Page 61 - BMIN191 Beginnning Internship

The Nature of Ministry 61

the Master illustrated who He was and what He expected of them. Their thrones
would be achieved through intense persecution and even their own violent
deaths. Before they would be first, they would be last.
This is the core understanding of leadership that differs sharply from modern
thought. Those who would be great choose the place of a servant and are later
exalted at the initiative of another. This was the path that Jesus chose. He left His
place in heaven and took the place of a servant. Then, submitting to the violence of
wicked men, Jesus died for the sins of all humans. The apostle Paul writes that God
the Father then exalted Christ and established His throne forever (Philippians 2).
2 In what way does a Unfortunately, the servant model is easily neglected as a minister rises in
minister’s rise to prominence prominence. Good work in a small church brings opportunities in a larger one.
often work against the call to And further excellence opens other doors and brings more sources of laud,
servant leadership?
admiration, and authority. Soon it seems more natural to be served than to serve.
The higher a minister rises among people, the more he or she must listen for that
inner voice of humility.
Discovering a Process
Jesus’ words made little sense to His disciples. When He wrapped himself
in the towel and began to wash their feet, Peter refused Him. He could not
understand why the Master was doing that. Jesus told Peter that if he would not
allow himself to be part of the demonstration of servanthood, then he had no part
in the kingdom Christ was bringing.
We must understand the imperative in those words. Servanthood is not an
optional approach to life in the kingdom of Christ; it is the kingdom. Each servant’s
position is to reject other models of leadership and offer himself or herself as Jesus
did—completely for the benefit of others. This journey is not simple because it
includes accepting things that are uncomfortable and unreasonable. For instance,
a minister must be committed to God yet be cognizant that he or she is not elected
for God’s service because of some measure of worthiness. Moses lost sight of this
reality for a moment, and it cost him the Promised Land.
The servant of God must be committed to people. While the ministry is filled
with many tasks, the work of the ministry is people. A servant is identified by those
he or she serves. Repeatedly, Jesus used the analogy of a shepherd when describing
His role. A shepherd generally operates in obscurity, but the shepherd’s value is
known best by the sheep. That value is proven by the consistency and depth of
the care lavished on them. A good shepherd will lay down his or her life for those
sheep. In the secular model, leaders look for followers who will demonstrate that
kind of loyalty to them, but Jesus has set a different standard.

Model and Mentor

Jesus, The Ultimate Model
We have already seen much of Jesus’ example in modeling servant leadership.
Some of the unhappiness a minister faces comes from considering what he or she
could have been had a different life been chosen. While ministers are attracted to
many of the same self-satisfying pursuits the unbeliever seeks and gets, the call
of God pulls the minister away from such thoughts. Such a minister must hold
onto the divine calling and resist self-centered agendas.
One could easily argue that Jesus deserved a greater place than the life of a
carpenter’s kid in Nazareth. Though He had known the place of greatest majesty in
heaven, Jesus came to earth as a baby whose life began among livestock. He yielded