Perhaps you don’t even know what a choko is but I’ll tell you one thing about them – I don’t like them. A choko is a fruit that I’m almost certain is a result of the Fall. They kind of look like a big, pimply, misshapen pear and they taste disgusting. But my grandmother loved them and she used to try to get me to eat them – not happening Granny! In her endeavours, she once said to me, “Try this one – it is a really tasty choko.” That phrase right there, “tasty choko” is an oxymoron.
An oxymoron is when you have apparently contradictory concepts put together – like “tasty choko” or “deafening silence” or “growing smaller.”
One of the classic apparent oxymorons that is popular in Christian circles is “Servant Leadership.”
Servants follow leaders, right? How can you be a follower and a leader at the same time? It seems to be an oxymoron. But, Servant Leadership is not an oxymoron – it’s not a choko.
To put servanthood and leadership in competing juxtaposition is to miss what each of these terms actually mean from a biblical sense. It’s not as though we have to be constantly moving between servanthood and leadership. We don’t have to take our servant’s apron off to put on our leaders cap.
Rather, from a biblical viewpoint, we only actually lead when we do it from a place of servanthood.
We are first-and-foremost servants. Paul describes himself like this:
- “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.” (Romans 1:1)
- “This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” (1 Corinthians 4:1)
- “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5)
Paul, one of the greatest leaders in the history of the Church, was primarily a servant of Christ and Christ’s Church.
And it was out of that servanthood that Paul led. Don’t skim over this point. If you can grasp this concept, you grasp Christian leadership. If you don’t grasp it, you’ve missed Christian leadership.
Jesus taught His disciples that leadership only works in the Church as we serve (Matthew 20:25-28). So, it makes sense that leadership and leaders are seen as gifts from God to the Church (Romans 12:8; Ephesians 4:11).
Get this: Our leadership in God’s Church is God’s gift to His Church! We serve by leading others and we lead by serving others.
Servant-Leadership is not an oxymoron! It is the most fundamental understanding of Biblical leadership given to us and it is the model of leadership Christ Himself gave us: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)
Christ, the Great Shepherd, demonstrated what leadership looks like – servanthood!
So, what are going to be the hallmarks of Servant Leadership at FLBC? Here are what I think are the main ones:
- Leaders serve for the glory of God and the benefit of others. That may seem obvious but it requires us to do an honest spiritual stocktake of out motives. Do we lead because we like the kudos that comes with it? Do we lead because it fulfils some deep need in our own self-esteem? Or do we lead sacrificially even when it hurts and is costly to us because, ultimately, it’s not about us anyway?
- Leaders are Christ-centred. As servants, we realise we don’t have all the answers and we need to be under the instruction of our Master. Consequently, we need to be listening to the Master through prayer and His word. Our servanthood is measured by how well we follow and listen to the Master. We are not swayed by the fashion and favour of people but, as the old hymn says, “Riches I head not nor man’s empty praise, Thou mine inheritance now and always."
- Leaders love and serve those we lead. Would those we lead say they know we love them and are there for them? Sometimes leaders must “take the bullet” for their team because we love them. A friend of mine said, “Why would you want to be a Pastor? Being a Pastor is like being the coach of an NRL team: When things go well, people say “Great team.” But when things go bad they say, “Sack the coach.” “ I think he was being too negative about pastoral leadership – my experience certainly hasn't been that negative. But, sometimes, as leaders, we must be prepared to take the knocks when they come because we love our team.
- Leaders take people with them. Someone has said, “What do you call a leader without any followers? Just a guy taking a walk.” As Servant-Leaders, we serve those whom we lead. Therefore, we don’t expect them to follow because of our position. We call them to follow us because they see that we are serving God and others. As Paul says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
- Leaders raise up other leaders. When we realise that this is not about me at all, we start to see the need to raise up others because Christ’s Kingdom will outlive my time on this earth. We take a long-term vision.
- Leaders invest in others. We get close to those we lead and disciple them. We don’t just see them as pawns in our little game of Church. We see them as people for whom Jesus died and we treat them with love, integrity, forgiveness and grace.
- Leaders see the bigger picture. One of the greatest benefits of understanding that we are first-and-foremost servants is that we realise it doesn’t all depend on us. It’s Christ’s Church and He has promised to build it (Matthew 16:18) and He will present the Church as a radiant bride (Ephesians 5:27). Take a breath – it doesn’t all depend on you. Jesus was building the Church long before you were around and He’ll be building after you’re gone. So, when the going gets tough, when the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” come, when you see success, triumph and disaster, don’t be defined by those moments – there is a bigger picture that won’t be finished until Glory! You have a small but important part in a grand, eternal narrative that Christ is writing with His own blood!
God said to the Israelites, “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:15) My prayer is that those of who lead at FLBC will be leaders who lead after God’s own heart. And God has shown us what His heart looks like – Jesus, who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)
Lord Jesus, as we lead Your Church, may we lead as servants, after Your own heart. Amen