Servant Hearted Leadership
I was invited to share a message with the FGA youth group in Gujrat on the topic of leadership, so this is what I shared.
Texts John 13:3-5; Matthew 20:20-28
Matthew 20:20-28
A Mother’s Request
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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Pakistan is quite similar to Israel was at the time of Jesus in some ways. Here, you have roads made with dirt, and people walk around in sandals. Pretty quickly, your feet become dirty.
In the time of Jesus, it was the job of the lowliest servant to wash the feet of the master and the guests. What does it mean in Pakistani culture, to kneel down and touch another person’s feet? It is not something that is done, it is dirty, it is considered to be making yourself humble, and saying the other is higher than you.
John 13:3-15
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, [1] but is completely clean. And you [2] are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
In this passage of scripture, we see that Jesus does this low job for the disciples. Peter has a similar reaction to many Pakistanis would, in fact to what most Christians would – “No, don’t wash my feet!” Of course, Peter knows that Jesus is the Messiah, he is his teacher, his master, a great prophet from God, he does not want to allow it.
And we know that Jesus was so much more than this. The Bible tells us that he was God come as a man. He was king. But when Jesus came, he was not born in a palace. He lived as an ordinary man, and he spent his ministry serving people.
In fact this is the original meaning of ministry. It is about serving and helping others, not about the titles and positions.
So, the king of Heaven humbled himself and came to Earth, served us and died a shameful death for us. And he tells us that we ought to serve one another.
Do you want to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven? So serve others. Do you want to want to be a good leader? Then be humble like Jesus and serve others.
The point is not that we must literally wash feet every day, this is just the example that Jesus gave us, a picture of humble service, and doing lowly jobs. If we limit ourselves only to foot washing, we miss the point. If you want to be a leader and if you want to serve God, then you should not think that any task is too low for you, or any person is too unclean to serve.
I would like to share an example of one of my old leaders. For many years my home church did not have its own building, and we had to rent halls. One place that we could afford was used as a nightclub on Saturday nights. Every Sunday morning, my pastor, his family and church elders would come in early and clean the toilets and sweep up the cigarette butts from the floor.
Many years after that, when we had built a building, he and his family were still on the duty roster for cleaning the church.
Another way he was an example was that he would take some men from the church and go into the forest in winter to collect wood for those in our fellowship who could not afford it. He was a mechanic before his time in ministry, and he would do grease and oil changes and repairs for people’s cars in the church. No job was too low. At the same time, he was travelling to different countries doing mission trips, preaching to hundreds, giving training to many pastors. But when he came home, he still did these lowly jobs. In this way, he was a good example of Christ to myself and others.
So this is what it is to lead and to follow Jesus Christ. Be humble and serve others, just like Jesus.
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