100 Sermon Illustrations on Servanthood

Editor's note: When held hostage, Ashley Smith called upon God for help, and then used the Bible and her daily reading in “The Purpose Driven Life” to tell her captor, alleged Atlanta murderer Brian Nichols, about God’s grace. She read from Chapter 33, which focuses on “How Real Servants Act.” Following is the chapter she used as a witnessing tool.

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We serve God by serving others.

The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept.

Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you. This is so contrary to the world’s idea of greatness that we have a hard time understanding it, much less practicing it. The disciples argued about who deserved the most prominent position, and 2,000 years later, Christian leaders still jockey for position and prominence in churches, denominations, and parachurch ministries.

Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servanthood. Everyone wants to lead; no one wants to be a servant. We would rather be generals than privates. Even Christians want to be “servant-leaders,” not just plain servants. But to be like Jesus is to be a servant. That’s what he called himself.

While knowing your shape is important for serving God, having the heart of a servant is even more important. Remember, God shaped you for service, not for self-centeredness. Without a servant’s heart, you will be tempted to misuse your shape for personal gain. You will also be tempted to use it as an excuse to exempt yourself from meeting some needs.

God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we’re not shaped. If you see a man fall into a ditch, God expects you to help him out, not say, “I don’t have the gift of mercy or service.” While you may not be gifted for a particular task, you may be called to do it if no one gifted at it is around. Your primary ministry should be in the area of your shape, but your secondary service is wherever you’re needed at the moment.

Your shape reveals your ministry, but your servant’s heart will reveal your maturity. No special talent or gift is required to stay after a meeting to pick up trash or stack chairs. Anyone can be a servant. All it requires is character.

It is possible to serve in church for a lifetime without ever being a servant. You must have a servant’s heart. How can you know if you have the heart of a servant? Jesus said, “You can tell what they are by what they do” (Matthew 7:16, CEV).

• Real servants make themselves available to serve. Servants don’t fill up their time with other pursuits that could limit their availability. They want to be ready to jump into service when called on. Much like a soldier, a servant must always be standing by for duty: “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4, NAS). If you only serve when it’s convenient for you, you’re not a real servant. Real servants do what’s needed, even when it’s inconvenient.

Are you available to God anytime? Can he mess up your plans without you becoming resentful? As a servant, you don’t get to pick and choose when or where you will serve. Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it whenever he needs to.

If you will remind yourself at the start of every day that you are God’s servant, interruptions won’t frustrate you as much, because your agenda will be whatever God wants to bring into your life. Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry and are happy for the opportunity to practice serving.

• Real servants pay attention to needs. Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help others. When they see a need, they seize the moment to meet it, just as the Bible commands us: “Whenever we have the opportunity, we must do what is good for everyone, especially for the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10, GW). When God puts someone in need right in front of you, he is giving you the opportunity to grow in servanthood. Notice that God says the needs of your church family are to be given preference, not put at the bottom of your “things to do” list.

We miss many occasions for serving because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity. Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, sometimes never to return again. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment. “Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now” (Proverbs 3:27-28, TEV).

John Wesley was an incredible servant of God. His motto was “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” That is greatness. You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do. Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching.

• Real servants do their best with what they have. Servants don’t make excuses, procrastinate, or wait for better circumstances. Servants never say, “One of these days” or “When the time is right.” They just do what needs to be done. The Bible says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done” (Ecclesiastes 11:4, NLT). God expects you to do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are. Less-than-perfect service is always better than the best intention.

One reason many people never serve is that they fear they are not good enough to serve. They have believed the lie that serving God is only for superstars. Some churches have fostered this myth by making “excellence” an idol, which makes people of average talent hesitant to get involved.

You may have heard it said, “If it can’t be done with excellence, don’t do it.” Well, Jesus never said that! The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it -- that’s how we learn. At Saddleback Church, we practice the “good enough” principle: It doesn’t have to be perfect for God to use and bless it. We would rather involve thousands of regular folks in ministry than have a perfect church run by a few elites.

• Real servants do every task with equal dedication. Whatever they do, servants “do it with all their heart” (Colossians 3:23). The size of the task is irrelevant. The only issue is, does it need to be done?

You will never arrive at the state in life where you’re too important to help with menial tasks. God will never exempt you from the mundane. It’s a vital part of your character curriculum. The Bible says, “If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody” (Galatians 6:3, NLT). It is in these small services that we grow like Christ. Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him, because he came to serve. It wasn’t in spite of his greatness that he did these things, but because of it, and he expects us to follow his example (John 13:15).

Small tasks often show a big heart. Your servant’s heart is revealed in little acts that others don’t think of doing, as when Paul gathered brushwood for a fire to warm everyone after a shipwreck (Acts 28:3). He was just as exhausted as everyone else, but he did what everyone needed. No task is beneath you when you have a servant’s heart.

Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks. The little things in life determine the big things. Don’t look for great tasks to do for God. Just do the not-so-great stuff, and God will assign you whatever he wants you to do. But before attempting the extraordinary, try serving in ordinary ways (Luke 16:10-12).

There will always be more people willing to do “great” things for God than there are people willing to do the little things. The race to be a leader is crowded, but the field is wide open for those willing to be servants. Sometimes you serve upward to those in authority, and sometimes you serve downward to those in need. Either way, you develop a servant’s heart when you’re willing to do anything needed.

• Real servants are faithful to their ministry. Servants finish their tasks, fulfill their responsibilities, keep their promises, and complete their commitments. They don’t leave a job half undone, and they don’t quit when they get discouraged. They are trustworthy and dependable.

Faithfulness has always been a rare quality. Most people don’t know the meaning of commitment. They make commitments casually, then break them for the slightest reason without any hesitation, remorse, or regret. Every week, churches and other organizations must improvise because volunteers didn’t prepare, didn’t show up, or didn’t even call to say they weren’t coming.

Can you be counted on by others? Are there promises you need to keep, vows you need to fulfill, or commitments you need to honor? This is a test. God is testing your faithfulness. If you pass the test, you’re in good company: Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Daniel, Timothy, and Paul were all called faithful servants of God. Even better, God has promised to reward your faithfulness in eternity. Imagine what it will feel like one day to have God say to you, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together” (Matthew 25:23, NLT)!

By the way, faithful servants never retire. They serve faithfully as long as they’re alive. You can retire from your career, but you will never retire from serving God.

• Real servants maintain a low profile. Servants don’t promote or call attention to themselves. Instead of acting to impress and dressing for success, they “put on the apron of humility, to serve one another” (1 Peter 5:5, TEV). If recognized for their service, they humbly accept it but don’t allow notoriety to distract them from their work.

Paul exposed a kind of service that appears to be spiritual but is really just a put-on, a show, an act to get attention. He called it “eyeservice” -- serving in order to impress people with how spiritual we are. This was a sin of the Pharisees. They turned helping others, giving, and even prayer into a performance for others. Jesus hated this attitude and warned, “When you do good deeds, don’t try to show off. If you do, you won’t get a reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1, CEV).

Self-promotion and servanthood don’t mix. Real servants don’t serve for the approval or applause of others. They live for an audience of One. As Paul said, “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10, NIV).

You won’t find many real servants in the limelight; in fact, they avoid it when possible. They are content with quietly serving in the shadows. Joseph is a great example. He didn’t draw attention to himself, but quietly served Potiphar, then his jailer, then Pharaoh’s baker and wine taster, and God blessed that attitude. When Pharaoh promoted him to prominence, Joseph still maintained a servant’s heart, even with his brothers, who had betrayed him.

Unfortunately, many leaders today start off as servants but end up as celebrities. They become addicted to attention, unaware that always being in the spotlight blinds you.

You may be serving in obscurity in some small place, feeling unknown and unappreciated. Listen: God put you where you are for a purpose! He has every hair on your head numbered, and he knows your address. You had better stay put until he chooses to move you. He will let you know if he wants you somewhere else. Your ministry matters to the kingdom of God. “When Christ ... shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too -- the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity” (Colossians 3:4, Msg).

There are more than 750 “Halls of Fame” in America and more than 450 “Who’s Who” publications, but you won’t find many real servants in these places. Notoriety means nothing to real servants because they know the difference between prominence and significance. You have several prominent features on your body that you could live without. It is the hidden parts of your body that are indispensable. The same is true in the Body of Christ. The most significant service is often the service that is unseen.

In heaven God is going to openly reward some of his most obscure and unknown servants -- people we never heard of on earth, who taught emotionally disturbed children, cleaned up after incontinent elderly, nursed AIDS patients, and served in thousands of other unnoticed ways.

Knowing this, don’t be discouraged when your service is unnoticed or taken for granted. Keep on serving God! “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort” (1 Corinthians 15:58, Msg). Even the smallest service is noticed by God and will be rewarded. Remember the words of Jesus: “If, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded” (Matthew 10:42, LB).

Were there any heroes of Watergate? “Surely many unknown ones,” writes columnist Peggy Noonan, “those who did their best to be constructive and not destructive, those who didn't think it was all about their beautiful careers. I'll give you a candidate for great man of the era: Chuck Colson. Colson functioned in the Nixon White House as a genuinely bad man, went to prison and emerged a genuinely good man. He told the truth about himself in 'Born Again,' a book not fully appreciated as the great Washington classic it is, and has devoted his life to helping prisoners and their families. He paid the price, told the truth, blamed no one but himself, and turned his shame into something helpful.”

Noonan's words are an incisive summary of a conversion to Christ. Bad to Good. Born Again. Shame to Servanthood. Truth. As Chuck was interviewed by every major media market about “Deep Throat” in the last few days, no interviewer could recount his political life without reference to his new life in Christ. It's been a wonderful opportunity to remind the world of the reality of Christ's transforming power.

Ironically, Chuck's newest book is titled THE GOOD LIFE. In it, he says we know the good life only by serving others.

In some ways a bookend to his first book BORN AGAIN, THE GOOD LIFE reflects back upon his life and the truth of Jesus' words: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

It was only when Chuck lost his life to Christ and in the service to others that he caught the eye of Peggy Noonan and others since Watergate as a new creation, a genuinely changed man — from my point of view, a hero, although Chuck would say he is no hero, one who is only trying to do his duty to Christ. And I believe Chuck's life and the ministry of Prison Fellowship are inspiring a new generation of heroes who want to live “the good life.”

Heroes like our Operation Starting Line team and Prison Fellowship staff who have been sharing the Gospel with inmates in the Colorado prison system all this last week.

Or like Erika Harold, the former Miss America who just finished her first year at law school. Instead of interning at a major law firm, she's spending her summer at Prison Fellowship: visiting prisoners and their children while learning about applying the truth of Christ to the issues confronting our culture. As I have listened to her share her faith and life with the inmates, it's clear that she wants to use her gifts to serve others. She is an example of a hero of her generation — a good life in the making.

The work of Chuck and of Prison Fellowship in the last generation has laid the groundwork for the next generation to live the good life. Heroes are begetting heroes. Good lives are inspiring a new generation of good lives.

If heroism is inspiring others to live the good life of serving others for the sake of Christ, then Peggy Noonan is right: Chuck may be one of the only heroes of Watergate. But as we know, it is not really about Chuck Colson or about Prison Fellowship or about any of us. It is all about the transforming power of Jesus Christ, and the glory goes to God.

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Copyright (c) 2005 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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Defeatists say ‘Yesterday’; winners say ‘Yes’ today. It’s too late to lament the past. That’s lost forever. But it’s never too late to move into overdrive. The present is ours to charge with defiant faith.

• ‘You’re too old,’ the mission board told a rejected candidate. God, who’s a little older than most of us, must have thought she was too young. He waited two more years before sending her to the field.

• Perhaps you have heard it calculated that John Wesley preached over 40,000 sermons and traveled 225,000 miles (his horse had never heard of kilometres). Did you realize these figures belong only to the latter part of his life, from age 36 to 88?

• I was impressed; until reading George Muller’s figures. He is said to have traveled 200,000 miles, using his linguistic ability to preach in several languages to an estimated three million people. Now admittedly, Muller traveled extensively overseas. If I had a choice between travelling a thousand miles on horseback or a thousand miles by sailing ship, I’d go by plane. But here’s the spice: Muller’s statistics only began after his seventieth birthday and continued for the next 17 years.

• Dr. Robert Lowry, renowned for many accomplishments as a Christian musician, first undertook the serious study of music after turning 40.

• Fanny Crosby was forty-three when she found her life’s work – she wrote her first Gospel song. So many songs followed, under so many different pen-names, that no one could keep track of them. Informed estimates range to beyond 8,000 (some say 9.000), with more than a hundred pseudonyms.

• Francis Schaeffer was little known until he was in his fifties.

• Child Evangelism Fellowship was founded by a sixty-year-old, who remained at its helm for the next 15 years.

• At 63, Clara McBride Hale began caring for addict babies. The number she has helped now runs into the hundreds.

• Peggy Smith, 84 and blind, and her sister Christine, 82 and crippled, were key people in the world-famous revival in the Scottish Hebrides.

• Elizabeth Wilson felt the tug of China when she was 20. She arrived thirty years later. Conditions were harsh and dangerous, yet her age proved a treasured asset. The Lord had called her to the Orient, where — as in most societies outside our own — age is honored. Paul Kuo presented the administrators of Hong Kong Theological College with a headache. He was already 60 and he wanted to enroll. By the time he graduated he would be too old for any church to want him. He was reluctantly admitted and although he learned, he failed to obtain a degree. In 1975 he left for Thailand’s ‘Golden Triangle’ to labor for Christ amongst mercenaries, bandits and opium farmers. His past military training earned him respect and his age made him a celebrity. He dived so deeply into ministry that he soon had to recruit other missionaries. Before long, Paul was heading up a large missionary venture.

• In 1968, two middle-aged tourists, florists for over 30 years, were so moved by what they saw in Kenya that they decided to return as missionaries. Denny and Jeanne Grindall, with no engineering skills or even formal Bible training and very little money, instigated the building of a dam almost 80 foot high and piped the clean water nearly three miles to tribespeople. The Maasai gradually became so responsive to the Grindall’s message that twenty churches were opened and hundreds came to Christ.

• I received the following e-mail from Gordon Ogden: Please pray for my ministry in marriage and family counseling. (I am 70.) Today I will work with child sexual abuse, teenage depression, adult depression, and marital discord. My weeks are filled with such. Then just when I was about to elevate my new friend to megastar status he spoilt it with his next e-mail: “Tomorrow I go to Monterey to see my friend Phillip, a Marriage, Family, Child Counselor like myself. He is currently running two recovery groups, plus his individual counseling, plus working out at the gym three days a week, plus attending conferences and driving all over the place. Phillip will be 90 in June. What a role model for a guy 20 years his junior.”

• Black American missionary to Liberia, Eliza George, was forced by her mission to retire at age 65. Undeterred, she raised her own support and continued independently for the best part of three more decades.

• ‘I want to go to the mission field as soon as I can,’ announced an enthusiastic teenager on the day of her baptism. She made it — as a seventy-one-year-old widow. In Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, Thailand, Burma and Communist Russia, Margaret Cole squeezed more excitement into a few years than most people ever see.

• Cam Townsend, founder of the Wycliffe Bible Translators, flew to Moscow and began learning Russian to assist in Bible translation work in the Caucasus. The nation was still under the iron grip of Communism and he was seventy-two.

• At that same age of seventy-two, Maude Cary accepted her missionary society’s plea ‘to open the city of El Haheb [in Morocco] to resident missionary work.’

• Evelyn Brand came to India as a young missionary. After her husband’s death she pressed on, living on a pittance, caring for villagers scattered over five mountain ranges. At age seventy-five, Granny, as she was now known, had grown too old for such arduous work. Having fallen and broken her hip, she had to be carried down the mountain by stretcher, then driven 150 bone-jarring miles to the nearest hospital. By the time her son – a brilliant medical missionary – finally arrived, she was walking with two canes and managing to ride a pony to outlying villages. The skilled doctor mustered all his persuasive powers to lovingly convince his aging mother that she ‘presented a constant medical hazard,’ riding horseback to such remote, rugged mountains with her paralyzed legs and deficient sense of balance. Brushing aside his pleas, Granny toiled for eighteen more years, despite being ravaged by tropical diseases and suffering concussions and fractures from falls off her pony. She was ninety-three when she reluctantly exchanged her horse for a stretcher; continuing her work by being carried from village to village by devoted Indians for her two remaining years.

• In modern China the seventy-year-old wife of a persecuted pastor travels extensively distributing Bibles at great risk. In another part of the nation a ninety-year-old prayerfully studies a map, wondering where to lug her next bundle of Bibles. She hugs her books, rejoicing that the Tiananmen Square massacre increased not just the danger but the demand.

Think of it this way: if growing old is as bad as is sometimes claimed, how come so many people do it?

I don’t care if you’re so long in the tooth you’ve blown your entire savings on toothpaste; so out of touch that you’re fazed by newfangled things like the King James Bible; so old your grandchildren are in nursing homes; so frail you have to rest up to watch television: God can still use you. Of course, if you’ve already passed eighty-five, I can’t promise you’ll write 8,000 songs. You might, like Fanny at that age, have to settle for only 250 hymns a year.

• If you’re ninety-one and still don’t know what you’ll do when you grow up, throw a party. If you’re ninety-five, it’s time to go to Bible School. That’s what David Sizer did. The last I heard, he was 101, still preaching in a prison and five retirement centers every week.

• Dr. Bernhard Johnson tells of a tiny Negro in Brazil aged 105 who had led hundreds to the Lord. Uninspired? A further detail should cure that. He did not know the Lord until he turned 103.

So if you’ve graduated from make-up to poly-filler, hang on to your dentures, it’s ministry time.

In Christ, Invincible

You’re fruit

Dawn glowing brighter.

growing sweeter,

Wine gaining value.

Not milk turning sour

Or cardboard caving,

Colours fading,

Under the weight of time.

You’re concrete drying stronger,

Trees growing higher.

A lady was walking homeward from a shopping excursion, carrying two or three packages in her hand, while by her side walked her little boy. The child was weary; the little feet began to lag, and soon the wailing cry arose:

“I’m too tired. I want somebody to let me ride home.”

The mother looked about her, but there was no street-car going in her direction. She took one of her parcels and gave it to the child.

“Mama is tired, too, and Willie must help her to get home. She is glad she has such a brave little man to take care of her, and help her to carry the bundles.”

Instantly the little fellow straightened, his step quickened, and he reached for the offered parcel, saying stoutly:

“I’ll carry ‘em all, mama.”

It was only the old, old lesson that our Father is always teaching us, -- “Is the homeward way weary? Try to lighten another’s burden, and the loving service shall smooth your own path.”

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Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright July 28, 1898, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #20928]

“I would never want to reach out someday with a soft, uncallused hand – a hand never dirtied by serving – and shake the nail-pierced hand of Jesus.”

-- Rev. Bill Hybels

While I was doing some homework one evening, I felt the need to put on a record. The record I chose was none other than SLOW TRAIN COMING by Bob Dylan. I will admit I hadn’t listened to it that much at the time, but as the needle passed over “You Got To Serve Somebody,” I realized that if I believed in anything, it would be serving.

I have tried to live a life of a servant. To do something for someone else you don’t even have to know, while not expecting anything more than a good feeling inside is true servitude. I have found that the best way for me is labor. A Baptist-church organization known as World Changers has taken me to the places I needed to be in order to do this. Through World Changers I’ve worked everywhere from Dallas, Texas to Vancouver, British Columbia. At face value its almost absurd; paying over $300 for long van rides in horrible traffic; sleeping on the floors of churches and schools; eating what could never be considered the world’s greatest food; all to re-do a roof in a high crime area while the temperature is somewhere near the 115-degree mark. If the good-vibes weren’t there, I probably wouldn’t spend part of my summer doing it.

Serving is, in short, doing what no one else wants to do without complaining. It is the building of a rock wall; it is being the lowest custodian on a janitorial staff totem pole; it is the painting and re-roofing houses in the middle of cities as well as the middle of nowhere. I’ve done these things usually with little or no financial gain. Money comes and goes, but the servant’s joy is never ending. The homeowners I’ve sweated for always look to me as though I were something more than what I am. It’s the gratitude that could not come from their words but only from the tears. I know that I have given them something that they couldn’t purchase themselves, yet they paid me in something that money cannot compare.

There is one thing old Bob Dylan missed; you cannot serve yourself! Its counter productive for crying out loud! Other than the feeling you shouldn’t need any other reward. When you get something for yourself, it’s more than the feeling, and, therefore, ruins the point. I know I am being redundant but honestly I do not think I can make my point more clear. I think that the song should have been “You Got To Serve Somebody Else.” With that as the title, more people would have understood and applied it. Remember this, material wealth in greater quantities weighs far less than good-vibe wealth in minimal proportions. You may serve the Devil, or you may serve the Lord, or it could be for the bum on the corner, or a homeowner that needs a new roof, but, to be the wealthiest person ever, you have to be the servant of all!

Who … took upon him the form of a servant. — Phil. 2:6-7.

I made myself servant unto all … and this I do for the gospel’s sake. — 1 Corinthians 9:19, 23.

Betty Elliot gave herself to the Auca tribe for the “Gospel’s sake.” The servitude to the elder women of the tribe was inevitable. Was Betty willing for it? Yes, the sake of the gospel of the grace of God was at stake!

The testing time arrived. Betty was commanded by a repulsive, old Auca woman to draw water from the river. The way to the river was steep. To get to it, Betty must cleverly balance herself on a log propped at a sharp perpendicular angle. The return trip was much more difficult. She must carry her own water pot. The pot had no handles, and was to be filled with water. But Betty had one object: she set aside her reputation; she took upon herself the form of a slave, and could say, “This I do for the gospel’s sake.”

Jesus, Master, whom I serve,

though so feebly and so ill,

Strengthen heart, and head, and nerve,

all Thy bidding to fulfill.

Saviour, let me always be,

serving others — serving Thee.

Power. Even the word is seductive. A love of power can separate the most resolute of Christians from the true nature of Christian leadership, which is to serve others. This truth is perhaps most graphically illustrated in the world of politics.

As Chuck Colson writes in his marvelous new book, GOD & GOVERNMENT, the everyday business of politics is power, and power can be perilous.

The history of the last fifty years has richly validated Friedrich Nietzsche’s argument that man’s desire to control his own destiny and to impose his will on others is the most basic human motivation. Nietzsche’s prophecy that the “will to power” would fill the twentieth-century’s vacuum of values has been fulfilled through Hitler, Mao, Stalin, to name only the worst tyrants.

All governments use power to hang on to power — election-year favors and pork-barrel politics are even common here in America. But in regimes where there are few moral restraints, tyrants wield power shamelessly — and often viciously.

But remember this: power corrupts, but power itself is not necessarily corrupt. God has given power to the state to be used to restrain evil and maintain order. It is the use of power, whether for personal gain or for the state’s ordained function, that is really at issue.

Jesus Christ turned conventional views of power upside-down. He not only offered mankind redemption, He also washed the dusty feet of His own followers. The apostle Paul said, “My power is made perfect in weakness.”

As Chuck writes in GOD & GOVERNMENT, nothing distinguishes the kingdoms of man from the kingdom of God more than their diametrically opposed views of the exercise of power. One seeks to control people; the other seeks to serve people. One promotes self; the other prostrates self. One seeks prestige and position; the other lifts up the lowly and despised.

It’s crucial for Christians to understand this difference. For through this upside-down view of power, the Kingdom of God can play a special role in the affairs of the world.

When we, as citizens of the Kingdom today, practice this view of power, we’re setting an example for our neighbors by modeling servanthood — and exposing the illusions worldly power creates.

This doesn’t mean that Christians can’t use power. In positions of leadership, especially in government institutions, the Christian can wield power in good conscience. But the Christian uses power with a different motive and in a different way: to serve, to seek the common good, and to seek justice.

Those who accept the biblical view of servant leadership treat power as a humbling delegation from God, not as a right to control others.

The challenge for the Christian in a position of influence is to follow the example of Jesus, who knelt down to wash His disciples’ feet, rather than embrace Nietzsche’s will to power. In doing so, the citizen of the Kingdom can offer light to a world often shrouded by the dark pretensions of power-mad tyrants.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Ever since I was a boy, I was driven to serve my country. As a 10-year-old at the outbreak of World War II, I could only dream that one day I could put on a uniform and fight the enemy. But I did what I could. I organized a neighborhood drive to collect scrap metal for the war effort. Before I had reached 40 years of age, I had served as a captain in the Marines and as special counsel to President Nixon.

But besides my country, there was another cause in my life that I served wholeheartedly. That cause was my self. Power, a great career, money, all were mine. I lost them all in the aftermath of Watergate.

And for that, I am profoundly grateful to God.

You see, with my world collapsing around me, I received Christ as Lord and Savior. And it was in the crucible of prison that God took my desire to serve my self and transformed it into something much greater. He gave me a desire to serve others — particularly those who are abandoned by society, prisoners. I take no credit for this. None. Zero. I might as well take credit for my hair color. It was God working His will in me, a great sinner.

I know that all too well that since my release from prison more than 30 years ago, people have been watching me, to see if the old White House Hatchet Man turned prison evangelist would prove to be a phony.

Well I’ve got news for you. People are watching you, too! A weary world is watching with great skepticism all who profess Christ.

That is one reason why we who “by grace have been saved through faith” must be about doing the “good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8,10). For it is through Christian acts of loving service — especially to the most needy among us — that the world will see the power and love of Christ.

History is full of examples. As plagues swept through ancient Rome, the wealthy pagans — even doctors — fled for their lives. But the Christians stayed behind to care for the sick and dying. That witness fueled the growth of the Church. Why was Mother Teresa beloved by religious and non-religious alike? Because she cared for the utterly destitute. It’s why, even in this most secular of ages, the Salvation Army is held in such high respect.

It’s that kind of selfless service that can bring even the most powerful man on earth to the verge of tears.

Let me explain.

As you may have heard, I recently received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bush. I did so on behalf of Prison Fellowship and the thousands of men and women, volunteers and staff who make up this movement.

At the ceremony in the Oval Office, the President talked about what true redemption was. He told my family how he was with me when he met a prisoner — a convicted murderer — back in 1998 at our InnerChange Freedom Initiative in Texas. Then, five years later, the President received that very same man, Robert Sutton, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. I had brought him there with two other IFI graduates. Sutton told the President how the love of Christ, displayed through caring Christian volunteers, had transformed him. Bush embraced him.

As the President told that story, tears came to his eyes.

And tears came to mine. That, my friends, is why we live to serve others. So the world may know that Christ is Lord.

________

Copyright (c) 2008 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

One of the key New Testament passages on leadership is Mark 10:32–45. Jesus was on his final journey to Jerusalem. A few chapters earlier, Peter had affirmed his belief that Jesus was the Messiah (8:27–30). When Jesus made his intention to go to Jerusalem clear, James and John anticipated coming events: In Jerusalem, Jesus would announce his messiahship, there would be a popular uprising against the Romans, and Jesus would be crowned and proclaimed king. But who would be his top advisers? After all, Jesus had 12 disciples. Mustering their courage, James and John approached Jesus and asked, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory” (10:37).

Jesus considered their request and responded, “You don’t know what you are asking. ... Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” The “cup” and “baptism” both symbolize the great test of suffering Jesus would endure in Jerusalem. Jesus was asking, “Are you willing to go through what I’m about to go through?” James and John believed they were up to the task. Assuming Jesus was speaking of the messianic war ahead, they answered affirmatively: “We can!” Jesus responded that they would indeed suffer, but he could not grant such positions of authority: “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 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” (10:39–40).

Yet Jesus was obviously impressed by their courage and continued: “Blessed are you, sons of Zebedee, for the one who risks much will accomplish much, and the one who leads with courage and distinction will reap great reward.”

Okay, that’s not actually how the story goes. But that’s how many of us think it should have gone. To be sure, James and John were showing a bit of ego (moxie really). They were a little presumptuous and a bit overconfident. But what great leader is not? They were demonstrating vision and initiative. They saw the future and were ready to seize it. Against overwhelming odds, they were willing to lead Jesus’ followers into battle, even to the point of death. Aren’t these the marks of great leadership? This is “grab the bull by the horns” leadership. This is carpe diem leadership. This is Gladiator-style leadership. (It’s hard to say how many Christian leaders have told us this is their favorite movie.)

But, of course, Jesus actually responded in a very different way, rejecting the self-promotional leadership of James and John. Gathering the disciples together, he radically redefined what it means to lead: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.” The world’s model of leadership is about power, control, and influence. It’s about motivating others to accomplish the leader’s goals, agenda, and aspirations. “Not so with you,” Jesus said. “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43–45).

We have read these lines so often through our filter of Christian leadership that it is hard to catch their countercultural nature. Jesus turns the “power and persuasion” model of leadership upside down by calling for “servant” — or better, “slave” — leadership, an oxymoron in the eyes of his contemporaries. Servants don’t seek power and influence; they seek to please their master. They don’t accumulate followers; they empower others through service. They don’t exploit people as resources; they enable others to be the best they can be.

The apostle Paul speaks of leadership in the same way. In Ephesians 4 he points to the senior leaders in the church: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the pastors and teachers.” And what is their purpose? “To equip God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph. 4:11–12). The Christian leader’s goal should be to empower and equip others to fulfill their calling and use their spiritual gifts to the glory of God, even when it means setting aside their own vision and plans.

Sacrificial or Servant Leadership?

The subtle allure of power and self-aggrandizement is not just for megachurch pastors and New York Times best-selling authors. It creeps into our hearts and actions through everyday events and activities — in our late nights in the church office, our long hours in sermon prep, and even in our faithful time at hospital bedsides. Each of these things can convince us we’ve earned the right to be listened to and admired.

James and John surely had in mind the livelihoods they had left behind and the years they had spent at Jesus’ feet when they made their request for status in his kingdom. They had the right goal in mind: doing the will of God. Yet they could not envision this apart from the prospect of personal power and glory. They were willing to accept sacrificial leadership, but they weren’t quite ready to step into full-fledged servant leadership.

When Jesus redefined the role of the Messiah, he redefined the nature of all Christian leadership. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and that is the orientation Christians are called to as leaders. By fully embracing our call to empower others, pastors can join James, John, and Tony in turning away from our nagging need to have things our way.

Mark L. Strauss is University Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary San Diego.

Justin A. Irving is professor of ministry leadership and director of the DMin Program at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

David Henderson was on Christmas break as a senior in college when he finished reading Ayn Rand’s novel, “Atlas Shrugged.” He was at a point in life where he was seeking truth and the book made a lot of sense to him. Ayn Rand’s premise was that putting your effort anywhere short of meeting your own needs is foolish and self-destructive. Your own happiness is the highest moral purpose; selfishness is the greatest virtue.

In a moving finale, lead character John Galt argues passionately, “A doctrine that give you, as an ideal, the role of a sacrificial animal seeking slaughter on the altar of others is giving you death as your standard.”

David had finished the book just before joining some friends for dinner. When he sat down at the table he found they were in the middle of a discussion. They were talking about how they, as followers of Jesus, could become less preoccupied with themselves and more concerned for others.

Fuses started blowing in David’s brain. He blurted out, “Don’t you see what a waste that is? It’s the moral equivalent of suicide, throwing your life away on other people!”

But his friends knew something that David had yet to learn: Jesus inverts everything. He takes all the world’s values and turns them on their head. Nowhere is this more obvious than in his practice of calling us to self-abasing servants.

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was the god who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water. Today, we call people narcissists when they too, fall in love with themselves. Narcissists see everything from only their perspective. They have an excessive need for attention and approval (social media has fed this ailment). They exalt themselves. They are always right in their own eyes. They believe they are the center of the world. They have made an idol out of themselves and usurped even the very place of God. They use people to build their image and fame. Narcissist leaders are especially dangerous.

By now, you are probably already visualizing the narcissistic people and leaders in our culture, in politics, and even in our churches. In their attempt to exalt themselves, they damage the churches and the people they lead.

In my adjunct teaching role, we assess the strengths and weaknesses of an individual’s leadership tendencies. At the beginning of the course, I tell students that this will both be the easiest doctoral course they ever take, and it may also be the most painful. Leaders are born with deep cracks — we are all broken. Interestingly enough, some of what might make us effective leaders, in the beginning, may be the very things that ultimately lead us to crash, burn, and hurt the people we lead.

Too many churches, and organizations are held captive by such leaders who want the church to serve them, rather than their being willing to serve the church. They are the fount of all wisdom. They alone are right. Their way is the only way. “The rest of you don’t know what you’re talking about.” They want to be recognized. They want their vision. This is “my church.”

Narcissist leaders devalue the contributions of others. Their way is the only way. They get angry when they seem to lose their dominance. They become judgmental when someone else makes a contribution equal or greater in value than theirs. At any cost, their agenda is all that matters. They discount and reject the contributions of others.

Jesus, the greatest leader of all time, set a very different path for leaders. Of all humanity he alone was perfect in every way, yet the Apostle Paul writes that he, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped [held on tightly to], but emptied himself ... he humbled himself...” (Phil 2:6-8). Rather than exalt himself, Jesus humbled himself, and then gave his life for us. This is true leadership greatness.

Jesus’ disciples did not find this easy to do. In fact, it was completely counterintuitive to all they thought they knew about life and leadership. At least one time, Jesus caught them arguing about which of them was the greatest. On another occasion, James and John’s mom came to ask Jesus for her sons to sit in positions of power and authority in Jesus’ kingdom.

Jesus said, “It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man [Jesus] did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:26-38).

Jesus gave his life and his leadership so that others might be saved. His purpose was not to glorify himself but to save humanity. Yes, he was ultimately exalted by the Father (Col 2:9) and this revealed who God is, but his great sacrificial act — the cross was motivated by his love for us. Though he was the greatest, he humbled himself and served us.

Pastors and church leaders, what does it mean for you to set aside the folly of your own self-importance and submit your agenda to God’s plan and purposes for those you lead? What does it look like for you to serve the people God has called you to lead? What will you have to give up for the sake of serving others?

Blanchard and Hodges write, “To successfully combat the temptation to be self-serving in your leadership, every day you must put your EGO [Edging God out, double entendre intended] on the altar and Exalt God Only.” (taken from Lead Like Jesus).

Ultimately, Christian leaders need to lead like Jesus.

Many years ago Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who ended up in a Nazi concentration camp because she hid Jews, went through a difficult time in her life. She was engaged to be married to a man, but he broke off the engagement and married her best friend. Corrie was devastated. She was lonely.

Her dad said something very profound: “You've had a love that's been blocked. There are two things that you can do with a blocked love. Number one, you can dam it up inside of you and hold on to it and be miserable the rest of your life. Or you can rechannel that blocked love. Refocus it on someone else. Give it away. Help others. Give your love to those who need it.”

Here are some easy practical ways to get to know the people who live around you. A cheerful word can still open doors to relationships, even in our impersonal society. In one neighborhood, a random gathering of people on the Fourth of July became a tradition.

1. Exchange simple greetings.

2. Pass along a compliment.

3. Welcome neighbors warmly.

4. Share a meal.

5. Share a book.

6. Share a skill.

7. Share your recreation.

8. Volunteer advice.

9. Meet obvious needs.

10. Watch for special opportunities.

11. Ask for help.

12. Organize neighborhood activities.

13. Form a neighborhood play group.

14. Get active in a community group or cause.

Final word -- I believe everybody likes to be appreciated and cared for. As Christians, we have a wonderful opportunity to express Christ's love to those around us. We don't have to go far to see great needs or hurting, harried people. We don't have to go far to meet people who may become supportive friends. But we have to be willing to take the first steps and trust God to do the rest.

NO INDISPENSABLE MAN

Sometime, when you are feeling important,

Sometime, when your ego's in bloom,

Sometime when you take it for granted,

You're the best qualified in the room.

Sometime when you feel that your going,

Would leave an unfillable hole,

Just follow this simple instruction,

And see how it humbles your soul.

Take a bucket and fill it with water,

Put your hand in it, up to the wrist,

Pull it out. and the hole that's remaining,

Is a measure of how you'll be missed.

You may splash all you please as you enter,

You can stir up the water galore,

But stop, and you'll find in a minute,

That it looks quite the same as before.

The moral in this quaint example is,

Do just the best that you can,

Be proud of yourself, but remember

There is no indispensable man.

Here are some easy practical ways to get to know the people who live around you. A cheerful word can still open doors to relationships, even in our impersonal society. In one neighborhood, a random gathering of people on the Fourth of July became a tradition.

1. Exchange simple greetings.

2. Pass along a compliment.

3. Welcome neighbors warmly.

4. Share a meal.

5. Share a book.

6. Share a skill.

7. Share your recreation.

8. Volunteer advice.

9. Meet obvious needs.

10. Watch for special opportunities.

11. Ask for help.

12. Organize neighborhood activities.

13. Form a neighborhood play group.

14. Get active in a community group or cause.

Final word -- I believe everybody likes to be appreciated and cared for. As Christians, we have a wonderful opportunity to express Christ's love to those around us. We don't have to go far to see great needs or hurting, harried people. We don't have to go far to meet people who may become supportive friends. But we have to be willing to take the first steps and trust God to do the rest.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's seven principles for erasing selfishness in churches:

1) Hold your tongue and refuse to speak uncharitably about a Christian

brother or sister.

2) Cultivate humility by understanding that you, like Paul, are the

greatest of sinners. You can only live in God's sight by his grace.

3) Listen long and patiently so that you will understand your fellow

Christian's need.

4) Refuse to consider your time so valuable that you cannot be

interrupted to help with unexpected needs, no matter how small or

menial.

5) Bear the burden of your brothers and sisters in the Lord, both by

preserving their freedom, and by forgiving their sinful abuse of

that freedom.

6) Declare God's word to your fellow believers when they need to hear it.

7) Understand that Christian authority is characterized by service and

does not call attention to the person who performs the service.

One morning it was my pleasure to address the staff at a new Sam's Wholesale Warehouse at breakfast before they opened for business... I was really impressed when I noticed Dean Sanders, who had started working at Sam's part-time as a college student and was now the President of the company, moving some empty plates and cups to the trash barrel. As I observed him, I wondered how many presidents of $25 billion corporations would be doing such a thing.

First, would they be at a working breakfast; second, would they mingle (as Dean had done) so easily and freely with the staff, which included highly paid executives and hourly wage earners; and third, would they be cleaning up the breakfast dishes when so many other people were around?

... It's true: "He who is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matt. 23:11 NKJV). Today, many people think others should serve them, but the reality is that those who serve best are those who will lead the most. Think about it. Adopt the servant's attitude (without being servile).

Today the Queen of England will preside over the Royal Maundy Service at Liverpool Cathedral. In this service, held each year on the Thursday before Easter, the British monarch presents gifts of money to the poor. According to the royal website, “The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the 13th century. The Sovereign also used to give food and clothing (later changed to a gift of money), and even washed the recipients' feet — this varied from Sovereign to Sovereign, the last Monarch to do so was James II.”

It must have been startling and unsettling to view royalty in the indecorous posture of foot washing, and it is not surprising that this element of the ceremony was dropped several hundred years ago. Although now the Queen would risk nothing but her dignity by assuming such a task, this was not the case during the reign of James II and many earlier monarchs. There were often disputes within the kingdom about who should rightfully occupy the throne, and kings and queens seized every opportunity they could to assert their power. In fact, James II was eventually forced to abdicate and surrender the throne to William of Orange and his wife Mary. In this political climate, even the smallest display of meekness could jeopardize one's reign; perhaps this is why William and Mary chose to leave the foot washing to others.

The Maundy Thursday service derives its name from the Latin “mandatum.” This refers to the command — or mandate — Christ gave his disciples at the Last Supper. He said to them, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). Previous to this, John tells us, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:3-5). It is significant that John draws a causal connection between what Jesus knew and what he did. Jesus knew that all authority was his because the Father had secured it. The security of his throne freed him to assume the posture of a servant and wash the feet of his subjects.

The washing of the disciples' feet began a chain of events that was the opposite of what one would expect from a prospective king vying to win a throne. When the contingent from the chief priests sought him in Gethsemane, Jesus gave himself up, did not attempt to rally support in his own defense (though he had many followers), and was willingly beaten and executed. To all appearances, Jesus had lost his chance to rule because he hadn't fought for it by exercising power. Instead of mobilizing his forces, he knelt down and washed their feet. But in hindsight we know that he did this because his rule was so very secure; not even death could prevent it.

Christ is now seated at the right hand of God, an unassailable position (Luke 22:68). Not only this, we are also told that God has “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). Our place in his royal family is assured. We do not have to secure our own reputations. Thus, we can, without fear, obey Christ's command: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet”(John 13:14). When I find myself willing to serve others only if I can be sure that it won't injure my own status, I have forgotten that I do not have to guard my honor or establish my own reputation. The royal line is secure, and there should be a causal connection between what we know and what we do. This should free us to take off the outer clothing of our accomplishments and insecurities, to get down on our knees, and to love others by serving them.

__________

Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet fighter pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured and spent six years in a Communist prison. He survived that ordeal and now lectures about lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”

“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied.

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!”

Plumb assured him, “It sure did -- if your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today.”

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform -- a Dixie cup hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. I wondered how many times I might have passed him on the Kitty Hawk. I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you,' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.”

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who's packing your parachute? Everyone has someone and many times more than one who provides what they need to make it through the day. Recognize and be gracious to people who pack your parachute!”

___________________

TruthOrFiction.com found Captain Charles Plum, who is now a popular motivational speaker, and asked him whether this story was true. Captain Plum assured us that it was. You can visit his website at www.charlesplum.com

EphesIans 5:22–6:24 — New Relationships

The Apostle Paul has been unfolding, in this great Letter to the Ephesians, the new life that God has given us in Christ; the new society, the single new humanity, reconciled and integrated humanity, that he is creating and building through Jesus Christ; and the new standards which God expects of his new society, particularly unity and purity in the Church. We are to live a life that is both worthy of our Christian calling and fitting to our Christian status as the redeemed, reconciled people of God.

Now, fourth, we turn to “the new relationship” into which we have been brought. In the rest of the Letter Paul adds two further dimensions to our Christian living. The first concerns the practical, concrete, down-to-earth relationships of our homes (5:22—6:9). And the second concerns the enemy we face, and therefore the equipment or armor we need in unremitting spiritual warfare (6:10-24). These two responsibilities, home and work on the one hand, and spiritual warfare on the other, are obviously different from one another: husband and wife, parents andchildren, employers and employees, are visible, tangible human beings. But the principalities and powers that are arrayed against us are invisible and intangible spiritual beings. Nevertheless, if our Christian faith is worth anything, it must be able to cope with both situations.

First – harmony in the home. Paul refers to three pairs of people – husbands and wives (5:22-33), parents and children (6:1-4), masters and servants (6:5-9) — and to the reciprocal relationships that should exist in each pair. All three come under the heading of home life, because in those days slaves were part of the household. All three are examples of submission: “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:21).

I know that the concept of submission to authority is extremely unfashionable today. Ours is an age of liberation, and anything that savors of oppression is deeply resented in our society. So how are we Christians to react? We all ought to agree that women in many cultures have without doubt been exploited, and they have been treated like servants in their own homes. We need to distinguish between what Scripture clearly teaches, and what culture may seem to dictate for women in a particular culture.

But if women in many cultures have been exploited, children have often been suppressed and squashed too. Similarly, workers have often been unjustly treated and given inadequate wages and living conditions and an insufficient share in responsible decision-making. We Christians should acknowledge with shame thatwe ourselves have often acquiesced in, and so helped to perpetuate, some forms of human oppression, instead of being in the vanguard of those who are seeking change, according to Scripture.

I want to emphasize that there is nothing in Ephesians 5:22—6:9 that is incompatible with the true liberation of human beings from exploitation and oppression. On the contrary, to whom do women, children and workers chiefly owe their liberation? Is it not to Jesus Christ? It is Jesus Christ who treated women with honor and courtesy in an age in which they were despised. It is Jesus Christ who said, “Let the children come to me,” in an age in which unwanted babies were consigned to the local rubbish dump. It is Jesus Christ who taught the dignity of service by saying, “I am among you as a serving man,” and by getting on his hands and knees to wash his apostles’ feet. We Christians must constantly affirm at least these three truths: first, the dignity of womanhood, of childhood, of servanthood; second, the equality of all human beings, irrespective of sex, age, class, race or culture, because all human beings have been made in the image of God and are Godlike human beings; and third, the even deeper unity of all believers as fellow members of God’s family and of the Body of Christ.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last month in this discussion series on Ephesians the author began talking about the new relationships described in Ephesians 5:22-33. This month he continues with the topic of authority and submission and the reciprocal duties of each. — ED.

Ephesians 5:22—6:24 — New Relationships

The Apostle Paul has been describing, in the early chapters of the Ephesian Letter, God’s new humanity, God’s new society; he has been emphasizing the complete oneness of Jew and Gentile in Christ. We may be quite certain, therefore, that he does not now contradict himself, and destroy his own thesis. He is not now erecting new barriers of sex, age or rank, in the only society in which they have been abolished. Paul plainly affirms in Galatians 3:28 (RSV), “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you all are one in Christ Jesus.” The same truth underlies the whole Letter to the Ephesians; and on the principle of interpreting Scripture by Scripture, we must not interpret these paragraphs in such a way as to overthrow the major message of the epistle, which is God’s new society without any distinction or discrimination between us in this single new humanity.

Well, now, in the light of that, how are we to interpret this difficult teaching about submission? Submission has nothing to do with inferiority at all; it simply teaches the equality of human beings, as creatures made in the image of God, and our total oneness in Jesus Christ. Submission is not inferiority. I believe we need to grasp what Martin Luther clearly grasped; that is, the difference between persons on the one hand, and their roles or offices on the other. Husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants have equal dignity as Godlike beings, but different God-given roles. The husband, the parent, the employer, has a certain authority of office or of role to which the others must submit.

Where did the authority come from? It comes from God. The God of the Bible is a God of order in nature, in society and in the Church. An ordered society is the will of God; and in his ordering of society in the state and in the family, he has established certain authoritative roles, certain leadership roles. And since this authority, although exercised by human beings, is delegated to them by God, others are required conscientiously to submit to it.

It does not mean that the authority of husbands, parents and employers is unlimited. It does not mean that wives, children and workers arerequired to give unconditional obedience. No, the submission commanded is to God’s authority, delegated to men. Therefore if men misuse their God-given authority, and if they command what God forbids or forbid what God commands, then our duty is no longer conscientiously to submit, but conscientiously to refuse to submit. To submit in such circumstances would be to disobey God. The principle of Scripture is abundantly plain; it is that we must submit to this authority — right up to that of the state — up to the point where obedience to human authority would involve disobedience to God. Of this there are examples in Scripture: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in the Old Testament, and the Apostles Peter and John in the New Testament, refusing to obey human authority in order to obey the authority of God. But that is the exception. The rule is humble submission to God-given authority.

How is it to be used? For the benefit of others. The most striking feature of these paragraphs is that in each relationship there are reciprocal duties. True, wives are to submit to husbands, children to parents, servants to masters; and this requirement of submission presupposes an authority in the husband, the parent, the master. But — this is significant — when Paul comes to the duties of the husband or the parent or the master, in no case is it authority that he tells them to exercise. Isn’t that striking? Instead, explicitly or implicitly, he warns them against the improper use of their authority; he forbids them to exploit their position, and he commands them to give to the other party the respect they deserve and the rights which are their due. So, husbands are to love their wives and care for them. Parents are not to provoke their children, but to bring them up tenderly, responsibly. And masters are not to threaten their servants, but to treat them with justice.

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These studies are the thirteenth and fourteenth in a series on Ephesians by the Reverend John R. W. Stott. This exposition is taken by permission from “The Keswick Week 1975,” ©1975 by Marshall, Morgan & Scott, London, England.

The sign in the window read: “Boy Wanted”. Young John Simmons, though he was lazy, saw his opportunity and applied. He was quickly hired by elderly Mr. Peters. The pace was leisurely so he enjoyed the job. Toward the middle of the afternoon however, he was sent up to the attic -- a dingy place full of cobwebs and infested with mice. “You will find a long, deep box there,” explained Mr. Peters. “Please sort out the contents and see what should be saved.”

John was disappointed. It was a large container, and there seemed to be nothing in it but old junk. After a few minutes he went back to the ground floor. Asked by the proprietor if he had completed his work, he replied, “No, sir, it was dark and cold up there and I didn’t think it was worth doing.”

At closing time he was paid and told not to return. The next morning the old sign “Boy Wanted” appeared in its usual place. Crawford Hill was the next to be employed. When he was asked to tidy up the same box, however, he spent hours separating the usable nails and screws from the things to be discarded.

Suddenly he raced down the stairs all excited. “At the very bottom I found this!” he exclaimed, holding up a 20-dollar bill. At last the store owner had discovered a conscientious boy to whom he could entrust his business when he retired. Years later Mr. Peters said, “This young man, who is now my successor, found his fortune in a junk box!” Then, correcting himself, he added, “No, he actually found it in his mother’s Bible because he heeded the verse she made him memorize: ‘He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much!’”

In my years of teaching on leadership, a few questions seem to arise over and over from pastors. I recently had a round-table discussion with some pastors, and I picked out some of what I considered the best questions — questions I thought were particularly applicable to church leaders. I hope it will help you address some of the issues you and your church might be facing.

Question 1: How do I keep my focus with so many distractions?

Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is productive accomplishment. To either of these ends there must be forethought, systematic planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.

So how do you keep focused with so many distractions? Hire a top-notch assistant. This isn’t one of the most important roles in your organization; it is the most important hire in your whole organization. My assistant, Linda Eggers, is my most valuable player, period. The assistant who will change your life is one who is relational and knows how to handle people, but also knows how to keep people off your back, to keep you focused, keep you clear, and who will do all the other stuff that you don’t want to do or are unable to do.

Let me share with you some things that I determined many years ago would help me stay focused:

• I determined not to know everything.

It isn’t important for me to be the Encyclopedia Britannica. It’s the difference between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan: Jimmy Carter would stay up in the wee hours of the morning reading minutia as president, trying to consume all the facts. Ronald Reagan insisted on only knowing the most important things. He had people around him to know all the other stuff.

• I determined not to know everything first.

Some leaders say, “I want to be the first to know everything.” I like to be the last to know. In fact, I would only like to know if someone else in my organization can’t fix the problem. I believe problems should be settled at the lowest level possible, not the highest level. I believe the people who should be fixing the problems are those who are closest to it. In fact, my goal is that by the time I find out about it, it’s already been fixed. The only thing that should come to me are things that nobody else can handle.

• I determined not to be the primary source of communication.

I’m not going to be the person who everybody comes to and says, “Hey, John, what do you think?” “What’s your take on this matter?” Any meeting I’m in, my assistant is in there with me. Why? Because I don’t carry anything out — she carries it out. If memos are to be produced, she produces the memos. If meetings are to be had, she sets up the meetings. However — if you’re going to do this, it is important to not only tell your assistant decisions that you’re making, but tell them why you are making those decisions. If you tell a person the “why” behind the decision-making process, they will begin to be able to make your decisions for you.

• I determined to let someone else represent me.

I don’t attend most meetings. Why? Because Linda is in those meetings. I say, “Linda, go to those meetings. If there’s something I should know, you come out and tell me what I need to know. You can come out of an hour and a half meeting and give me two minutes and I’ve got it all figured out.”

• I determined not to let someone else determine what should have my attention or take my time.

That was a major decision for me, because as a pastor, I began pastoring thinking that my goal was to meet everybody’s need. It didn’t take me long to realize I could never do that. There are too many needs, and there are a whole bunch of people who have needs. I determined not to let someone else determine my agenda, because if someone else determines my agenda, I’m no longer leading, I’m responding.

There are five things I had to sacrifice to make this commitment:

1. Privacy

I have no privacy. Linda knows everything — she runs my finances, runs my calendar, runs my life.

2. Personal importance

People don’t check with John, they check with Linda.

3. Knowledge

I don’t know everything; I don’t plan on knowing everything.

4. Doing it “my way”

When you have other people doing your stuff, it’s not done your way; it’s done their way.

5. “The 2% factor”

These are things that could have been done just a little bit better if I’d done them myself, but I didn’t do them myself, I delegated them.

On the contrary, I gained several things from this commitment as well:

1. Better leaders

2. Better teammates

3. Better results

4. Better skills

5. More productive time

6. A higher return on my gifts

Question 2: How do I effectively lead people who are much older than me and sometimes lack respect for me because of this generation gap?

When I was 22 years old, I had graduated from college one Saturday, the next Saturday I got married, and two Sundays later I was at my first church – where the average age was 52. The people were 30 years older than me. Now that you understand that I’ve been there, here are four things I didn’t do:

1. Demand respect

2. Worry about my youth or inexperience

3. Try to lead the congregation immediately

4. Play the positional leadership card (i.e. “Respect me because I’m the pastor.”)

I did do four things:

1. I listened to people and became a consensus leader.

2. I developed a solid relationship with influencers.

3. I became a catalyst for growth.

If you can grow the church, all the new people will let you lead them because you’re the only leader they’ve ever known. So, to get the leadership reins of a church, grow it.

4. I borrowed the influence of the leaders.

I went to the influencers and got their opinions, and then I would say, “Here’s what we have been talking about, and (the influencer) thinks this would be a good idea.” They didn’t think it was a good idea because I said it, they thought it was a good idea because that influencer said it.

Question 3: What is the single greatest personal challenge to my ministry effectiveness?

The answer is very simple — me. D. L. Moody once said, “If I kicked the person responsible for most of my problems, I wouldn’t be able to sit down for weeks.” What are my personal challenges?

1. Success

The greatest hindrance to tomorrow’s success is today’s success. Once you become successful doing something, you try to hold on to it.

2. Satisfaction

The feeling of “I’ve arrived. I’ve made it.”

3. Motives

This is the number one failure in all leaders’ lives. Why do I do what I do?

4. Possessions

Do I own them or do they own me? When you’re generous, possessions don’t own you, you own them and purposely pass them on.

5. Independence

After a while you get the feeling you don’t need anybody, and I have found that when you lose accountability, you lose anointing.

6. Recognition

You’ve got to get over it. In the beginning, I wasn’t as bad as people thought I was; today I’m not as good as people think I am. Keep that balance in your life.

Question 4: Since the Inner Circle is so important, who should be there?

The Law of the Inner Circle states that those closest to you will determine the level of your success. Seven questions to ask yourself:

1. Do they hold a strategic position in the church?

2. Do they bring a complementary gift to the table?

3. Do they hold a high influence level in the congregation?

4. Do they have maturity and excellence?

5. Are they a proven asset to the congregation and me?

6. Do they fit with the other Inner Circle members?

7. Do they make the other Inner Circle members better?

Question 5: How do I keep myself motivated?

1. Keep my sense of calling.

I rise up every day and I say, “I was born for this.”

2. My gift mix matches my calling.

My calling asks for me to do things that I do well.

3. What I do, I love to do.

I lead, I create, I communicate, and I network — I love to do those four things, so of course I’m motivated to do what I love to do.

4. I don’t do things that de-motivate me.

Delegate the things that pull away your motivation to somebody else who’s gifted in those areas.

5. My team encourages and helps me.

Because I’ve spent a lot of time with the team, they’re my best friends.

6. I believe what I do makes a difference now and forever.

It’s making a difference today, but it’s got eternal issues involved in the process.

Question 6: What is the most effective way to influence the business community leaders to join the vision of a local church?

1. Connect yourself to the business community.

Get connected to the business community until they know you as a person, not a pastor.

2. Connect your church to the business community.

One of the reasons that we do the Maximum Impact Simulcast every spring is to have an event in a local church where business people can come so that they can be connected to the church.

3. Strategically build relationships with them.

Give them resources or have business luncheons.

4. Have a vision that appeals to them.

Most business people are bored at church because there’s no dream, no vision. Your church must have something that captures the imagination of a business person.

5. Maximize their gifts by placing them strategically in the church.

Get them on a think team. Get them around a room every month and strategize; get them to engage their minds into how to build the church just like they would to build their business.

6. Give them ownership within the church.

They’re used to having ownership — let them run something.

7. Challenge them to move from success to significance.

Question 7: How do I raise my church off a plateau?

Here are seven answers:

1. A church plateau means a leadership plateau – examine yourself and other leaders.

2. Bring in fresh eyes to see the reasons for the plateau.

3. Do not accept excuses.

4. You will have to change leaders and the remaining leaders will have to change if you’re on a plateau.

5. Become a catalyst for momentum.

6. What is the most natural way to start growing? Find out what’s easy for the church to do and get some wins under your belt in the easiest area first.

7. Possess a strong belief in the future of the church.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet fighter pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured and spent six years in a Communist prison. He survived that ordeal and now lectures about lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”

“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied.

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!”

Plumb assured him, “It sure did -- if your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today.”

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform -- a Dixie cup hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. I wondered how many times I might have passed him on the Kitty Hawk. I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you,' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.”

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who's packing your parachute? Everyone has someone and many times more than one who provides what they need to make it through the day. Recognize and be gracious to people who pack your parachute!”

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TruthOrFiction.com found Captain Charles Plum, who is now a popular motivational speaker, and asked him whether this story was true. Captain Plum assured us that it was. You can visit his website at www.charlesplum.com

A lady was walking homeward from a shopping excursion, carrying two or three packages in her hand, while by her side walked her little boy. The child was weary; the little feet began to lag, and soon the wailing cry arose:

“I’m too tired. I want somebody to let me ride home.”

The mother looked about her, but there was no street-car going in her direction. She took one of her parcels and gave it to the child.

“Mama is tired, too, and Willie must help her to get home. She is glad she has such a brave little man to take care of her, and help her to carry the bundles.”

Instantly the little fellow straightened, his step quickened, and he reached for the offered parcel, saying stoutly:

“I’ll carry ‘em all, mama.”

It was only the old, old lesson that our Father is always teaching us, -- “Is the homeward way weary? Try to lighten another’s burden, and the loving service shall smooth your own path.”

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Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright July 28, 1898, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #20928]