What Is Servant Leadership?
Sermon
CRITICAL DECISIONS IN FOLLOWING JESUS
Sermons ForPentecost (Last Third)
I have been interviewed by a few call committees during my 31 years of ministry. It's always been a good experience. You know that they want to get to know as much about you as they can in the brief time you have together. Whether you are interested in the call or not, you try to be honest and fair but careful in yOur answers and comments. Many of you have interviewed for jobs and you know what it's like.
Most church call committees have discussed beforehand what the needs of the congregation are. They are looking for certain qualities or gifts that will fit their needs. High on the list are usually preaching, administration, evangelism, youth ministry and budget management. Sometimes they are looking for someone who is musical or married or experienced or energetic or a good counselor. Almost always a call committee has on their list or implied in their search, a person who is committed to the gospel of Jesus, a devout Christian.
Once in a while you will find a call committee that is looking for a pastor who is a servant. Not very often does the servant concept surface in surveys taken among members as to what they think the call committee should look for. It is seldom on any printed list of priorities. Perhaps it is mostly assumed. Of course, our new pastor must wear the mantle of being a servant. Isn't that a "given" for any Christian leader, for any Christian?
Jesus discovered a lack of servant leadership among the scribes and Pharisees of his day. It really bothered him. He comes back to it again and again in his preaching and teaching. Jesus calls them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, whitewashed tombs, a brood of vipers. At times, he was very blunt. He said to the Sadducees, "You are wrong. You know neither the scripture nor the power of God." In other words, you are operating from a lousy theology. People look to you for leadership and guidance, but your interpretation of the Bible is wrong and your understanding of God is off base. Some of the toughest resistance that Jesus faced came from religious leadership.
The text from Matthew gives us some insight into what Jesus saw lacking among the religious leaders. Keep in mind that leadership here is not limited to what we could call clergy. Scribes and Pharisees were not the priests in the temple but lay leaders who lived very disciplined lives. They were the ones with religious authority. People looked to them for spiritual guidance and as models. Here is a list of Jesus' criticisms about religious leadership in his day:
They did not practice what they taught (hypocrisy).
They put heavy burdens on others but not themselves (legalism).
They sought and loved public recognition (pride).
Status, respect and titles were important to them (arrogance).
They locked people out of the kingdom (judgmental).
They established laws to benefit themselves (greed).
They neglected to emphasize justice and mercy (bias).
They were accomplices to silencing the prophets (oppressive).
The list goes on in the whole 23rd chapter. It is very extensive and critical. We see here a side of Jesus that is often left out of our story books and Sunday school lessons. There is a pivotal verse that comes right in the middle of this discourse by Jesus, and it is found at the end of our assigned lesson for today. It says, "The greatest among you will be your servant."
What does it mean to be a servant? What is servant leadership? It is not only an issue for call committees to consider as they look for pastoral leadership, it is a quality to be sought by all who follow Jesus, and certainly is desirable in local church leadership and the institutional church.
When this community thinks about our church, hopefully they think of us as a servant. "The greatest among you will be your servant." It is a different attitude than what we learn from a society that is fueled by greed, competition and dominance. Servant leadership is certainly counter-cultural, and therefore, meets strong resistance both from within and without.
Jesus is greatly disturbed by hypocrisy among leaders. He uses some of his harshest words for those who teach and lead, but do not practice what they teach. You hypocrites, he calls them. And then he gives several examples of their hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is a common problem in all religions, in all churches, and in every Christian's life. It's never easy to live up to one's beliefs. Others can always find inconsistency and failure to do what we profess to be.
We believe in the 10 commandments. We accept them as a guide for our behavior, but don't always obey them. It's hard to get a passing grade on the first commandment. "You shall have no other gods before me." We claim to follow Jesus, but sometimes we don't. We teach love, but there are times when love is not evident in our behavior. We tell people not to judge others, but we end up judging. Jesus said to take the log out of your eye before you try taking the speck out of your neighbor's eye. Who has not used this quote from Jesus to get people off our backs when we feel judged, to expose hypocrisy?
Hypocrisy is very real, very present, and potentially very harmful to the witness of the gospel. Some, of course, will look for it in others as a way to excuse themselves from their irresponsibility or disobedient behavior. I know so and so who claims to be a Christian, and I've seen them do worse things than I do. Or, I don't attend worship at church because there are too many hypocrites there.
A young teenage girl was captured by the message of Jesus. She came regularly and on her own to worship, and never missed a confirmation class. Discipleship was something she was attracted to. Her parents came only at Easter and Christmas. Once when this daughter did something that was a direct violation of obedience to her parents, they scolded her and accused her of being a hypocrite. "You go to church and claim to be so religious, but see what good it does you." The young girl was crushed and wondered if she should quit attending things at her church. Hypocrisy was used by the parents to justify their lack of commitment to discipleship.
I like the phrase, "The church is not a museum of saints. It is, rather, a hospital for sinners." What binds us together is not our accomplishments but our common brokenness, our need for love and forgiveness and our allegiance to Jesus Christ.
To be a servant church or a servant leader means to model a sense of love and acceptance toward others. People look for models to follow. A child looks for a model in learning how to live as a baptized child of God.
If the church and its leaders talk about love and acceptance but do not practice it, then we are in trouble and in need of repentance or new leadership. I close by reading a true story shared by someone who experienced first hand what our text is talking about. The story is titled, A Brief Encounter.
It was an extraordinary experience. While attending a conference at a local church, I slipped out to the hall to make a phone call relating to my work. The operator put me on "hold" and my mind drifted to two women having a conversation across the hall. "The church really needs to do something about homosexuality," one stated loudly. "I heard the worst sermon last Sunday. We attended a church where the pastor said in his sermon that it's okay to be homesexual! Can you imagine a pastor saying that?"
My interest piqued, but the telephone operator drew me back to the phone, and the women were gone by the time I was done. However, a few minutes later, while turning a corner in the hallway, I came face-to-face with the woman I'd overheard.
"Excuse me," I ventured. "I believe I overheard a conversation you were having regarding a sermon you heard. I'm interested in what you were saying, and wonder if you would care to talk about it. Do you have time?"
Responding eagerly to my request, she began, "Oh yes, I was talking about a sermon I heard last Sunday. Not at this church; we're members here. It was at another church. The pastor said it's okay to be homosexual. Can you imagine? It was Easter Sunday and the sermon had nothing to do with Easter. It wasn't biblical at all. He talked about divorce and unhappy marriages, about being single and about oppressed people. And he said something about sexual orientation. It was so depressing and had nothing to do with Easter."
"How did you happen to attend that church on Easter?" I asked.
"My relatives go there, so we went with them. That church has had a terrible time. The last pastor was into social issues and now this one! He's a man in his 50s and a pastor of the same church body as we are. He shouldn't be allowed to be a pastor! He didn't even preach from the Bible."
In the face of her anger, I said timidly, "I think I heard the same sermon."
"Really, you were there? Wasn't it terrible?"
"For me it was different than what you've said." I paused, searching for words to express myself. "It was very biblical. The pastor used the scripture about the two women going to the tomb of Jesus, and they wondered 'Who will roll away the stone?' He applied that to our lives by asking, 'Who will roll away the stone in our lives?' "
With her eyes fastened on mine, I continued, "The pastor suggested some problem areas in people's lives. He said some in the congregation may be experiencing an unhappy marriage where the gleam in a wife's eyes has left when she looks at her husband. Others may be single - not because of choice - but because of divorce. 'Or,' he said, 'it could be that some of you are single due to your sexual orientation and may feel rejected by society and are lonely. Others in our world may be oppressed or hungry and need that stone rolled away.' The pastor continued to mention several problems and then said, 'Whatever our needs, the good news is that God who raised Jesus from the dead is the one who rolls away the stone.' He went on to list ways that we can be closer to God and have the stones in our lives rolled away."
Though I didn't continue to elaborate on the sermon, I could have reminded her of the pastor's emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus as the basis for our hope and new life in Christ. But, feeling I'd detained her long enough, I concluded by saying, "I found it very helpful and biblical."
"You did?" her voice and face expressing disbelief. "Well, I asked my husband after the service, 'Did you hear him say that homosexuality is okay?' He agreed that we had. And our daughter who is a teenager, even she said, 'He's not a Christian!'
With knees shaking and a voice barely louder than a whisper, I responded, "I know that pastor, and I know he's a deeply committed Christian. Even though you don't accept him, he would be very accepting of you. I know, because he's my husband." No longer able to hold back the tears, I stood crying before her.
Shock filled her face; with wet eyes she uttered, "I'm sorry." Putting her hand on my shoulder, she said, "It's just that we're so used to our church. We just talk about love."
"I'm sorry, too," I replied softly. "I'm not angry at you. But, I'm very sad. Christians need to learn to love and accept one another - even when we disagree. It's important, I think, that we not be judgmental. I'm judgmental at times, also. It makes me very sad."
We awkwardly shared a gentle hug, parted, and went our ways. It was an extraordinary experience.
Jesus said, "The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled and all who humble themselves will be exalted." Amen.
Most church call committees have discussed beforehand what the needs of the congregation are. They are looking for certain qualities or gifts that will fit their needs. High on the list are usually preaching, administration, evangelism, youth ministry and budget management. Sometimes they are looking for someone who is musical or married or experienced or energetic or a good counselor. Almost always a call committee has on their list or implied in their search, a person who is committed to the gospel of Jesus, a devout Christian.
Once in a while you will find a call committee that is looking for a pastor who is a servant. Not very often does the servant concept surface in surveys taken among members as to what they think the call committee should look for. It is seldom on any printed list of priorities. Perhaps it is mostly assumed. Of course, our new pastor must wear the mantle of being a servant. Isn't that a "given" for any Christian leader, for any Christian?
Jesus discovered a lack of servant leadership among the scribes and Pharisees of his day. It really bothered him. He comes back to it again and again in his preaching and teaching. Jesus calls them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, whitewashed tombs, a brood of vipers. At times, he was very blunt. He said to the Sadducees, "You are wrong. You know neither the scripture nor the power of God." In other words, you are operating from a lousy theology. People look to you for leadership and guidance, but your interpretation of the Bible is wrong and your understanding of God is off base. Some of the toughest resistance that Jesus faced came from religious leadership.
The text from Matthew gives us some insight into what Jesus saw lacking among the religious leaders. Keep in mind that leadership here is not limited to what we could call clergy. Scribes and Pharisees were not the priests in the temple but lay leaders who lived very disciplined lives. They were the ones with religious authority. People looked to them for spiritual guidance and as models. Here is a list of Jesus' criticisms about religious leadership in his day:
They did not practice what they taught (hypocrisy).
They put heavy burdens on others but not themselves (legalism).
They sought and loved public recognition (pride).
Status, respect and titles were important to them (arrogance).
They locked people out of the kingdom (judgmental).
They established laws to benefit themselves (greed).
They neglected to emphasize justice and mercy (bias).
They were accomplices to silencing the prophets (oppressive).
The list goes on in the whole 23rd chapter. It is very extensive and critical. We see here a side of Jesus that is often left out of our story books and Sunday school lessons. There is a pivotal verse that comes right in the middle of this discourse by Jesus, and it is found at the end of our assigned lesson for today. It says, "The greatest among you will be your servant."
What does it mean to be a servant? What is servant leadership? It is not only an issue for call committees to consider as they look for pastoral leadership, it is a quality to be sought by all who follow Jesus, and certainly is desirable in local church leadership and the institutional church.
When this community thinks about our church, hopefully they think of us as a servant. "The greatest among you will be your servant." It is a different attitude than what we learn from a society that is fueled by greed, competition and dominance. Servant leadership is certainly counter-cultural, and therefore, meets strong resistance both from within and without.
Jesus is greatly disturbed by hypocrisy among leaders. He uses some of his harshest words for those who teach and lead, but do not practice what they teach. You hypocrites, he calls them. And then he gives several examples of their hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is a common problem in all religions, in all churches, and in every Christian's life. It's never easy to live up to one's beliefs. Others can always find inconsistency and failure to do what we profess to be.
We believe in the 10 commandments. We accept them as a guide for our behavior, but don't always obey them. It's hard to get a passing grade on the first commandment. "You shall have no other gods before me." We claim to follow Jesus, but sometimes we don't. We teach love, but there are times when love is not evident in our behavior. We tell people not to judge others, but we end up judging. Jesus said to take the log out of your eye before you try taking the speck out of your neighbor's eye. Who has not used this quote from Jesus to get people off our backs when we feel judged, to expose hypocrisy?
Hypocrisy is very real, very present, and potentially very harmful to the witness of the gospel. Some, of course, will look for it in others as a way to excuse themselves from their irresponsibility or disobedient behavior. I know so and so who claims to be a Christian, and I've seen them do worse things than I do. Or, I don't attend worship at church because there are too many hypocrites there.
A young teenage girl was captured by the message of Jesus. She came regularly and on her own to worship, and never missed a confirmation class. Discipleship was something she was attracted to. Her parents came only at Easter and Christmas. Once when this daughter did something that was a direct violation of obedience to her parents, they scolded her and accused her of being a hypocrite. "You go to church and claim to be so religious, but see what good it does you." The young girl was crushed and wondered if she should quit attending things at her church. Hypocrisy was used by the parents to justify their lack of commitment to discipleship.
I like the phrase, "The church is not a museum of saints. It is, rather, a hospital for sinners." What binds us together is not our accomplishments but our common brokenness, our need for love and forgiveness and our allegiance to Jesus Christ.
To be a servant church or a servant leader means to model a sense of love and acceptance toward others. People look for models to follow. A child looks for a model in learning how to live as a baptized child of God.
If the church and its leaders talk about love and acceptance but do not practice it, then we are in trouble and in need of repentance or new leadership. I close by reading a true story shared by someone who experienced first hand what our text is talking about. The story is titled, A Brief Encounter.
It was an extraordinary experience. While attending a conference at a local church, I slipped out to the hall to make a phone call relating to my work. The operator put me on "hold" and my mind drifted to two women having a conversation across the hall. "The church really needs to do something about homosexuality," one stated loudly. "I heard the worst sermon last Sunday. We attended a church where the pastor said in his sermon that it's okay to be homesexual! Can you imagine a pastor saying that?"
My interest piqued, but the telephone operator drew me back to the phone, and the women were gone by the time I was done. However, a few minutes later, while turning a corner in the hallway, I came face-to-face with the woman I'd overheard.
"Excuse me," I ventured. "I believe I overheard a conversation you were having regarding a sermon you heard. I'm interested in what you were saying, and wonder if you would care to talk about it. Do you have time?"
Responding eagerly to my request, she began, "Oh yes, I was talking about a sermon I heard last Sunday. Not at this church; we're members here. It was at another church. The pastor said it's okay to be homosexual. Can you imagine? It was Easter Sunday and the sermon had nothing to do with Easter. It wasn't biblical at all. He talked about divorce and unhappy marriages, about being single and about oppressed people. And he said something about sexual orientation. It was so depressing and had nothing to do with Easter."
"How did you happen to attend that church on Easter?" I asked.
"My relatives go there, so we went with them. That church has had a terrible time. The last pastor was into social issues and now this one! He's a man in his 50s and a pastor of the same church body as we are. He shouldn't be allowed to be a pastor! He didn't even preach from the Bible."
In the face of her anger, I said timidly, "I think I heard the same sermon."
"Really, you were there? Wasn't it terrible?"
"For me it was different than what you've said." I paused, searching for words to express myself. "It was very biblical. The pastor used the scripture about the two women going to the tomb of Jesus, and they wondered 'Who will roll away the stone?' He applied that to our lives by asking, 'Who will roll away the stone in our lives?' "
With her eyes fastened on mine, I continued, "The pastor suggested some problem areas in people's lives. He said some in the congregation may be experiencing an unhappy marriage where the gleam in a wife's eyes has left when she looks at her husband. Others may be single - not because of choice - but because of divorce. 'Or,' he said, 'it could be that some of you are single due to your sexual orientation and may feel rejected by society and are lonely. Others in our world may be oppressed or hungry and need that stone rolled away.' The pastor continued to mention several problems and then said, 'Whatever our needs, the good news is that God who raised Jesus from the dead is the one who rolls away the stone.' He went on to list ways that we can be closer to God and have the stones in our lives rolled away."
Though I didn't continue to elaborate on the sermon, I could have reminded her of the pastor's emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus as the basis for our hope and new life in Christ. But, feeling I'd detained her long enough, I concluded by saying, "I found it very helpful and biblical."
"You did?" her voice and face expressing disbelief. "Well, I asked my husband after the service, 'Did you hear him say that homosexuality is okay?' He agreed that we had. And our daughter who is a teenager, even she said, 'He's not a Christian!'
With knees shaking and a voice barely louder than a whisper, I responded, "I know that pastor, and I know he's a deeply committed Christian. Even though you don't accept him, he would be very accepting of you. I know, because he's my husband." No longer able to hold back the tears, I stood crying before her.
Shock filled her face; with wet eyes she uttered, "I'm sorry." Putting her hand on my shoulder, she said, "It's just that we're so used to our church. We just talk about love."
"I'm sorry, too," I replied softly. "I'm not angry at you. But, I'm very sad. Christians need to learn to love and accept one another - even when we disagree. It's important, I think, that we not be judgmental. I'm judgmental at times, also. It makes me very sad."
We awkwardly shared a gentle hug, parted, and went our ways. It was an extraordinary experience.
Jesus said, "The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled and all who humble themselves will be exalted." Amen.
