Pastor & Sis Shane Vidal graduating as Masterguides
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK November 4, 2008 a historical event took place in our country.An African American was elected to the office of president.I believe that “president elected,” Barack Obama, was able to realize such an enormous accomplishment because he and his team understood and embraced the concept of servant leadership.
Servant leadership is one of the most talked about yet least critically examined leadership philosophies.It is a practical altruistic philosophy which supports people who choose to serve first, and then lead as a way of expanding service to individuals and institutions. Servant leaders have a natural desire to serve others.They have a desire to make a difference for other people and will pursue opportunities to impact others lives.A servant leader is willing to sacrifice their self interest for the sake of others.Though they may not hold formal positions, they will always seek to encourage collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment.
There is a marked difference between a leader and a servant leader.It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first.This conscious choice then brings one to aspire to lead.That person is a totally different person from one who aspires to lead first.The person who strives to lead first may do so, perhaps because of a need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.Interestingly, the difference manifest itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being met.In other words, they understand that people are more important than things.In order for us to be true servant leaders we must answer in the affirmative to these questions: Do those we serve grow as person?Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?How does your service benefit the least privileged in the church and society at large?Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?
This concept of servant leadership can be traced all the way back to Jesus who taught His disciples these words.“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.Not so with you.Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.For even the son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (John 13:1-17).”A dispute arose among the Disciples as to which of them was considered to be the greatest.But they didn’t do it in the presence of Jesus. One of the evidences of the authenticity of the gospels is how they tell on themselves. They basically revealed that they’re a bunch of spiritual weaklings. Here they are, fighting over their place next to Jesus when it was evident that they were not as interested in Jesus as they were in a favored position.However, the Bible says “Jesus knows the very intent of our heart (Hebrews 4:12, 13).”
I can just imagine that Jesus said those words to them just prior to His taking off His outer garments, putting on the towel of a servant, taking up a bowl of water and washing the feet of the disciples because there was no servant in the Upper Room. You can be sure if the disciples were fighting about who was the greatest in the kingdom, none of them were going to take that position. So Jesus in a powerful way offers a visual parable and reveals these words in practice. Soon after He says this in the text, we see that He then washes the disciple’s feet.
After the Upper Room discourse, Jesus explains to them that it’s necessary for Him to go to the Father so that He can now be with them at all times. He says, “Where two or more are gathered in My Name there I will be among you (Matthew 18:20).” No longer would He merely be in the localized body but He would be fully present in their lives. The “in Christ” relationship, the deep mystery, is this, Christ in you the hope of glory.The idea here is that the one who spoke the world into being is also making us into His dwelling place. We also are in Him. That is a source of power. That power is released by the indwelling of the third person of the God Head, namely the Spirit of God. We are given not only an exemplar but the source of power to enable us. We are also given a grasp of who and who’s we are which gives us a significance, a security and a satisfaction that empowers us to become servant leaders.
The truth is, servant leadership in the context of church, requires the practice of certain disciplines (habits we practice to please the Lord).These disciplines are key elements of “abiding in Christ.”They are progressive in nature as set forth below:
Humility - "apart from Him I can do nothing" - leads me to:
Seek Him - and as He reveals Himself and what He is doing - I can:
Love Him - by obeying and working with Him - this will lead me to:
Serve Him - as I lovingly serve others - this creates opportunities to:
Exalt Him - by giving Him the glory - and to maximize my faithfulness I will embrace:
Accountability - I ask others to hold me to these disciplines.
This is the style of leadership we all should crave.As we the Maranatha SDA church family move into the year 2009, by the grace of God, our aim and determination will be to serve God and our community.Let us follow the example of Jesus and be servants.“Christ must increase but we must decrease (John 3:30).”
