To let you know where we will be going in the coming weeks, I will begin
a four-message series next Sunday titled Music
of the Heart. Each message
will be based on a song that carries a spiritual truth. They are not what we would normally
refer to as sacred music, and that is
intentional. They are pop songs
that are favorites of mine, and one of the reasons why I chose to use pop songs
is because I believe that we sometimes create too much of a division between
the sacred and the secular. I
believe all of God’s creation is sacred, regardless of whether or not we see a
particular part of that creation as sacred or not. Music, in particular, is sacred because of the way it can
move us and touch our hearts. Few
things in life carry the power of music, and I believe that is part of God’s
intent for music. The songs I will
use are – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,
by The Hollies. The spiritual
theme is that we are our brother’s (and sister’s) keeper. You’re
My Best Friend, by Queen, and the theme of friendship, from the story of
David and Jonathan. One, by U2, and the theme of unity, as
spoken to by Jesus at the Last Supper.
The Long and Winding Road, by
the Beatles, and the them of the wandering path that our lives sometimes takes,
but the way in which God leads us along that path.
Upon the conclusion of that series
we will move into a series of messages titled The Great Commands, in which we will study some of the great
commands of Scripture, such as Micah 6:8 – He
has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. From there, it will be a series about
ministering to others in various situations.
Today we
ordain Diane Bland and Julie Mulcahy as elders, so I will use the occasion to
speak about the importance of leadership, with a message titled The Gift of Leadership.
Our
text for the morning is John 13:1-9, a familiar passage where Jesus
washes the feet of the disciples –
1 It was just before the Passover
Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go
to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the
end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the
devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all
things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4 so he got up from the meal, took off his
outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5 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.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now
what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash
my feet.”
Jesus
answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just
my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
There are so many things we can say
about leadership and the qualities of a leader –
A leader should model humility. Leadership can produce inflated egos –
or feed egos already inflated – and that is when problems can become apparent,
especially in churches. There have
been too many tragic examples of church leaders who have struggled, and at the
root of their problems is often a lack of humility.
A leader should lead by example.
A leader must be committed. Leadership is not for the faint of
heart, and it is not for those who are unwilling to make a commitment to what
leadership asks.
A leader cannot be easily
encouraged. There have been
numerous times over the years when I wanted to quit. On some occasions I prayed and asked God to give me
something else to do, but when things are difficult, that is the time to become
recommitted.
A leader must be willing to make
sacrifices. Time is certainly one
of the areas of sacrifice, as being in a position of leadership requires a lot
of time.
A leader must have thick skin. Criticism often comes with being a
leader, and none of us enjoy criticism, but we must learn how to deal with it
and not become discouraged by it.
A leader must have a strong prayer
life. There are times when being a
leader is very lonely, and a leader must have a place to turn in order to find
support and strength, and prayer will certainly provide this.
There are many more qualities that
can be mentioned, but I will focus on four this morning –
1. Leadership Is A Gift.
Leadership is
important in every area of life, be it business, political, or spiritual. Leadership, however, is a somewhat
elusive and rare gift. While there
are many positions of leadership, not every position is filled by someone who
possesses the gift of leadership.
And make no mistake about it – leadership is a gift.
When I say that leadership is a
gift, I mean that in the expected sense, as a spiritual gift possessed by the
person who is gifted to be a leader.
But there is another way in which leadership is a gift, and that is what
I want us to think about this morning.
Leadership just a gift in the sense of being a talent or an ability, as
we might say that someone has a talent for music, or art, or athletics;
leadership is also a gift to the people the leader serves.
One of the ways in which leadership
is a gift to people is through the providing of a vision and focus. When I was on vacation last week we
were visiting a beach one day. I
was sitting on the beach, reading a book, and became aware of music coming from
all directions. Many people on the
beach had radios and music devices with them and there was a lot of music. I would find my ear drifting toward a
song, then another song, and another song, making it hard not only to
concentrate on my book, but even to listen to just one of the songs. I thought about how that was analogous
to what a leader often faces.
There are so many things that come our way in terms of opportunities –
good and worthy opportunities – but there it is not possible to take up every
opportunity. At times, the many
opportunities can be like trying to take a drink out of a fire hydrant. Imagine turning on a fire hydrant and
then trying to take a drink out of the rushing water – it would be very
difficult! Sometimes, the best
thing a leader can do is to say that is a
very good opportunity, but we simply cannot take it on at this time. We are involved in so many good and
worthy endeavors already that we cannot stretch our resources that thin. This is an important part of providing
vision. We are all familiar with Proverbs
29:18, which tells us that where
there is no vision, the people perish. Vision provides focus, and focus allows individuals and
congregations, to better use their gifts and abilities.
2. Leadership Seeks the Person; the Person Does Not Seek
Leadership.
In terms of spiritual leadership, I believe a
true leader never seeks a position of leadership, but the position seeks the
person. Leadership finds the
person.
I was
given some very good advice years ago, when a trusted member of a church told
me how to find the true leaders in a congregation. Don’t look at the list
of leaders they told me; instead,
find out who it is that people listen to when they speak. The people who have
the ear of the congregation are the true leaders, regardless of what might be
listed on a piece of paper. I
have found that advice to be very accurate. In the churches I have served, I have watched and observed
in order to discover those leaders.
People search out leadership
opportunities in business. People
search out leadership opportunities in politics. In spiritual endeavors, however, we do not seek out leadership,
but allow leadership to seek us.
It is not appropriate, in my opinion, for a person to seek a position of
spiritual leadership because that is not the way that spiritual leadership
operates. We recognize spiritual leadership and then follow that leadership; we do not award spiritual leadership to a
person simply because they are seeking it.
People are often surprised when asked to serve
in positions of leadership, which is exactly how it should be. Peter was not looking to be an
apostle. He was just some guy
trying to make a living as a fisherman.
The same was true of James, John, and Andrew. Matthew was counting his money in his tax office or whatever
else he did in his office. And
Paul! What was Paul doing? He was out to persecute followers of
Jesus! Not only was he not looking
to be an apostle, he was out to rid the world of followers of Jesus!
3. Leadership Relies Upon Power, But
It Is the Power of Servanthood.
Power is, obviously, a major part of much of
the leadership in our world.
Our
Scripture text is one of the best examples of what we call servant leadership.
Servant leadership is not the same as the kind of leadership we find in
politics and business. Servant
leadership is found in positions of spiritual leadership, and as it is based in
spirituality it functions according to different principles than other forms of
leadership. Servant leadership,
for example, does not view power in the same way as political leadership. Political leadership operates on power
– the kind of power that operates by a majority of votes and, when necessary,
coercion. Spiritual leadership
also operates on power, but a different type of power – never coercive, but the
power of example. When Jesus knelt
and washed the feet of the disciples he was demonstrating, by example, how they
were to live and how they were to treat one another. It was the power of Jesus’ example – as a servant – that
taught the disciples about how they were to lead others. If, for instance, a leader wants people
to be compassionate, the leader must be compassionate. If the leader wants people to be kind,
the leader must be kind. If the
leader wants people to be generous, the leader must be generous. A good example for us this morning is
Laine’s leadership with Vacation Bible School. Look around the sanctuary at all the decorations, and
throughout the building. Laine
does not ask people to come and do the work while she stays at home; she is
hearing providing the example of leadership, investing many hours of work.
This is the type of leadership that
is in short supply these days, unfortunately.
Jesus often gave examples of
servant leadership when he made statements such as, Matthew 20:16, the last will be first, and the first
will be last and Mark 8:35, whoever
wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and
for the gospel will save it.
He certainly demonstrated servant leadership when he washed the feet of
the disciples. When Peter
protested that Jesus should not be washing feet, it was probably because Peter
was struggling to accept the role of being a servant in his own life. It is not easy to be a servant. It is, oftentimes, easier to adopt the
types of leadership that exalt us to positions of privilege and security, but
servant leadership is what we are called to, as modeled by Jesus.
4. Leadership Is Hard.
Leadership has always been hard,
but in the hyper-partisan, divided times in which we live, it’s become even
harder.
When I was an associate minister,
back in the 80s, there were many times when I observed the decisions and
difficulties placed upon our minister.
On many occasions I thought to myself, I am so glad I do not have to deal with that. Upon leaving that position, and
entering senior minister positions, I learned what it was like to be in a
position where I am faced with difficult decisions and difficult circumstances
that I cannot avoid. Personally, I
have often found leadership to be a heavy mantle to carry. Going into ministry, I did not think of
myself as a leader, although ministers are required to function as a leader,
whether or not they envision themselves in that role. I think of myself more as a pastor than as a leader. Understanding that a pastor is also a
leader, I believe my natural gifts and tendencies gravitate toward
encouragement, caring, and comforting, so stepping into the role of leadership
is not what comes natural to me.
Don’t
be surprised that leadership is difficult. Don’t be discouraged.
Don’t take it personally.
Don’t blame yourself when things are difficult. It’s not your fault that leadership is
difficult; it’s just reality. Do
you think Peter found it easy? Do
you think Paul found it easy? Do
you think Moses found it easy? They did not. Exodus
17:8-13 contains a story about one of the difficulties Moses faced as a leader
–
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the
Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in
my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron
and Hur went to the top of the hill.
11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but
whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him
and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the
other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
I like the image of Aaron and Hur holding up
the hands of Moses when he became tired.
As leaders, we depend upon the support, care, and prayers of
others. Take the time to encourage
leaders and assure them of your prayers.
Last month, on the 23rd, I came to
the 38th anniversary of my ordination. I remember that service very well, and in particular I remember
the laying on of hands portion of the service. I remember the weight of those hands upon me, and when I
looked at my ordination certificate the other day, I realized that of the
twelve people who signed it, only two are still alive. The others have joined what Hebrews
12:1 describes as that great cloud of
witnesses that surrounds us.
Even though most of the individuals who took part in my ordination are
now gone, they continue to mold and shape my life in important ways. And when I think of the weight of their
hands upon me, all those years ago, I think about the ways in which they
continue to lift me up and to encourage me, and that in a spiritual sense,
their hands are still upon me.
Leaders are never alone. Never. However difficult it gets, leaders are never alone. I am grateful to God for that
knowledge, and I am grateful for The Gift
of Leadership.
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