Wednesday, September 24, 2008

SERVANT LEADER

1. Servant knows who the master is: John 10:2-5
Sheep knows who the shepherd is and follows the shepherd, and no one else.
2. Leader is a servant in Kingdom of God: Mat 20:25-27; Mark 10:44
Leader must operate from a position of power and authority, but not for the purpose of having power, being ‘right’, or to elevate self, but from position of desire to elevate or serve others.
3. No reward for just doing duty: Luk 17:6-10
We expect thanks or recognition for doing work, especially when we think we did well. But the Bible says that a servant gets no thanks or reward for doing his / her job. On the other hand, there will come a day when we will be rewarded in heaven and our work will be found as treasure there. Mat 25:21, 23
4. A Christian is (or should be) always serving and is always a leader, always a teacher.
A. Col l 3:23 says we should do all things as though for Christ and not for people. Since we are Christ’s servants, this means we are 24/7 servants! This means that our job is ministry, our hobby is ministry, our sports are ministry. There is no such thing as a part-time minister, just as there could not be such a thing as a part-time pregnant woman! You either are or are not!
B. Mat 28:19 instructs the disciples to go and make disciples, teaching them to obey Christ. A disciple makes disciples, by definition here. If one is not making disciples, one is not a disciple. If your students are not making disciples, you have not made a disciple!

5. Heart or Mind?
We tend to think the heart is the measure of success in being a servant, but as the saying goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. We need to consciously control our minds and bodies to do the master’s will, and we need to ensure it is His will and not our own!
Romans 8:5 talks about having our mind on spiritual or fleshly (worldly) things. This does not refer to religious or secular matters, but to where our mind is, whether conscious to please Jesus or just unconsciously handle the matter of living, whether it be in religious activity (including ministry) or playing sports, for example.
6. Able to Give/Receive
A. Instruction - from any source
Our pride usually prevents us from learning new things, especially from subordinates. If we really have the paradigm that we are servant of those we lead, we should be eager to learn from them! Another aspect of this is that if we are unwilling or unable to learn, we cannot be good instructors. As noted above, a disciple is also a teacher, and must hone instruction skills.
B. Discipline: Hebrews 12:6 and 11, Prov 3:11, 15:31-32
God gives us the example by disciplining those he loves (and we are to love even our neighbors, more especially our subordinates), and we should welcome it, even though it is not pleasant at the time. This message is echoed throughout the Bible in various instructions and examples.
From the giving correction standpoint, we often are reluctant (or too eager) to correct because we don’t know about correction in love. Usually we correct with a negative attitude, thinking ourselves better, or ‘right.’ Correction in Love has the attitude recommended in Phil 2:3 . . . consider others better than yourself. If we have this attitude toward the other, and our correction is indeed intended to serve (help, build up, elevate) the other, then the correction can be received.
7. Position of Power
Servant Leader may seem to be a misnomer, or oxymoron, and in the world’s view this could not be effective, for the leader would become a doormat, or at best ineffective in commanding respect and discipline. A truly powerful person has no thought or need to protect him/her self. We need to lead (and serve) from this position of knowing who we are in Christ!