The Christian Leader - Part 3
The Christian leader is going to look different than a corporate, sports, military, government or institutional leader. If they don’t something has gone awry. The Christian is motivated by an entirely different set of circumstances and desired outcomes. (I am not sure the word ‘outcome’ is the correct word to use – it smacks of production values, something largely antithetical to Christ’s kingdom.)
Leadership is not Positional. If leadership is a gift, if it is by example, then it can never be positionally oriented.
The disciples jockeyed for position, for pre-eminence – constantly. Some wanted to be at his right hand in his kingdom, ruling of course, and they sent their mother to intercede for them, expecting the emotional wiles of a mother to sway Jesus. But he used situations like this to disabuse them of the world’s notion of, and clamour for, power. This may be how the world uses power, for the sake of privilege, notoriety and subjugation, but not so his disciples. They had to be different, otherwise what is the difference.
“And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great one’s exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” (Matthew 20:24-2).
Their mandate was to lead by example, avoiding lording it over the life, the well-being of others. The indignancy of the ten is about lost opportunity, and therefore, hardly a righteous reaction.
What isn’t being said is that people shouldn’t or can’t lead. That is the way of chaos and anarchy, or sentimentality and wrong understanding. What is being said is that a Christian leader doesn’t exercise power over people; they exercise servanthood and example as their means of leading. They are still leading but drawing from an entirely different well. Position, privilege and the exercise of enforced authority don’t wash. Where they do the example being followed is not that of Jesus - the servant-saviour.
This example is found in the three synoptic gospels, pointing out its importance, and the impression it left on the memories of Matthew, Mark and Luke, because it was, still is, so countercultural, so unexpected.
Part 3 of 3