Tag: servanthood

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Servant Leadership

Jesus had been telling his disciples about his coming death and resurrection. Instead of expressing concern or showing interest in what he had said, they began to discuss among themselves who would be the greatest in the kingdom of the Lord. They were more interested in power and prestige.

It has been said that the chief occupational hazard of leadership is pride. Jesus contrasted their appetite for earthly honor and power with his humility. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Jesus calls his disciples to follow him in humble service, not in ostentatious displays of power.

Oswald Sanders wrote, “True greatness, true leadership, is achieved, not by reducing men to one’s service, but in giving oneself in selfless service to them.” The word “serve” that Jesus used of himself and his disciples, was the common word for household slave. How many of Jesus’ 21st century disciples think of themselves this way?

Someone has said the test of whether a Christian has the attitude of a servant is how he reacts when he is treated like one!

Gordon MacDonald told the story of a gifted and privileged man from India who went to England to obtain his education. He completed a doctorate from the London School of Economics, after which he spent time in the ashram of the Mahatma Ghandi. He was there to receive guidance from Ghandi about his future work.

The rule of the ashram was that every person was to help with the maintenance of the community. He was given the assignment of cleaning lavatories. He protested to Ghandi that as a high-caste Brahman such a menial task was beneath him. He complained, “I hold a doctorate! . . . I am capable of doing great things. Why do you waste my time and talents on cleaning toilets?”

Ghandi answered, “I know of your capacity to do great things, but I have yet to discover your capacity to do little things. So, if you wish to seek my guidance and blessing, you will have to observe all the rules of the ashram.”

That is what our Lord Jesus was teaching his disciples. “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:42-44).

John Stott wrote, “In all this emphasis on service, the disciple is only seeking to follow and reflect his teacher, for though he was lord of all Jesus became the servant of all. Putting on the apron of servitude, he got down on his knees to wash the apostles’ feet. Now he tells us to do as he did, to clothe ourselves with humility and in love to serve one another.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Called to Servanthood

It is hard to account for the impact of Paul the apostle on world history. How does one explain the phenomenal influence of this single Jewish rabbi who became a Christian missionary? What motivated the man who wrote one-fourth of the NewTestament and who planted the Christian gospel on the European continent?

One answer might be that he considered himself to be the servant of Jesus. “Slave analogies are the background scenery that fills Paul’s imagination,” wrote Mark Fairchild and Jordan Monson. In a recent article in Christianity Today, they point out how Paul uses the language of slavery to describe his calling and mission.

“Paul is obsessed with the vocabulary of slavery. In his writings, he speaks constantly of it: Of bondage. Of freedom, Of shackles. Of exodus. Of citizenship. The two most common openings to Paul’s letters are, ‘Paul, an apostle of Christ’ and ‘Paul, a slave of Christ.'” They even call attention to an ancient theory that Paul may have  been born to parents who had been slaves and who had gained Roman citizenship through manumission.

Being a servant of Jesus Christ was not what Paul had originally planned to do with his life. He had begun as a promising young scholar studying theology in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, a leading teacher of Jewish law. His career as a zealous Pharisee was interrupted by an appearance of the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus. There he received his calling to be the slave of Christ.

He referred to this as “the commission God gave me” in Colossians 1:25. The word “commission” is a translation of a Greek word for household steward. In Roman culture, this word was used of a trusted slave who had been given an assignment as a household manager. It would have been an important  position of great responsibility.

He also called himself a servant of the gospel (Colossians 1:23) and of the church (Colossians 1:25). The Greek word for “servant” in this context was used broadly in the first century for a household slave who was responsible for a variety of domestic duties. The word was later applied to church officers (deacons) who assisted in the ministry of caring for the needs of the members.

This same word is used repeatedly in Paul’s letters as an admonition to all Christians to serve the Lord Jesus by serving one another in love. If we claim to believe in Jesus and to follow him, then we have been called, like Paul, to be servants. Paul’s life, as a servant of Jesus, is a pattern for us.

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ,” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1. “Imitate me,” he said in 1 Corinthians 4:16. “Join with others in following my example,” he wrote in Philippians 3:17. Who on earth says things like this? Only someone whose example is worth following: a servant of the Son of God.

The test of whether we are truly servants is how we react when we are treated as servants.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Be a Friend

I read about a man whose lawnmower had broken down. He struggled for a long time to get it running. Nothing worked. His neighbor appeared unexpectedly with a handful of tools.

“May I help?” he asked. In twenty minutes he had the mower functioning beautifully.

“Thanks a million,” the man said. “Say, what do you do with all those tools?”

“I make friends,” he answered. “Call me anytime.”

Making friends is a great way to share our faith. In today’s world it may be the best way. After all, how much attention do we pay to addressed-to-occupant junk mail or to bumper stickers about Jesus? How do we react when strangers show up at the door uninvited?

Real friendship is different. By building friendships we build trust. When people trust us, we can freely talk about what’s important in our lives.

Summertime is an opportunity to make new friends. We see our neighbors out-of-doors. We can fire up the grill and invite them over for burgers. Or invite them for a walk in the neighborhood. Or a round of golf. Or a Labor Day block party. Or PTA back-to-school events.

I once heard Howard Hendricks say, “I’ve never found a verse of scripture that tells unbelievers to go to church. But I have found lots of verses that tell Christians to penetrate the world.”

He quoted pollster George Gallup as saying, “Never before in the history of the United States has the gospel of Jesus Christ been professed by so many while at the same time making so little impact upon society.”

If we who follow Jesus will simply do what he told us to do and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we can make a difference in society, and for eternity. The key is friendship, building relationships of trust.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Not Me, God!

One of the great privileges of serving the Lord, has been for me to be a member of the executive board of ABWE International. This mission agency provides opportunities, resources and services to over one thousand missionaries in 71 countries worldwide.

I have just returned home from a board meeting at our international headquarters in Harrisburg, PA. We engaged in three days of prayer, strategic planning and receiving reports of what God is doing through his missionaries around the world.

The Lord is still calling out workers for his spiritual harvest. These people are being sent by their churches eager to do evangelism, discipleship,  and church planting. Mission boards such as ABWE support those sending churches by enabling their missionaries to accomplish God’s mission.

They are being called by God to proclaim the saving gospel of Jesus Christ through relationship-building, medicine, education, literature, youth ministries, leadership development, and a host of other creative initiatives. They are being called to incarnational ministry.

That is what I spoke about when I addressed the board in a devotional message on the first day of our meetings. My talk was based upon Mark 10:45, “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.” Jesus was informing his disciples that they were being sent into the world on the same mission and with the same motives as his own(John 20:21).

The Lord used the title “Son of Man” for himself to identify with humanity. In the same way his missionaries seek to identify with the people to whom they go, learning their language and immersing themselves in their culture, yet without sacrificing their personal identity and authenticity.

The Lord Jesus came to serve, not to be served. Likewise his disciples are called to ministries of servanthood. The word “serve” Jesus used was the word for the lowliest household slave. I wonder how many of Jesus’ 21st century disciples see themselves this way? Someone has said that the test of whether a Christian has the attitude of a servant is how he reacts when he is treated like one!

Then the Lord spoke of his death. In my talk I reminded the group of the sacrifices of missionaries like Adoniram Judson who, when he proposed marriage to Ann Hasseltine said, “Give your hand to me, and go with me to the jungles of Asia, and there die with me in the cause of Christ.” We remembered together the deaths of missionary Roni Bowers and her daughter Charity whose missionary flight was shot out of the sky in 2001 in a case of mistaken identity. It was a drug interdiction gone wrong and our ABWE missionaries died.

What a tragedy, we say! But isn’t that what missionaries sign on for when they say “yes” to the Great Commission of Jesus to give their lives for the gospel? In fact all Christians are called to die to the world, to die to self, to die to sin, with the real possibility of dying physically for Christ.

Several years ago I wrote the following lines, imagining a response to the call of God.

Not Me, God!

Not me. Surely you don’t mean me when you say “pray.” After all, you’re the Lord of the harvest. What can my prayers do, when it’s all up to you?

Not me. Surely you don’t mean me when you say, “share.” After all, you own it all anyway. What can my giving do, when it’s all up to you?

Not me. Surely you don’t mean me when you say, “go.” After all, there’s so much to do here. What can my going do, when it’s all up to you?

Not me. Surely you don’t mean me when you say, “tell.” After all, I am shy and ungifted. What can my speaking do when it’s all up to you?

Not me. Surely you don’t mean me when you say, “love.” After all, I have only so much love. But wait — I think I see, the word I speak, the place I seek,  the wealth I share, the act of prayer, the love I give … is what you gave to me.

Pastor Randy Faulkner