Servant
Leadership
Stephen
Terry
Commentary
for the May 13, 2017 Sabbath School Lesson
“Be
shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not
because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not
pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:2-3, NIV
Leadership in the Christian church today is perhaps a
far cry from what it was in the church of the first century. In that earlier
time we get a picture of every member of the church doing all they can to
promote the importance of repentance and salvation in order to have a dynamic,
personal relationship with Jesus. The goal of that relationship is the
indwelling presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit.[i] The implication of such a
theology is that each member of that fellowship is actively involved in soul
winning. Even the deacons, who were selected to wait tables, were soul winners preaching
the gospel as we see in the case of Stephen who was martyred for his faithful
witness.[ii] No matter how humble,
every Christian should seek in their calling opportunities to bear witness to
Christ and the sinner’s need of Him. It follows then that those privileged to
occupy positions of leadership within the body of Christ should epitomize soul
winning in all that they say and do.
Since those in leadership are to be such examples, it is
a poor church indeed where the elders have never led a single soul to the
cross. If they have failed in this basic function, how are the other members to
rise to such an experience? There is no greater joy than seeing a person’s face
light up with the love and peace that God brings into the heart when saving
faith has been planted there. Heaven itself rejoices every time that happens.[iii] It is hard to imagine
why anyone would choose to pass up that privilege in their climb to the upper
stratospheres of local, regional, national and global church office. But such
is too often the case, especially in regards to local church office. Instead,
even in local office, especially that of elder, selection is based more on
personal wealth and how much of that wealth finds its way into the coffers of
the church through tithes and offerings. The argument is often made that the
church is a business enterprise because of the millions of dollars that pass
through its hands each fiscal year, and who could make a better manager of all
that than someone who has experience accumulating and preserving wealth on
their own?
This rationalization is so common that one wonders
whether or not any consideration at all was given to the words of Jesus
regarding the wealthy.[iv] But even when His words
could not totally be ignored, an apologetic was developed to justify our modern
understanding. It relates that the “eye of a needle” that Jesus spoke of was a
gate in Jerusalem that a camel could not go through unless it unburdened itself
of its load, thus allowing it to barely squeeze through. This was perhaps a
convenient method to encourage the wealthy to unburden themselves of their
wealth by giving it to the church. However, there was no such gate in
Jerusalem, and such an interpretation would hardly have evoked the response from
those present of “Who then can be saved?”[v] Far from being the blessing
of prosperity that some would have us believe, wealth may actually be a barrier
to the humble servant leadership Christ exemplified. Perhaps there is a reason that
both John the Baptist and Jesus as well as many of the Apostles were not from
wealthy homes. When speaking of John the Baptist, Jesus pointed out that his
greatness was not from wealth, position or power.[vi] Also, when speaking of
Himself, Jesus referred to his own poverty[vii] yet, he was the Messiah.
In contrast, the leaders in our churches today often live in the most expensive
homes, drive the most expensive automobiles and make the largest incomes of all
those in the congregation. If one were to determine the median income or net
worth based on the entire membership, the elders would likely be well above
that line. Perhaps we should not be surprised then that those in third-world
countries often view Christianity as a path to salvation by prosperity. Even in
the first world, many succumb to the lure of such a hollow gospel. The desire
to subvert the gospel for wealth has a long and sordid history, going all the
way back to the time of the Apostles. Simon the Sorcerer, who used magical arts
for personal gain, saw the miraculous wonders performed by the Apostles and seeing
an opportunity for greater gain, he offered money to purchase that power. Peter
rebuked him for this affront to God.[viii] This is why we now call
the purchase of ecclesiastical office “Simony.” But for all of that, we seem unable
to rid ourselves of the temptation to offer church office in just such a way.
It may be because a rich and powerful individual bluntly states that if he or
she does not get their way, they will withdraw their financial support of the
church, or it may be in a more subtle fashion as in the previously mentioned
implication that only those who are wealthy have the ability to pilot the ark
of God because of the horde of wealth the church controls. When one considers
how much effort goes into safeguarding wealth, power and privilege in the
Christian church, it begs the question as to why the church is accumulating
such wealth in the first place. Is it vital to the spreading of the gospel, or
have we somehow lost our way? Are we, like the Israelites, wandering in the
wilderness, always wanting to arrive but never quite able to develop the
priorities that will get us to the Promised Land?
What if we were to develop a radically different
approach to leadership? What if instead of seeking out the wealthy, we sought
out actual soul winners? I had the opportunity over a decade ago to actually work
with this idea. A young woman in our local church had an idea for ministry that
had a refreshing perspective. Let me explain what I mean by that. Far too
often, people are full of solutions to either purify the church or get it on
the right track. Usually this is in the form of “The church should do this or
that.” It is always with the idea that the church should recognize the
greatness of my idea, and they should get busy and do it while I watch. Rarely
does the “idea man” see himself actually starting the initiative. Perhaps they
think that the idea is the only fruit they need bear, not realizing that if
someone ever did take up their idea they, and not the one who thought it up,
would get the reward for any fruit borne. Besides, if the vision is not shared
by those following the idea proposed, there is a strong likelihood that the
work itself will stray from the original vision.
But back to this young woman I mentioned. She did not
see her ministry as something that others should do to satisfy her need to be a
leader. She was fully aware that her vision required her full participation and
all the “elbow grease” that required. I encouraged her to write up her concept
and submit it with the goal, mission statement and vision for her ministry to
the Personal Evangelism Committee. She did this, and we on the committee recommended
her plan to the church board. As a result, the local church endorsed the
ministry and provided space for it to begin. Subsequently, the ministry of God’s
Closet, founded by Merryl Hinds-Tschoepe,[ix] has grown to include
chapters all across the United States, providing affordable used children’s
clothing to families several times per year. I had the privilege to sit on the
board of God’s Closet in its early days and was impressed by the dedication and
energy the ladies who made up the board brought to this loving ministry. Of
course, Merryl could not do everything herself and has been blessed with the
assistance of other gifted individuals, but the wonder of a true ministry of
service is that once someone casts an inspired vision and sets to work on it,
God will bring others who are also endowed with inspiration and ability to join
in.
Importantly, we should recognize that when God calls us to ministry, He does
not expect us to say, “If I only had the money to do that, I would start a
ministry.” At Still Waters Ministry, we receive requests for money almost every
day from individuals all over the world who have that mindset. But God’s Closet
has always operated from a “shoe string” budget. Volunteerism makes it work. If
people have to be paid to make a ministry happen, then it is no longer a ministry.
It has become a business. When that happens the vision shifts from service to
others to asset accumulation and preservation. Regrettably, it also means that
those whose participation in the ministry cannot be quantified in that manner
are discouraged from participation. Those with either personal or corporate wealth
to back them up may even attempt to take control of the ministry, using the new
focus on assets as leverage to accomplish their end. The paths of Christ and
John the Baptist were so much better. The lure of wealth and power did not
cloud their pure witness. Perhaps it is time we also stopped worshipping the “golden
calf”[x] and honored and respected
those who have a genuine relationship with Christ as evidenced by the fruit
they are producing instead of the riches they have accumulated. Doing so may
just help us rediscover the vitality of the church of the first century.
