Servant Leadership

I have been alive long enough to witness many kinds of leadership styles. I have seen the leaders with what seem to be surgically attached suits, neatly coiffed hair, toting a briefcase and having the ever-present smile and handshake. I have seen the ones who bark out orders. I have witnessed the ones who try and satisfy everyone and "keep the peace." I have been around the ones who take a "hands-off" approach, allowing those they lead much leverage to do as they see fit. I have heard about, or read about, all kinds of approaches, styles, principles, and experiences for all kinds of situations.

One principle that I believe never changes: A God-led leader is a servant.

Take a look at 1 Kings 12, excerpts taken from The Message. When the new king, Reheboam, heard from the people about the work-loads and lightening up on them in comparison with his father, Solomon, he sought the advice of his father's experienced advisors. They told him, "If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they'll end up doing anything for you" (verse 7).

He didn't like that. He grew up in Solomon's household. He liked the stuff those workloads resulted in. So, he went to his friends. They told him, "Tell them this: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. If you think life under my father was hard, you haven't seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I'll beat you bloody with chains'" (verse 11).

Reheboam followed the advice of the latter and instantly lost the 4/5 of the kingdom he inherited from Solomon. Eight tribes wound up under Jereboam's control, a man whom Solomon tried to assassinate. But Reheboam, rather than follow the advise of the prophet who addressed him in 1 Kings 11, took an equally selfish tact as Reheboam from a different angle. He thought to himself, "It won't be long before the kingdom is reunited under David. As soon as these people resume worship at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, they'll start thinking of Reheboam king of Judah as their ruler. Then they'll kill me and go back to Reheboam" (verses 26-27). Jereboam wound up building two golden calves, telling the people that these were the gods that led them out of Egypt. He built shrines, and designed festivals to replace those God had required people to follow in Jerusalem.

Two leadership styles were on display, while only one was advised by God: (1) Autocratic, intimidating leadership; and (3) God-led, servant leadership. Two are self-absorbed, while the third is self-less. Two view leadership as ownership or manipulation, while the third sees leadership as stewardship.

Servant leaders have the best interests of people in mind. They see their responsibilities as stewards of whatever God has given them leadership over. They put a God-given vision before people and serve people to help them accomplish it. They respond to people, and they are compassionate. They work things out rather than tell people what to do. People love to work with a servant leader because they know that a servant leader has their back.

My desire is to be a servant leader. I know there are hiccups along the way, because there will always be that foolish advisor in the back of my head telling me to do it differently. I feel it is crucial for servant leaders to thus surround themselves with others who hold them accountable to God's vision for their leadership and to being a servant. My ultimate goal as a servant leader is to be led by God to serve as Christ served people.

Lead by self-ambition, intimidation, or placation, reap rebellion. Lead by serving, lead to God, and reap peace and prosperity that builds up people and honors God.

War!

A day that will "live in infamy"--December 7, 1942, the day that the Empire of Japan bombed the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Such an act was unmistakeable. This was war!

September 11, 2001--the day in my lifetime that I have vivid memories of that will also "live in infamy." It was a declaration of a different type of war, and really a war that had been ongoing and remains ongoing.

In war, there is very little middle-ground. Oh sure, there will always be countries who remain "neutral," even in a "World" war that may directly affect them. We get the phrase, "I'm Switzerland here," during conflicts as a testament to determined neutrality.

There are times, however, when taking a stand, and taking a side, becomes necessary. Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 12. Take a look, from The Message, at Verse 30: "This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse."

The acts and the teachings of Jesus in Matthew very much revolve around the Kingdom of God. As such, Jesus's very living presence in the world was an invasion, a frontal attack on the enemy, Satan, on his "home turf." His weapons were very non-conventional:

• Teaching people
• Healing people
• Casting out demons
• Decreeing justice and hope.

Where people stumbled in the ignorance of Satan's devising, Jesus taught the truth, lifting the veil of ignorance. Where people suffered under the results of sin--sickness, injustice, hopelessness--Jesus fought with healing and decreeing justice, giving hope where there was none. Where Satan controlled people, inhabiting and torturing them, Jesus cast him and his legions out, freeing them from unimaginable oppression.

This was His Father's will. "I've placed my Spirit on him; he'll decree justice to the nations... Before you know it, his justice will triumph; the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers" (from verses 15-21).

When you choose the side of Jesus--and remember, being a non-combatant is not an option--he even calls you family. "Obedience is thicker than blood," he says in verse 50.

Christ has declared war on the enemy of souls. He calls on us to join his side, to even fight with him. Here's the good news: The enemy may still fight, but he is defeated. Even a dead snake can bite you, but... he's dead! You can only be bitten by a dead snake if you put yourself under his nose.

Christ teaches us... do the will of the Father. Teach people of the character of our God of love and His desire to have us in His family. Extend the touch of Jesus, believing that He works through us as we do this. Speak love, hope, and justice into someone's life and do what you can to deliver these things. 

The defeated enemy fights and wants you to share in his defeat. The victor fights and wants you in His eternal family. Seems like the choice is clear.

Success: What you want? Or what God intends?

"You can be anything you want!"

"Hard work pays!"

"Go after the church/lifestyle/home you want!"

Some of that sounds good, doesn't it? We pump our kids full of messages of success and how success is achieved all during their growing years. We encourage hard work and determination. We build up a limitless bank of opportunities available to them.

I sometimes wonder if the messages we send to our children are the kinds of messages Solomon received. He was raised a prince, a future king. He was given wisdom beyond what any other human would ever experience. He could, literally, do whatever he wanted. He knew that he was going to be the king one day, inheriting a fabulous monarchy established by his father, David.

It all seemed to be going well. He was sought after for his wisdom, admired for his wealth and his unique ability to obtain it. Dignitaries sought him for his counsel and knowledge in many areas. By all accounts, he had it made and was blessed!

Then comes 1 Kings 11. I think of a couple of overused cliches. "The higher they climb, the further they fall," for instance. Solomon was "obsessed with women." He married women from all the nations surrounding Israel, nations who worshipped false gods, nations God expressly commanded Israel to have little to do with (or even to destroy, originally). God's own Name was to be protected, and Israel was to bless by showing the true God to be different than these false deities that required horrific things of their worshippers. He was to be attractive for His goodness and love, for the value of human dignity and His creation, and for the promise of redeeming the world in a way no other god was able.

But Solomon fell. God said to him, "I'm going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won't do it in your lifetime."

To the one to whom 10 of the tribes was to be given, Jereboam, was given the promise that was very similar to what was given to David and to Solomon: "If you listen to what I tell you and live the way I show you and do what pleases me, following directions and obeying orders as my servant David did, I'll stick with you no matter what. I'll build you a kingdom as solid as the one I built for David. Israel will be yours! I am bringing pain and trouble on David's descendants, but the trials won't last forever."

Assimilation to surrounding influences outside of God's directives and community is a dangerous game to play. Playing political games and relenting to personal desires, and using one's power to do it, yields disastrous compromise. With great influence comes great responsibility: The intent of Godly influence should be to bless the world as God desires, and to make God known.

Solomon used his power to consolidate his power, work for political gain, and satisfy his lusts, and it led him away from God and caused him to drag God's great Name through the muck.

Whatever influence you may have, what is the intention of using it? Is it Godly? Is it driven by His mission to save humanity, by Christ's commission to make disciples? Anything less than this, including using it to satisfy one's own preferences for "appropriate worship" of God, or to realize the "Great American Dream," or anything else with self and the building up of self as the primary focus, falls short and leads down a path with a bad end.

May the unfortunately lesson of Solomon lead us to something different and God-honoring. Godly intent with God-given influence leads to Godly success.