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Servant Leadership Part Ii

February 8, 2012Gordon Bietz

StoryMy wife answered the phone and a church member on the other end of the line asked her if I could come over to her house and help her set up her husband’s motorcycle. It was heavy, had fallen over and was dripping gas on the driveway. My wife said that I was not home at the moment as then asked why it was that she called the pastor to help. And her reply was, “All the other men I know work.”

So is the general perception of some of our church members. Pastors don’t work and Conference Presidents? ….. well…

I was the newly minted Conference President of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference. It was my first Sabbath appointment and I was scheduled to offer the dedication prayer at the Jasper Seventh-day Adventist church. My wife and I rose early to make the one hour drive to the church from our home in Collegedale, Tennessee. We arrived well before the 9:30 AM Sabbath School and my first impression was that the church had not planned for my arrival. I didn’t expect a band to announce my arrival but the pastor seemed perplexed and surprised to see me.

A few phone calls later I became aware of the fact that I had driven to Jasper, Tennessee instead of Jasper, Georgia where the special service was planned. Two hours later we arrived at the Jasper, Georgia church in time for the potluck, much to my embarrassment, and the amusement of the congregation and particularly the conference officers who were at the special service.

It was not an auspicious beginning to my leadership of the conference. The following week at the Conference office morning worship the staff had a great time providing me with maps of the conference territory and making me the butt of more jokes than I can remember. It was obvious that I didn’t come to the conference office with all of the answers.

There is an ego in all of us that confronts us with our human nature that seeks to be noticed in positive way, seeks recognition, seeks power, powerful cars, powerful positions and basically wants to be in charge. I find my human sinful lust for power surfaces for me

2occasionally when I am driving my car. It is not a pretty picture. I was once driving on highway 75 in the fast lane – going a very respectable speed of 75 miles an hour or so and a car zoomed up behind me riding my bumper. I slowly move over into the slower lane and then find myself riding his bumper as we travel down the freeway at 80 or 90 miles an hour and I think to myself – what am I nuts. Why would I do that? What am I trying to prove?

And there was the time that I was getting on a freeway onramp. It was a broad onramp with two lanes merging onto the freeway. There was this car riding my bumper. The moment I turned onto the onramp he pulled to the other lane to get past me and … well … I floored it! We were drag racing down the on ramp to about 90 miles an hour.

Why would I do that – what is the competitive bug in my genes – what is the desire to be – faster – stronger – more powerful. If you were an evolutionist you could answer that question easily – and I suppose as a Christian creationist the answer is easy also – selfishness – ego.

By the way as I reached the freeway I slowed down and the other driver cut over to the fast lane and continued his high speed and much to my – should I say – satisfaction – there was a policeman who was there to pull him over and I had a great temptation to wave at him as I went by – I didn’t but my heart was waving.

We have this desire to be winners. Just look at the super bowl, eleven guys out there pushing and shoving each other to move a little ball down the field.

Look at the books on success you find in the book store. Robert Greene’s book, “The 48 Laws of Power.” The book jacket says, “The bestselling book for those who want POWER, watch POWER, or want to arm themselves against POWER. Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power into forty-eight well-explicated laws…synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Car von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers.”ii

The quest for power and the desire to be first is not found only in the hearts of the heathen. It is found in our hearts and we can use our positional leadership position to fulfill this ego driven quest.

ill. I remember an old German Conference President that used to shake hands by grabbing your hand and then pulling your off balance. You knew who was in charge when you shook his hand.

3That is a style of leadership that accepts the idea that it is a position that makes you a leader and power over others is the operational principle.

When it came to moving pastors to a new church you called him up and said something like,

“The moving van will be there on Wednesday.”

The buck stopped with the president and the policy book was created by the president, or there was no book at all – it was in his head.

When it came to placing a pastor you got out the conference map and moved pastors like you were playing chess.

We knew who was in charge! We knew who had power and authority.

But a funny thing happened on the way to being a dictator Conference President. Constituencies decided that they had something to say about how things

operated, and they began to change presidents like they were the ones playing chess.

Information technology created ad hoc networks of influence in the church and people didn’t just look to the president for leadership.

Everybody wanted a say in what was happening, and “congregationalism” became a bad word in Administrative circles.

Rather than complain about this new environment of leadership I would suggest that we need to embrace it.

Jim and John had been working on the campaign trail for more than a year. They had been there when they were the only advance men. They had been there when the polls were in single digits. They had left their families and good jobs and for 18 months they slogged the

campaign trail. They had been there when CNN accused their of being a drunkard. They had been by his side when the opposition party dug up that story about his

parentage. The lead article that reported the story actually called him a bastard.

Their point was that they had been there, … been there for him during the tough times and now as it looked like the campaign was about over they were seeking a bit

4of quid pro quo. That is Latin for, “We scratched your back and now you should scratch ours.”

Or in North American Division parlance “I invited you to preach at our campmeeting in the North last summer now how about an invitation for me to Florida this winter.”

It looked like they had a lock on the election; cabinet posts and special appointments would soon be distributed and they wanted a piece of the action.

They wanted to be in charge of more than scheduling the motel accommodations. They wanted more responsibility than just coordinating the limousines.

It is payback time. We have been there for you and now you need to be there for us.

And so we read in Mark 10:35-3735 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." 36 "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. 37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

We want to be in charge! We want power!Right hand man and left hand man!We would like some cabinet posts.

Actually in Matthew’s version of the event James and John get their mother to ask for them. There is political manipulation for you.

The procession to Jerusalem was looking for all the world like a triumphant march and James and John were not about to be left holding the bag. No sir! They had enough of:

Being errand boys No more gopher work for them, they had paid their dues. No more small multi-church district for them. No more measly secretarial work No more departmental work – they wanted more.

5Rumors were flying, Jesus would be king. The Nominating Committee was meeting very soon.Their time of destiny was close at hand.

So they went to Jesus and said, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

“Oh the glory! We want some of that glory, that power, that position!”

Immediately before their request Jesus had said,

Mark 10:33-34 33 "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed

to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,

34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him." (NIV)

No glory there! But James and John were so caught up in the desire for position they must not have heard what Jesus said.

The lust for power and position destroys the hearing of those who only see the glory.

"Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." We want some of that glory!”

You know what their favorite hymn was? “Oh that will be, glory for me, glory for me, glory for me.”

The longing of James and John is similar to our longing and it is the same longing that Lucifer had. He also aspired to glory!

Isaiah 14:13-14 (NIV)You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the

stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Yes, James and John said,

6“We want to be there at your right and left when you walk into

that oval office, that president’s office.

What was in the minds of James and John?What was going through their heads?

What was in their minds is the same thing that is in our minds when we fantasize about positional power and authority.

I remember taking an organizational development class at Fuller Theological Seminary and asking how I could use the principles they were teaching to control others.

Wasn’t that what leadership was about? To be in charge you had to figure out how to manipulate people to do what

you wanted them to do. Leadership was about getting people to do what you wanted them to do and

trick them into thinking that they wanted to do it. I had a Machiavellian view of leadership.

There is a desire basic to fallen human nature that: Wants to be in control, not controlled, Wants to be in charge, not subservient. Wants to be leading, not following. Wants our own destiny in our hands, not in the hands of others.

What is the appeal of wealth? If I was wealthy I wouldn’t have to trust myself to others. If I was in charge I wouldn’t have to trust my destiny to others.

Kent Keith“The feeling of having no power over people and events is generally unbearable to us – when we feel helpless we feel miserable.”iii

James and John sought positional leadership to fulfill an inner emptiness.Thinking that:

It is the bigger conference that will satisfy. It is the higher position that will satisfy.

7 It is being president – that will satisfy.

But the hole of personal emptiness is no more filled by position than the lust for riches is filled by a raise or the ocean is filled by an eyedropper.

How did Jesus respond to James and John and their desire for glory?

38 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"

Do you know what you are asking? Has your lust for glory made you stone deaf! Were you listening when I told you what would happen in Jerusalem?

They didn’t hesitate:

39 "We can," they answered.

There is a lot of confidence in ignorance. Before I became a Father I knew much more about how to raise

kids. Before I became a Conference President I knew much more about

how to be one. Before I became a university president I had lots of answers.

Assertiveness training had given James and John a lot of chutzpah.

Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,

40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."

Notice that Jesus doesn't condemn James and John. He doesn’t say, “You selfish disciples - get behind me Satan.” He doesn’t say, “You shouldn’t seek to have any position like that.” He doesn’t criticize their desire for leadership. What does he say?

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He just says:

“to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.”

“It isn't up to me to make that decision.

“Sorry, I can’t choose the secretary and treasurer the Nominating Committee does that!”“We have a search committee and it is not up to me to choose the senior pastor.”

You know that might have been the end of the story except for the rumor mill.

Verse 41 “When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.”

Why were they so indignant?

There are none as indignant as those who catch someone else doing something that they wish they would have done.

“Why didn’t we think of that?!” “Did you hear that James and John asked the president if he would appoint

them as vice presidents?” “Can you believe it?” “I heard that James and John got their mother on the Nominating Committee

and she proposed that they be secretary and treasurer of the conference? Of all the arrogance.”

When we grab for power other people will fight back as they want to grab for more power also and there is never enough to go around.

The lust for power is insatiable.

Jesus decided that he needed a session with all the disciples together.

42 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

Jesus starts out by describing the way it is in the kingdom of the world. In the kingdom of the world presidents lord it over them. In the kingdom of the world they have rulers to have power over them.

9 In the kingdom of the world High officials exercise authority over them. In the kingdom of the world the president thinks his opinion has more value then

the treasurer’s opinion.

There are power conflicts everywhere in the world – and unfortunately in the church as well.

Ill.In one of my first meetings with a church as the new conference president one deacon wanted to settle the score with another church leader by going out into the church parking lot and having a fist fight.

At another church I visited the leaders in the church provided me with physical protection because they were concerned about my physical safety.

The church, the conference, the school – our institutions are not exempt from the ego driven desire to have power and control.

Jesus says:You know the old way -the way of the worldly kingdom.

Striving to beat out others for positional leadership. Asking for favors - some quid pro quo. Sucking up to the people on the Nominating Committee

After Jesus describes the way leaders function in the worldly kingdom He describes His New Kingdom.

43 Not so with you. [Not like the worldly kingdom.] Instead, [This is the New Kingdom Rules] whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

Rather than condemning the two ladder climbing disciples Jesus told them how to get up the ladder and achieve their goal.

Congratulations! you want to be on my left and right, you want to be prime ministers? – this is how you do it.

You want to be successful – this is you strategy. You want to be president – this is the way you do it.

10 You want to be a leader – in my kingdom this is how it works.

Their goal was good; their methodology was wrong.So Jesus gives the strategy for leadership in His kingdom.

This is the lecture on leadership by Jesus. This is His management style This is the secret of success in His conference office.

“whoever wants to become great among you [Your want to be great - this is how.]

must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first

[You want to be first here is your strategy.]must be slave of all.”

It is a paradigm shift for leadership. This is turning upside down normal thinking on positional power based leadership.This doesn’t compute in our human brains when we have been so accustomed to thinking in terms of power and control, having control, gaining control, being in charge.

It is not clear how Jesus’ management methodology works. How does being a servant make you great?

It is an oxymoron (an oxymoron is not a stupid ox.)

You know what an oxymoron is:Temporary tax increaseIngathering volunteer

OxymoronServant / leader?Slave / being in charge? Servant / great?Slave / first?

Will being a servant get your picture on the front page of the Review? How will you get that cushy job in the sunshine state without a little politicking? How will being a slave result in you moving up the ladder of leadership?

11 How will you get to be Union or Division President by being a servant?

Jesus strategy for leadership turns our ideas on their head.

After his leadership lecture he says in Mark 10:45 (NLT)“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus embodied His theory of leadership. Jesus asks us to be leaders as he led.

The same servant leadership principles are in the Old Testament.

You remember the story of Moses and his challenge of leading the children of Israel to the Promised Land. He took them to Mt. Horab – the mountain of God. And when his return from the top of the mountain was delayed the people demanded of Aaron to build a golden calf. Moses comes down the mountain and stops their orgy of worship before the golden calf and then:

Exodus 32:30 (NLT) ...Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness* for your sin.”

So Moses climbs the mountain again and says to the Lord:

…“Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!”iv

Are we servant leaders like that?Would we be willing to lose our salvation to save the people we serve?Would you give up your eternal life for that problem department leader?Would you give up your eternal life for that Executive Committee member who is a thorn in your side?

Romans 5:6–8 (NLT) 6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person,

12though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

This idea about being a servant leader was not just a singular thought of Jesus but was a theme of His ministry:

Mark 9:33–37 (NLT) After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”v

Luke 14:7–11 (NLT) 7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! 10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Ill.My strategy for getting noticed on an airplane when I am flying and want people to know I am the president.

Jesus also said in Matthew 23:6–12 (NLT) 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’* 8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.* 9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among

13you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Servant leadership was the life of the Savior.Remember – it is possible to be too big for God to use you;

but you are never too small for God to use you. vi

“God does want us to be great. He needs presidents, vice presidents, treasurers and secretaries. God does want us to perform great works for the kingdom. But God has His own standards.

Not to be first but the last. Not to be greatest but the least. Not to be served but to serve. Not pride but humility Not independence but total dependence on God. Not being a lord but the servant of all. Not indulging self but embracing the cross.

Do you want to be first? Then be the last.Do you want to be great? Then be the servant of all.”vii

Being a servant leader “is about who we are and not what we do.”viii

Jesus didn’t just preach servant leadership, he lived it.

Jesus came not to show off his worth,He came to give us worth.

He came not to enrich Himself at our expenseHe came impoverishing Himself to make us rich.

He came not to impress us with His glory.He came to share His glory with us.

And so following the example of Jesus:Servant leaders serve others so they will find success

Rather than using others to find their own success.As servant leaders we feed others so that they can reach their goals.

Rather than feeding on others so we can reach our goals.

What exactly would this servant leader look like?How would this slave leader behave?

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Tomorrow

i Tuesday, May 28, 1997ii Kent M. Keith, The Case for Servant Leadership, The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership page 22.iii Ibidiv Exodus 32:31–32 (NLT)v Mark 9:33–37 (NLT) vi Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.vii Servant Leadership, Frank Padilla, Kindle location 254.viii Ibid location 90