church programs, and has started seeking God’s will for how he wants her to serve others.
How does God want you to serve?
Are you involved in church growth?
God has a church growth method:
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV)
According to this passage, every believer should be involved in God’s church growth method. Lately, I have been asking myself what part I play in making the body grow and build itself up in love. So, what are you doing to make the body grow?
Update: Perhaps a better way to ask this is: How is God working through you to grow (that is, edify) his church?
What of the Church and Mission?
I have been fortunate to interact with Dougald and Wes on their blog Missions as Ecclesiology. They are thinking through how the church should carry out its mission cooperatively and individually. Their latest past is called “Missions and the Local Church-A look at cooperative missions and missions seding orginizations“.
The church is in the house…
Okay… this is not about house church. I don’t know why I thought of that title, except this post does have to do with houses. You’ll see…
Anyway, on New Year’s Day, some friends from out-of-state dropped by for a few minutes before they returned home. We decided to go to lunch with them and other friends. It was good to visit with them, but I couldn’t get my mind off of all the things I needed to do at home. Yes, I know that our friends were more important, but it was a weak moment.
As we were leaving the restaurant, my wife reminded me that other friends were getting their house ready for moving in this weekend (apparently, she was not having a weak moment). That day could be the only chance we have to help them. The stuff we needed to do could wait. We could always do that during the week.
So, we helped them paint for a few hours, along with another family. By evening, everyone was tired and hungry, so our friends offered to buy pizza. We decided to go to our house, since we have furniture. Everyone went home to gather food and came back to our house.
For the next few hours we ate, and laughed, and talked, and ate some more. When everyone finished eating, they got up and started doing things around our house – without our asking! They just went to work because they were there and because it needed to be done! Wow!
As I was thinking about what happened that night, I realized that’s the way the church should work. We take of each other, not because it is scheduled or planned or “ministry”, but because we love each other and desire to help each other.
I think this is the best expression of church (and of “worship service“) that I witnessed over the last week.
Worship Service…
We have seen various worship services during the last few weeks while my wife is recovering from her ankle surgery.
Several people prepared dinner for us, and many of them did not drop the food off, but stayed with us and spent time with us.
Some friends came over to our house and cleaned while I was at work.
Other friends picked up our children and took them where they needed to go, because Margaret could not drive.
There are many, many, many other acts of service that people did on our behalf. I believe that God sees this type of service as an offering of worship to him. Consider these verses:
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies–in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4:8-11 ESV)
Have you participated in a worship service lately?
Carolling in a Bar
I think Alan Cross and his carollers have demonstrated the love and mercy of Christ in a unique way. I wonder where God will send them next?
On Being Honored…
Believe it or not, I am a pastor. No, not that kind of pastor. I don’t preach every Sunday. In fact, I usually don’t even wear a coat and tie. I don’t get paid by the church. But, for some reason, the church has recognized me as one of their pastors. (We currently have two. We have had as many as four. We are currently praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit in order to recognize one or two others.)
Recently, we have been discussing “vocational pastors” or paying pastors. As almost everyone that is a part of our church knows, I am not for paying pastors a salary. However, I do believe it is biblical for those who are taught and those who are led to honor/hold in high esteem/share all good things with those who teach them and those who lead them. This should certainly include pastors.
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to describe how I have recently been honored. Perhaps this will help others see that “honor” does not necessarily mean paying a salary, and that paying a salary does not remove the individual’s responsibility of honoring.
First, some background information. My family moved out of seminary housing and into a “real” house last July. We love our house! We have had an extraordinary amount of help from those within the church. They helped us move in. They helped us arrange the furniture. They helped us install appliances. They helped us hang ceiling fans. Hopefully, you get the idea.
However, there is one thing that we’ve wanted to do that we have not been able to do yet. Our house has a gas fireplace. But, it did not have the propane tank necessary to fuel the fire. Because of some unexpected medical expenses (when are medical expenses expected?) we have not been able to afford the tank and fuel yet.
So, yesterday, my wife received a phone call from the local propane distributor. Someone had called them and paid for us to have a propane tank installed and paid for the first fill-up. Wow! We were overwhelmed! I still do not know who did this for us (But, I do have some ideas).
Think about this for a moment. In order for someone to honor us in this way, they had to spend time with us. We did not make it known publicly that we wanted a propane tank but had not been able to afford it yet. So, someone spent time with us and got to know us beyond the stage of, “Hi. How are you? Fine.” Then, instead of hoping that we can one day afford the propane, they acted on what they knew about us.
Now, I have been honored in many, many, many ways. Many people have brought us food and spent time with us, especially over the last few weeks as my wife recovers from ankle surgery. Many people have given us gifts and taken us to dinner. Many people have encouraged us and listened to us. We have been honored in many ways, and I appreciate every instance of being honored. In fact, I feel that I am honored above and beyond anything that I deserve.
When I think about the possibility of receiving a salary… I think I would prefer to be honored in these small, but very personal ways instead.