"Serving and Leading"

"If it is leadership, let him govern diligently." – Romans 12:8

"Jesus said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that.' "

 

         One of my favorite parts of a basketball game is a well-executed "back door" play. The idea behind this play is for the team with the ball to get everyone on defense to look the same direction, to look at one player, usually the star shooter. This causes another player, one standing way across the floor, to be unwatched for a short time, in fact to be unseen. It is this unseen player who at just the right time breaks unnoticed to the basket, and just as the distracted defense realizes what has happened, the ball is passed to the unseen player for an easy lay-up. It is a thing of beauty. It has been around for generations, and it still works. The old back door play.

         Jesus talked to his disciples about leadership. The disciples were talking about which of them would be greatest in the Kingdom of God. They were the ones caught looking the wrong way. Their eyes were on the kings, rulers and benefactors of the world. And Jesus told them they must not be like that.

         God exalts the "unseen." God exalts his son Jesus, who lived as a servant.

         This conversation takes place at the close of the Last Supper. Jesus is facing crucifixion the next afternoon.

         Judas is busy betraying Jesus.

         Peter will within a few hours deny that he even knows Jesus.

         And the disciples are arguing about which of them is greatest in the Kingdom.

         None of this feels very good to a leader. It seems that the mission of Jesus is very vulnerable at this point. People might say he failed as a leader. He does not appear to have been a good king or benefactor.

         But Jesus says to them, right at that point, "I am among you as one who serves." At table, at a banquet, the servant or waiter is the unseen person. No attention is given to the servant. Everyone looks at the honored guest.

         What could Jesus possibly mean, when he identifies himself with the servant at a banquet, and not the honored guest? After all, he certainly was a strong leader. He taught with authority. He was a preacher who healed people. He attracted great crowds. He brought salvation to sinners. Yet now he says that he was among them as a servant and not as a King. He says he was among them as one unseen and not as the star. This is a mystery.

         Paul writes of this mystery in his letter to the Philippians. They are having trouble with the selfish ambition among their leaders. So Paul says they are to have the same attitude as Christ, who was equal to God, and yet did not grasp at it.

         I notice that once again the church is in the news in a way that brings shame to all of us. It seems some prominent evangelists and a college president, people representing Christ at a high level and being very successful at it, are using ministry funds for lavish personal pleasure and gain. There seems to be a temptation that comes with success in ministry, a compulsion or need to live like kings. Jesus says, "You are not to be like that."

         Paul shows us the heart of Jesus. He was equal to God, and yet he did not grasp at that equality. Jesus told his disciples that kings and rulers "lord it over" the people. The word here is actually the word "Lord" put in the form of a verb. It is then a lifestyle of "lording." That is a sharp word. Going around always telling others what to do, keeping control, always in authority. That is what Jesus did not grasp at. He tells us not to live like that either.

         Paul says that Jesus came into our world and identified with us by emptying himself. The NIV has "made himself nothing." He took on the very nature of a servant. Frank Theilman writes that this word translated "emptied" is used elsewhere to mean "nullifying something, making a possession of no account." It was not that Jesus ceased to be divine, to be the Son of God, but rather that "he revealed the form of God in the form of a slave and in human likeness." Theilman goes on, "Then even further he revealed the form of God on the cross, which is the kind of execution reserved for slaves." He emptied himself. He did not get rid of who he was, but he identified with us, he became "Emmanuel" -- God with us.

         He truly became as we are, and to do that deepest kind of identification, he became a servant. When he saw people, he said they were like "sheep without a shepherd." He was a shepherd to them, entering into all the difficult work of a shepherd. He embraced the life of sinful humanity.

         It is hard to follow Jesus in that way. So often we hold back in self-protection. I read a most interesting article a few weeks ago. It was about a basketball player at the University of Washington named Quincy Pondexter. He said that when he came to the university a year ago, he had no intention of staying more than a few months, just for the season. Someone had told him he could play in the NBA, and so he was going to use one brief year in college as a kind of try-out for the pros. He saw himself as Quincy Pondexter, NBA star. So he did not become a college student. He lived alone in an apartment, and said he spent all his time watching SportsCenter, which because of its repetition becomes very boring. He did not make friends on the team. He did not bother to learn teamwork. He did not play defense. He was after all just on his way to the NBA.

         Things did not go well for him. Soon he was on the bench. The NBA was not so interested in him any more. And so, at the low point for him, he made a decision to become a college student. He embraced the life of the University. He went to class, he did the work, he made friends, he developed a pride in the school, and he began to work hard for the good of the team. He embraced the servant role. He no longer thinks about the NBA. He loves his college life. He likes to see the team do well.

         This is what Jesus did in emptying himself. He joined the team of our humanity. And then he took one other step. Paul says he humbled himself, and became obedient to death. Jesus moved from identification with us to the humility that obeys God and does his will. Such obedience allows God to exalt his Son, in his time.

         How might we apply these words about servanthood and leadership? Perhaps we humbly begin by confessing that our church seems to have a leadership problem. It s not a problem with our leaders. But we do each year see a symptom of a problem in the number of people who decline to accept leadership roles. This year we have been one person short on Council all year, because we could not find a full slate of candidates. We are a bit worried about the year ahead. The problem we have is not that people decline. That is more of a symptom. In fact it would not be wise for me to encourage you to say "yes" if you are asked to serve as a leader. There are certainly good, valid, godly reasons why people must decline an invitation to serve. There is no gain in trying to force something that is not right for a person.

         The issue is more to simply ask you to look deeply at why you feel you are unable to be a leader in the church, if in fact God has placed the gift of leadership in you. "If his gift is leadership, let him govern diligently."

         If God has prepared you to lead, but you hold back because of fear of failure, self-doubt or a feeling of being unworthy, then this may be a great opportunity to learn to trust God and let him work through you. He is able.

         If God has prepared you to lead, but you hold back; it might just be that you have been looking in the wrong direction. You are perhaps focused on kings and benefactors and worldly models of leadership, and you know you do not meet that standard. Maybe you need to look the other direction, to look at Jesus, who came as a servant. Maybe you need to consider the one who is unseen by the standards of the world, and follow him.

         Maybe as a church this is the year for us to learn the old back door play.

         Amen.