Let me begin today by saying this: One of my favorite things to do in ministry is ‘leadership development’. Do you guys know what leadership is? Are you familiar with that term?
I know that sometimes the leaders of this church think that our time together is just about coffee & scrambled eggs (when we meet for breakfast), but there’s a bigger picture. It’s really about people who love God first and foremost, willing to invest in each other’s lives in order to further God’s kingdom right where they’re at. And, what I’ve found is this: If you don’t develop leaders for the future, there probably won’t be much of a future for the local church or any other organization made up of human beings…
Well, one of my inspirations, when it comes to leadership, is Jesus himself. We’ve been talking for the past few weeks about being ‘Followers’—Jesus Followers in particular. And the assumption that we started with today, I think, is well worth repeating: If Jesus is someone to be followed he must be a leader worth following. Doesn’t that sound about right? But there are a couple of barriers to this and I want to speak to those for just a moment:
- Barrier #1 – When we think of the historic Jesus, we generally don’t think of him as a leader! We generally think of Jesus as a great teacher, or a great religious figure, but not necessarily a leader. After all, leadership is all about the future, and religion … is usually not, which brings me to the second barrier to seeing Jesus as a leader and that is this…
- Barrier #2 – The Church is too often not considered a place for leadership! Leadership is all about changing things. Religion, unfortunately, is often seen as being about … not changing anything. When you think of the Church, sometimes church culture is sort of an anti-leadership culture…
So, these are a couple barriers we need to consider, as we talk about leadership in the church. But Jesus is the one who I actually look to as a great leader—looking to him to find out how we’re supposed to be leaders, as followers of his. In today’s passage, Jesus actually gives us his secret to great leadership. So, today, we’re going to look at a conversation between Jesus and his followers where he basically stops them on the way to Jerusalem and says ‘OK, if you’re ever in a position where you have authority (and all these guys, with the exception of one, would be)’ Jesus says, ‘This is how you’re supposed to lead.’ In other words, this is how you should exercise authority when you’re given authority over others … and we turn today to Mark 10 to check this out…
We pick up today as Jesus and his apostles are headed for Jerusalem, and (a little of a repeat from earlier) he begins to explain to them that things aren’t going to be going as well on this trip to the Holy City. So, in Mark 10 … here’s what happens:
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. [That was in reference to something that had just happened.] Again [as in, he’s done this before] he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.
Now, Jesus keeps trying… If you’ve been here the past couple of weeks, you already know that Jesus has been trying to explain to his apostles that things are soon going to change, like ‘Hey, it’s been great, but it’s not going to stay great. We’ve been on the pinnacle of success and popularity, riding high on that wave, but … that’s about to change! If you’re going to be close to me, get ready for some hard times … because things will soon go south (no pun intended).’ So he took them aside, once again, and told them what was going to happen…
33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man [speaking of himself] will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. [You’ve seen in the past how they’ve tried to arrest me; this time, they’re going to be successful. Things are about to change…] They will condemn him [speaking of himself] to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles [that would be the Romans], 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him [speaking about himself in the third person]. Three days later he will rise.”
Now, this is kind of tender moment here… Again, they’re on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus knows that things are about to change in all of their lives drastically, and he loves them so much he doesn’t want them to be surprised at anything that’s coming their way. He’s trying to get them ready, because he cares about them deeply. This is a very tender moment … and he’s telling them he’s going to be arrested, spit on, flogged, killed, and on the third day he’s going to be raised from the dead. So, they’re in the middle of this very tender, probably somewhat emotional moment for Jesus, and Mark then tells us what happens next…
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“Really?” Jesus is thinking to himself. And I’m sure their reply would be, “Yeah, sorry ‘bout all the spitting and flogging that’s going to take place, but hey … would you do us a favor?” If you’re a parent or someone who’s been around kids a lot, you already know what Jesus must have felt like here. You know, you’re at dinner, you have a very important announcement to make, maybe a loved one has just passed away or something, and it’s a very tender moment with your kids, and you go ahead and make the very serious, very emotional announcement to them, and you think you’ve connected with them just fine … and then they turn around and look at you and say, “OK, can we please be excused?” or “Can we go upstairs now?” or “When you talk serious, did you know that one side of your mouth does something different than the other side?” And it’s like “Really? Are you serious?” … and we know how Jesus must have felt… Amazing, isn’t it? So, in a very kind ‘Jesus-like way’, he asks them what they want. And these two apostles kind of pull Jesus to the side and…
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
‘You know, after all the spitting, and flogging, and dying stuff is over, and you take up the throne of your new kingdom (they still had their version of what it meant to be Messiah in mind), can we be really close to you? Can we be like the left-hand guy and the right-hand guy? Can we exercise power & authority with you, right by your side?’ … Folks, do you think they were in the least bit concerned with Jesus … and what he was going to be going through—what he was trying to tell them? And he basically tells them that they couldn’t handle being that close to him. Would it be rather disconcerting to have just poured your heart out to those closest to you, only to find out that they weren’t really listening? So, Mark then tells us what happened next (and you can just imagine):
41 When the ten heard about this [so, there are two talking, and 10 more listening in], they became indignant with James and John.
Now, you’d think they’d be indignant in this way: “I can’t believe how insensitive you just were to Jesus! He just got done telling us about spitting & flogging & dying … and all you want to talk about is a favor?” But, folks, that’s not the way they were indignant. The language used here assures us that they were feeling more like this: “Hey, we’re indignant because we want to be on the right and on the left too! We don’t want to be left out!” And Jesus realizes here that none of them have really been listening … so he stops the camel train on the way to Jerusalem and calls a meeting. Then, he begins to explain to them one more time about this thing called LEADERSHIP, if you’re a Jesus Follower. Here’s what he says…
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Here, Jesus uses two Greek words (katakurieu/subdue & katexousia/an abuse of authority) that basically mean the same thing and here’s what he’s saying…
- First, you know how leadership works. In other words, you know what you’ve seen leadership to be. When you’re one who’s in authority, you leverage your authority for what is best for YOU! Everyone who’s put under your authority is supposed to serve YOU…
- The second Greek word implies an abuse of authority. Jesus is saying, ‘You know how this whole thing works. If you’re the king, then you exercise authority over everyone else. If you’re the ruler, everyone else is there for your pleasure—there to do your bidding. It’s all about YOU, because you’re at the top…’
And I’m sure the disciples are all like, “Yeah, that’s why we want to be in charge! We don’t want to be ruled over; we want to be the rulers! Jesus, we know we can’t be you in this scenario (when you come as king), but could we at least be ‘little yous’? I mean, we know how this works. You don’t have to explain it to us.” And Jesus, I’m sure, smiles at them and then drops a bomb on their little fantasy when he says in v. 43…
43 Not so with you…
“Wait, what?” In other words…
- ‘You know how this works, right?’ ‘Yep.’ ‘Not so with you!’
- ‘You’ve seen how authority works in our world, right?’ ‘Yep.’ ‘Not so with you!’
- ‘When people are under your authority, they’re there for your pleasure, right?’ ‘Yep.’ And Jesus says, ‘Not so with you!’ And he goes on to explain…
43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you [pause, this is so important … as ‘great’ here refers to a leader or ruler … and here’s how it works with me] must be your servant [and he deflates their egos], 44 and whoever wants to be first [as in like ‘big you’] must be slave of all.
And I’m sure many of the apostles, at this point, are thinking to themselves, “Yeah, I don’t think this Jesus Follower thing is really going to work out.” What do you mean if we want to be great, we have to be a servant? What do you mean if we want to be first, we have to be a slave of all?
You know, I hope & pray that many of you are thinking of your secular jobs about now … because I’m pretty sure Jesus expects us to be followers wherever we are. But maybe you’re thinking ‘that’s alright for church & stuff, but it would never work at my job!’ But again, if you’re going to be a Jesus Follower, that’s not just for Sundays! And it’s not just for when you’re disciplining the kids or loving your husband or wife or family. Because Jesus Follower is for all times, right? Well, here’s what Jesus is not saying today:
- Jesus isn’t arguing against ‘point leadership’ … and the reason we know that is because Jesus was a point leader … and he appointed point leaders…
- Jesus is also not saying that you just stand at the door all day and say ‘you first, you first, you first’—not getting anything done because you’re serving everyone else…
Jesus, folks, got an extraordinary amount of things done and so did his followers! What Jesus is teaching is not being passive or unproductive. What he’s teaching is this: When we are leaders, when we’ve been given authority over others, or when we have power, we are to leverage our authority for the benefit of those under our authority! That’s it. And…
LEADING GREAT WORKS. I believe folks—as someone who worked in the business world for the better part of 15 years before going into ministry full-time—that those of us who are Jesus Followers are responsible for taking this teaching into the workplace! Whenever we have authority, we are to leverage that authority for the sake of those under our authority … whether it’s at home, in the marketplace, in the community, or at church. And experience has taught me that this type of leadership creates a much healthier, much happier, and much more productive work environment … and here’s why:
- If you work for an organization where those in authority believe that it’s all about them—all about their reputation, all about their career, all about their advancement—and that’s their perspective on authority, you know you have to watch your back because nobody else is going to (i.e. James & John meeting with Jesus)…
- BUT, if you work for an organization where those in authority are genuinely interested in YOU and in everyone succeeding, and the leaders approach things like ‘I want all those under my authority to know that I’ve got their back and I’m there for them,’ that would be different from most of the world, wouldn’t it?
And Jesus is saying, “If you’re going to lead like me, if you’re going to follow me in your leadership, this is how it works!”
An author by the name of Jim Collins wrote a book called ‘Good to Great’. (For any leadership literature junkies here, this is a great read!) In this book, Jim decided to look at companies with great leaders and see what they all had in common. And what he expected to find was—and he assumed this—was that all of these great leaders would have a high level of charisma and that would be the common denominator amongst all those he studied. But, he was wrong. What he found instead was that the distinguishing characteristic, the thing that every great leader of every great company had in common was not charisma; it was humility. (That’s one of those pieces of clothing Jesus Followers are supposed to put on every morning. Remember?) And Jim Collins concluded that there is this tension within great leaders where they say … they love progress, they love moving things forward, and they’re driven by that, but along with that and creating a tension is a humility so compelling it draws people in his or her direction … to which Jesus would say, “I know. I told you 2,000 years ago that if you were going to lead like me, if you want to make progress like I made progress, if want to create a culture and an environment to where people love to do what they do, then you turn the whole pyramid upside down…”
‘Not so with you’ is what Jesus said … and he meant it! These people love to get things done, but there is this humility that’s the context for all of their drive… So, as Jesus Followers, we have a savior who’s called us to lead in such a way that people know we are there for them; they are not there for us… And, finally, here’s #2…
LEADING GREAT NEEDS TO BE APPLIED. So let me help you apply today’s lesson in leadership by saying that the message of Leading Great is this: I’m here to facilitate your success, regardless of where you show up on an organizational chart. After all, everyone is essential to the success of the organization. And the more power you have, the more facilitating you can do…
- And here’s the easiest way I know to apply this message of Leading Great, with one question: What can I do to help? Now, there are some folks who’d just pass out if their boss ever asked them a question like that. But, folks, the more power we have, the more help we can be. So, ask the questions of those under your authority: What can I do to help? Because the success of wherever we work is really in the hands of all…
- And one more way to apply today’s message is this: Look for opportunities to do for one what you wished you could do for all! This is called ‘symbolic leadership’ and it’s a very powerful model. … The other day, I asked Carla what I could do to help her since I’d soon be leaving (and I still care—and always will—about the success of DUMC). She said the equivalent of, “Well I’ve been using your label maker for several years. You’ll be taking that with you. Is there any way I could get one for the office?” And recently, we found a way to purchase one for her—to help with her continued success as our office manager.
I wish I could get Merlin a new vacuum, and the band a new sound system, etc. I can’t do everything for everyone, but I could do this one thing. Folks, don’t be so concerned about FAIR; instead, be engaged…
You know, I hesitate to talk about all of this leadership stuff because it sounds a bit like a motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river! But I need to, because this is what God did for us, if you think about it. He looked down on us one day and said, ‘They’re in trouble. What can I do for them?’ And God sent us his very best—the best leader, Jesus. Folks, from a position of authority, we need to leverage our authority for the benefit of those under our authority! That’s what Jesus did. Here’s how the conversation ends (Mark 10:45, NIV):
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.”
And that’s what he expects of those who are his Followers, too…