Multiply your leadership

Leadership in the church

Over the last couple of weeks we have been working on a series about our vision here at REC.

And we can talk about this from many levels right?

You hear me all the time talk about what we are going to do...

We are in the process of hiring a worship leader. Right now we are in the process of vetting candidates and sorting through resumes.

We are going to overhaul facilities here…There is a lot of deferred maintenance that just needs to be done or it will be much more expensive later

Lastly. We are going to plant a church. Why? The church is the hope of the world and we are not called to come here, and be entertained for an hour a Sunday we have to become a people who are working out their faith in such a way where disciples, leaders and churches are being made

The way I like to say this in short is that I believe God is raising up River’s Edge church to be a hub church that will make disciples, raise up new leaders and send other out to plant churches.

So we know what we are raising money for, $300,000 over the next three years to do these three things

But for me the question is: “who do we have to become so that we can do that?”

Week 1: We talked about becoming the sort of people who bear fruit

-A people who remain connected to the vine rather than treating our spiritual life like we are recharging our batteries...

A people who follow Jesus closely, so much so that we are transformed by him..

Last week, Week 2: we talked about our lives being the key to unlock faith in others…I really believe that when we get close to Jesus and bear fruit then the inevitable next step is that we begin sharing that faith with others

This week I have one idea that I want to talk all about:

Week 3: We need to become a people who give ourselves away.

And the way that looks is through leadership.

So I want to unpack all of this for us today

So we need to be a church who stays radically connected to God on the vine

A church where we are a people of peace, a church where God shapes us into the key…using our stories to reach this world for Jesus

And today I want to submit to you that if you have said yes to Jesus, then you are a leader

and leaders give themselves away

Most people don’t want leadership today…In fact…I said…Becoming a leader and some of you immediately tuned me out…you heard that word and you decided…Leadership is not for me, therefore this sermon is not for me.

So especially…if that is you this morning…listen up because I think Jesus wants to do something incredible in you

Married Couple exorcize

So I want to illustrate something for you today

Back in Genesis 1-3, Man and woman were created. They faced outward to rule over the whole earth but then, they sinned...

And Genesis 3:16 says this...

Genesis 3:16 NIV

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

So instead of man and woman ruling over the earth they began to rule over each other

I have talked about this before and I guarantee I will talk about it again

What Genesis 3:16 does is set the stage for human relationships to be one of ruling over one another

And when you think about it, this is probably why people both are drawn to leadership and they run from it...

Because this relationship of ruling over one another is painful

The only one who likes it is the one doing the ruling

See the problem with leadership is that so many times there are selfish motives.

And when your in leadership many times you are up front, on the stage…and so the temptation to make it all about you is strong...

But I am convinced that God wants to raise up more and better leaders in his church

So one of the lenses in which we can understand Jesus’ entire life is that He is bringing about a new creation...

That Jesus flips the curse on its head, he is restoring Eden in each one of us.

Bringing us back to life in the garden with him...

So when you look really closely at Jesus’ teachings there is almost always this connection to the Garden of Eden...

So we are going to look at mainly two sections of scripture today

First flip with me over to Matthew 20:20-28...

Matthew 20:20–28 NIV

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, 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 by my Father.” When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the 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 your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

So I want to get really clear on what the Mother of Zebedee’s sons is asking

To sit at someones right and left in the kingdom are the two most impotrant places.

It is as if she is saying to Jesus, let my sons be your secretary of state and your chief of staff...

See the mother of James and John has a perspective of leadership that is one way…It is what she sees in the streets, the Roman pro-councils have leaders to their right and left...

Cesar has people doing his bidding, they are impotrant people

And even to ask that question for her is a selfish question

Women in the ancient world often outlived their husbands because of war & work and so having impotrant sons meant that for her she would be well taken care of

She would be impotrant

So Jesus asks her...”Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink”

Now one day probably around Easter, I would like to unpack the significance of this cup, we don’t have a ton of time for that today but if your the kind of person who loves to study stuff like this then write down Jeremiah 25 and go look it up today

But the short story is that it is the cup of God’s Wrath.

Its God’s anger at human sin…Its the cup that Jesus prays would be taken from him but then says, not my will but your will be done...

But Cups also have kingly significance…almost an anointing significance

So this is one of those situations that the mom of James and John probably hears…Are your sons really ready for that type of leadership responsibility…to sit at the right and left of the king?

But what Jesus is really asking is are your sons ready to be ridiculed, have everything stripped from them and die a horribly humiliating death?

Because, who really sat at Jesus’ right and left?

A couple of criminals...

I almost wonder if the mother of the sons of Zebedee was at the crucifixion thinking…well I’m glad Jesus said no otherwise my sons will be there

And then this is where Jesus absolutely shows the church the overthrow of the curse of Eden

Matthew 20:25–28 NIV

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the 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 your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Now all through the gospels there is language used about Jesus as king

Other people are constantly calling him a king

When the angel appeared to Mary, When Jesus was dedicated in the temple, even Pilate calls him the king of the Jews

But when Jesus talks about himself, he uses language of a servant....Why?

In Jesus’ Kingdom, leading is not lording, it is serving

Lording over others supports life in the curse

No one wants to be Lorded over…You have probably felt this in your life at one point

Lording supports a power struggle, a need for power

and when the lording person receives power then they do not handle it responsibly.

So Jesus overthrows the whole enterprise of Lording over among his followers

And what Jesus actually said about leadership is that

The son of man came to give his life as a ransom for many

Leadership in the church is about giving yourself away.

And this is what Jesus did…He gave his life as a ransom for many

If we want to look like Jesus, if that is the ultimate goal of the christian life to have Christlikeness and live in eternity with Jesus, then yes leadership is for you and it looks like giving yourself away

Put most simply and plainly:

Leadership in the church is about others

See when you live in a state of giving yourself away then your life becomes about others

when you do this often enough and it becomes a regular part of your life you realize something

Life is so much better when you are leading through serving.

If your trying to lead through Lording then your life will be a rollercoaster…Of immense power and immense burnout

So I want to give you one of the best examples of Jesus actually living out his own use of power

Now I am sure there are tons of biblical examples but I really love this one....flip with me to Luke 13...

Jesus’ use of power

Luke 13:10–17 NIV

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

So Jesus healed a crippled woman on the sabbath in a synagogue while he was teaching

Ok so you have to imagine the social space with me if you will for a second.

If you are a rabbi teaching in a first century synagogue all of the other very important leaders are up front...

They actually sit up front with you to communicate that they are the elders, they are important…they are the authorities

Everything in this society is laid out in terms of purity, honor and shame…So men would be able to come close and sit near the front, but the women would have to sit all the way in the back or if there was a balcony, they sat there

Now the most honored positions were on the stage and the least honored positions were in the back

So what does Jesus do?

He is surrounded by “the leaders of Israel” He calls a woman out of the shadows, shares his space with her and heals her.

And by the way…this woman who was a walking humiliation....she was shamed, crippled and considered impure...

She was lower than low in the social hierarchy

And what Jesus does essentially for this woman is that he takes his social position of honor and he gives it to her...

And when she was healed ...the first thing she did was to give glory to God! The religious leaders were angry

Now so you understand…if Jesus was trying to do the politically correct thing…He should have arranged with that woman to meet him in the Synagogue the next day so that he can heal her

But instead Jesus intentionally commits political suicide and calls a crippled woman up to share his space with her

In the culture that Jesus is living in we call it an Honor/Shame culture…This is a culture where one of the biggest currency's is honor…To be honored was everything, it was more impotrant than money...

And here, Jesus is the brilliant teacher, he has the honor...and she was in the place of shame...

So, What does it look like that the son of man came to serve & give his life as a ransom for many?

Jesus called her to the front…A place of honor...

and he removes her shame by healing her…He actually put his hands on her...

You have to understand that in this culture…look at all the laws of Leviticus…if you touch someone that is unclean then you become unclean.

But Jesus is the son of God and when he touches her, she becomes pure and healed.

Leaders don’t soak up all of the honor in the room, they intentionally share it with others.

And this is what Jesus did for that woman

There are all these little moments in the gospels where Jesus gives his life as a ransom for someone and it culminates on the cross where he gives his life as a ransom for many

As you can imagine, the other leaders were mad…Because now this crippled woman is actually standing in their space.....

as if she is just as impotrant as them.

So they get angry about healing on the Sabbath and Jesus replies this

Luke 13:15–17 NIV

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Now it says that the opponents were humiliated.....

Its almost as if Jesus took the woman’s shame and he applied it to the leaders who had all the honor

Jesus took this woman from humiliation to honor and

he took the religious leaders from honor to humiliation

Jesus is a true leader, he didn't shrink from addressing the real issue in the room

Here Jesus modeled true leadership

Leadership is about serving and not lording

leadership is about giving yourself away

Leadership is about others

Leaders share their honor with those who need it

Church when I say, that we need to be a community that multiplies leaders

This is what I am talking about!

When I say, we went to multiply, disciples, leaders and churches...

These are the type of leaders I am talking about...

The type of leaders who are emptied of their ego and their self

The type of leaders who are bent on giving themselves away

The type of leaders who noticed the crippled woman in the corner and bring her to a place of honor...

So when I say that we need to multiply leaders here at REC…that is actually a real need, we need people leading in ministries and stepping out in faith to lead stuff

But what we really need is a generation of people leading through giving themselves away

What we need is a generation of people who make their lives about others

We need a generation of people who care more about serving than they do lording

We need a generation of people bringing honor to the humiliated

And the only way to do this is by completely laying your life down for Jesus

jesus says to take up your cross and follow me…Implicit in that is to surrender your will, your ego…all who you are to Jesus

Response

Maybe you're here today and the question that Jesus is asking you is

‘I know you can Lord…but can you serve”