There is an emphasis on leadership based on the books we can find. There are some who mentioned servant leadership. But the Bible talks about servanthood.
Steve Hayner, wrote an article in World Vision magazine entitled Playing to the Audience of One.
“There is a growing amount of modern literature on servant leadership. But I am not sure I agree with leadership as the fundamental concept and servanthood as the modifier Jesus gives and unmodified call to us to be servants – serving God and serving one another. Along the way, God may also call us into specific roles of leadership. But there are no indications that obtaining those roles should be a believer’s ultimate ambition. Our ambition is not leadership, but servanthood. Our task is not to grow leaders, but to make disciples who will follow Jesus. Our goal is not to get out there and get things done, but to listen and obey. Our call is not to exercise power but to be faithful to our Lord and the way of the servant.Robert Greenlean first coined the words Servant Leadership.
How God chooses to use his servants is his concern. We may be called to lead or to follow, to exert authority or to submit, to turn our God-given gifts in one direction or another. But that is God’s business. Our identity, our meaning in life, our sense of significance, and our self-worth are not to be based on the roles we fill, the power we wield, or the numbers we lead. We play to an audience of one, who loves us, affirms us, and uses us … we, should long to hear from our God the words, “Well done, you good and faithful servant!””
Servant leadership was first coined by Robert Greenleaf, who said ”Good leaders must first be good servants.” But servant leadership has been much changed today.
(The concept of servant leadership starts by being a servant first. A servant leader must first learn to serve before taking on a leadership position. Servant leaders must focus on the wellbeing and individual growth of the followers. People will not follow a leader until he/she shows genuine interest in them.)
We put leadership in the primary when it should be secondary. Rev Tan believes that every leadership seminar must start with servanthood. Leadership is about brokering power, setting goals and influencing others. Leadership without servanhood is dangerous.
Leaders are not the hope of the church, servants are.
The ministry of the towel
Joh 13:14-17 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. (15) I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (16) I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. (17) Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.2000 years ago, washing of feet is a lowly task reserved for the servants. The people then walked a lot on dusty places. After Jesus initiated the ministry of the towel, churches have since been doing it as a symbolic act. It is a ministry that requires us to be humble.
The incarnation ministry
Php 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, (7) but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! (9) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Joh 15:15-17 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (16) You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (17) This is my command: Love each other.
John 15 seems to contradict John 13 where Jesus called his disciples to servanthood.
Edward Zaragoza argued from the text that we are not called to be servants but Jesus’ friends. He wrote a book No Longer Servants, but Friends: A Theology of Ordained Ministry on this. He was influenced by slavery, feminism, etc. We cannot read into the text post-modern concepts.
Rev Dr. Tan doesn’t think that John 15 negate John 13. In John 13, we are called into servanthood not based on slavery to Jesus but rather based on friendship with Jesus. We are friends of Jesus but we are called to serve.
The Bible doesn’t contradict itself. If we find one verse contradicting another, there is something wrong with our exegesis.
We want to serve such a master in the servanthood of the best kind – which is serving our Best Friend, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord, Master, Saviour, the Son of God.
Walking with Jesus Daily (WWJD)
You and I as servants of Jesus must be very careful how much time we spend on technology. We ought to limit our use of machines. Do not be ruled by machines.Many years go, there was a WWJD movement. There was a book called In His Step. Biblically, it can be a very dangerous thing to do. Roman wants us to be like Jesus but be Jesus.
The question is not what would Jesus do but what would Jesus do if he were me? Sanctification / imitating Jesus is not about being Jesus, that’s work based. It is rather allowing the Holy Spirit works in us.
WWJD – What Would Jesus Do has the wrong focus. WWJD – Walking with Jesus Daily is the secret.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
If we spend time with Jesus, hang out lovingly with Him, we will win souls and bear fruits. Jesus said clearly without Him we can do nothing. Some people takes it as without Him we can do absolutely nothing of eternal significance. Jesus did not say that. He meant absolutely nothing, literally. We cannot breathe, think, walk, etc. without Him.
Attend to God, be in communion with God, be mindful of God. Practice wordless prayer but not prayerless word.
The Secret of Transforming Power
Mar 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.Luk 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
We see from the Bible snippets which offer a glimpse of the secret of Jesus accessing the power of the Holy Spirit.
For most of us, when the crowd is there, we tend to play to the crowd. We extend the meeting. But Jesus was never did not entrust Himself to the crowd. Jesus withdrew himself to pray. He did not need to be reminded. If Jesus our Lord spent time to be alone with God, how much more we should do the same?
There was a booklet that teaches quiet time in 7 minutes, including reading the Bible and prayer. If we rush it through, we miss the whole point of having the quiet time.
Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, pray, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, read the Bible, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, pray, etc. Wait on the Lord.
Some Christians desire instant mysticism. Many Christians long for real experience knowledge.
J.I. Packer once said after coming to North America, he observed that there (many churches) are a mile wide and an inch deep.
Worship teams are to bow before the Lord of the universe and worship in spirit and in truth. Worship is not entertainment / performance. Still small voice are very soft. Worship music – after it helps us focus on God – should be turned off so we can focus on God without interruption.
Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline said "he desperate need today is not for a great number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people". We need to spend much time in solitude and silence.
Do not rush our quiet time. Richard Foster wrote the book Prayer – Finding the Heart a Home. He was researching about prayer in a library. He almost fell asleep. He got a vision. He caught a glimpse of the heart of God – it is an open wound of love. The key to returning to the heart of God is prayer.
The Christian life is the deepest life we will ever know. It cannot be rushed. Discipleship takes years. It cannot be cramped in to 2 years in a seminary.
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