Transformed Leadership
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We only have two weeks left in our series on Transformed: How Jesus Changes Everything and if you have missed one, I want to encourage you to go to our youtube channel and check it out. Today, we are going to talk about Transformed Leadership.
Now, there is no shortage of books, podcasts, youtube videos, and conferences about leadership. Both from the church leadership perspective and from the business leadership perspective, the sheer amount of available advice and coaching is staggering. I got bored of counting podcasts about leadership on the Apple Podcasts app when I got to 500.
The church of today has learned that there is much to learn from the business world in how to organize, inspire and equip people to serve God in our churches - and that’s awesome. I believe we can learn from anyone, even if we disagree with them.
It’s also easy for churches and for Christian leaders to see the success of the business world and desire to have that ourselves. And to do that, sometimes we adopt the leadership traits of those people who we deem successful.
But that is where care must be taken because Jesus came to transform our views of power, position and leadership and as his followers, it is incumbent upon us to learn how to lead like Jesus.
So, let’s go to the Bible and see what Jesus has to say about how to lead in the kingdom of God.
Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.” “Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him. He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there. When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing. Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
Pray.
I read a story this week about a time during the American Revolution when a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of American soldiers repairing a small, defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, "Sir, I am a corporal!" The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again." And in that moment, the corporal realized that the man was George Washington.
Jesus came not just to save us from our sins, but to give us a new, more human way to live. This new way is as part of the kingdom of God, where we live out the values of King Jesus as a testimony of his goodness. And when it comes to leadership, power and position, Jesus valued something far different than those in power around him did.
In verse 24-25 of our passage it says that disciples got into a bit of an argument. Jesus had just told them that one of them would betray him and they were all like, “Who would do that?” and asserting that they could never betray Jesus. This led to an argument about which one was the greatest disciple.
And that’s when Jesus invented the eye-roll. I don’t know that for sure, but it seems as likely a time as any. Here Jesus has laid his heart out about his upcoming death, shared this spiritual meal with them and washed their feet and they start arguing about who’s the best disciple?
So Jesus reminds them of how leadership, greatness, power and position work in the kingdom of God. He says,
Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
Using himself as an example, Jesus reminds them, and us, that true Christian leadership isn’t about power, prestige, or position. It’s about serving one another.
To gain the fullness of the picture here, imagine yourself at this dinner. You’re having dinner with God. You know, God? The one who created every star in the sky, who set the planets and moons into their orbits, who created the chains of dna that make up, you know, people. The one through whom , and for whom, everything in heaven and on earth was created. The one called the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The all powerful, all knowing, ever present God who has become human so that by his death he could save and reconcile humanity to him. He’s sitting across the table from you.
And then he gets up, takes off his outer cloak, has you come to him and then washes your nasty, dirty, stinky feet. And then, as you all sit down at the table, he serve you a cup of wine and a piece of bread, sharing with you the significance of these emblems - that they represent his upcoming suffering and death.
One of the things that makes Jesus such a compelling person to follow, is that he practiced what he preached. He, the one who deserves to be served, the one who is God incarnate and who lived sinlessly, is the one who serves others in humility.
And this story reminds us that for us today, the primary way that Jesus served us, was to give his life for us. By linking service to Jesus’ sacrifice through the last supper, Jesus reminds us that the greatest act of service is the one he did for you and for me when he allowed himself to be crucified. Our theology - our study of God as revealed in the Bible - is that through his death and resurrection, Jesus wipes the debt we owe for every sin and makes it possible for us to be reconciled to God.
How do we do that?
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
And maybe that’s what you’re ready to do today. Has God been working in you, showing you he is real and you’re ready to put your faith in Jesus? If that’s true, I invite you to pray with me.
Pray.
Through Jesus’ ultimate act of service - his death and resurrection, we have salvation. But salvation is just the beginning. Our salvation transfers us from the kingdom of darkness where we were, to the kingdom of Jesus and in Jesus’ kingdom, we are called to lead like he does.
“But I’m not a leader,” you may say. And to that i reply “BALONEY” because leadership is influence over others and so everyone is a leader. Parents are leaders, bosses are leaders, supervisors are leaders, friends are leaders, volunteers are leaders, everybody is a leader. “Yeah, but, if everyone is a leader then no one is,” you retort. And I hit back with “Good point.” We can’t all lead in every situation. Some places we lead, some places we follow. You see, the world isn’t divided into leaders and followers. We are both. In fact, I would contend that the quality of your leadership flows out of how well you follow. If you try to lead without being connected to Jesus, it becomes easy to be dependant on your skill, and not on the Holy Spirit. That’s why Jesus says,
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
Your leadership is tied to how well you follow Jesus because Jesus transforms our leadership.
So, to help this teaching be practical in your life, I want to give you three ways that you can improve your servant leadership in your business, in your home or in the church.
1. A Good Leader Trusts their team (vs. 8)
1. A Good Leader Trusts their team (vs. 8)
There is an old story of a father who took his young son out and stood him on the railing of the back porch. He then went down, stood on the lawn, and encouraged the little fellow to jump into his arms. "I'll catch you," the father said confidently. After a lot of coaxing, the little boy finally made the leap. When he did, the father stepped back and let the child fall to the ground. He then picked his son up, dusted him off, and dried his tears.
"Let that be a lesson," he said sternly. "Don't ever trust anyone."
I think that may have happened to some of you. You trusted people at one time, but then they hurt you, let you down or weren’t there for you and now you struggle to trust anyone. In fact, finish this sentence for me, “If I want it done right...”
But Jesus shows us a better path. He shows us that a good leader trusts their team
Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”
Jesus trusted Peter and John to find the place, get the food, and get the meal cooked and on the table. He equipped them to do the job by telling them where to get everything and made sure that they would succeed, but he trusted them to do it. The God of Heaven and Earth trusted two, sinful, broken men to get a meal ready. It’s not like he went to Mary and Martha and got them to do it. That would have been too easy. No, he asked two fishermen to handle it all. Jesus trusted his team and he trusted them with something important.
And just like Jesus did, God calls us to equip, empower and trust our teams.
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.
Now if you are in a business, you can substitute apostle for “manager” or “supervisor” or “team lead.” If you are a parent, you can substitute “Pastor” for “Parent.” If you have friends, substitute “prophets” with “friends” and you still have the same responsibility. You are to equip God’s people to succeed. And for those of you who struggle to trust people, see what it says in verse 16 when it says “As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow.” If you want to be healthy and you want a healthy organization, you need to to let each part do its work, even if you could do it yourself.
Jesus transforms our leadership and instead of being the boss over people, you get to be the one who equips, empowers and trusts them to succeed.
2. A Good Leader Models Serving (vs. 20)
2. A Good Leader Models Serving (vs. 20)
Like I said earlier, one of the things about Jesus that makes him so compelling as a leader is that he practiced what he preached.
“Love your enemies” = heals the ear of Malchus who had come to arrest him.
“forgive others” = “forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”
“Take up your cross and follow me” - He literally takes his cross and with it dies to save you and I.
Just as Jesus did, if you want to be a good leader you have to practice what you preach and model serving others.
After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
Jesus served us by giving his life in exchange for ours, so that we could be reconciled to God. If you want to be a good leader, you need to serve the people that God has called you to lead.
And you don’t serve by doing the things that are your job. Like, if you are a salesperson, don’t work more hours and make more sales and call it serving your team. You need to model serving by doing things that aren’t your job in order to empower and motivate your team. Maybe you buy lunch for everyone. Maybe you grab a broom and sweep the floor. Maybe you help someone do their chores. There are lots of ways you can serve the people you lead so be like Jesus and let your leadership model service to others.
3. A Good Leader is Humble (vs. 27)
3. A Good Leader is Humble (vs. 27)
The last way that I want to encourage you to improve your serve is to be humble. In far to many people, in their leadership they become arrogant. They think that because of their position or power, they know best. But in the kingdom of God, we are to be humble, like Jesus is. In our passage, Jesus says,
Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
Jesus changes the role of leadership in the kingdom of God and tells us not to pursue being the one who sits at the table but the one who serves others in humility. The Apostle Paul says,
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Because the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords came among us as one who serves, we need to remember that there is no act of service that is beneath us. Surely, if the Creator of the cosmos can wash the feet of the disciples, we can volunteer to clean a bathroom, flip chairs, read a story to kids in kids church or stack chairs. Let us be of those who are humble, who, like Christ, value others over ourselves and show that value through service.
Conclusion
A lot of people want to be the one at the top, where life is easy and people do what you want. But Jesus came to transform our views on leadership, power and position. Instead of striving to be over others, Jesus calls us to be the servant of all. Leadership is influence and we all have influence with someone. So lead like Jesus.
Pray.