Leaders Who Look Like Jesus

Last Sunday, we began an eight week sermon series called the thriving congregation.

And we are exploring eight characteristics of a healthy church, a church that prays, a church that develops healthy leaders, takes spiritual formation seriously, loves deeply, stewards faithfully, serves generously, grows and multiplies, and ultimately points people to the God who looks like Jesus.

In the first message, we focused on the purpose and the power of prayer, and we looked at what happens when prayer moves from the margins of church life to the center.

We said the prayer shows that we truly rely upon God and are dependent upon his spirit for life, growth, transformation, and furthering our mission as a Christ-centered congregation.

In today's message week two, we turn our attention to servant leadership within the body of Christ.

Healthy churches require healthy leaders.

As we'll see this morning, Jesus in his life and in his ministry redefined leadership as humble service, thereby calling us to cultivate character and leaders who are spiritually healthy, emotionally mature, and committed to serving each other.

Before we begin, let's ready our hearts and our minds to reflect on what the New Testament tells us about leaders who look like Jesus.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you.

We thank you that you have been present with us in this worship service this morning.

In all the ways that you do, Holy Spirit, reminding us of your goodness, reminding us of your forgiveness and your grace, reminding us that we are never alone, that you are with us, and that you work through the hands of your people.

Lord, your servants are listening.

Would you speak to us now?

And we'll be careful to follow you with cheerful obedience.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

And all God's people said, amen.

Would you turn with me in your Bible to our main scripture reading this morning, the Gospel of Mark.

Mark chapter 10.

We're going to read verses 35 through 45.

That's Matthew Mark chapter 10.

And as you're turning there, would you stand with me for the reading of the Scriptures?

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.

Teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.

What do you want me to do for you?

he asked.

They replied, let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.

You don't know what you're asking, Jesus said.

Can you drink this cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?

We can, they answered.

And Jesus said to them, you will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized with.

But to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.

These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John, and Jesus called them together and said, you know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles, they lord it over them.

And their high officials exercise authority over them.

And not so with you.

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.

And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

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.

This is the word of the Lord.

You may be seated.

Henri Nouwen was one of the most respected Christian servant leaders of the 20th century.

Many of you have heard of Nouwen.

Nouwen taught at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard.

He was a priest, a professor, a best-selling author, and a sought-after speaker.

And by every measure the world uses to define success, Nouwen had become successful.

But in 1986, he left Harvard and moved to Canada, where he became the pastor of a community called L'Arche Daybreak, where people with intellectual disabilities still to this day live together with their caregivers.

And while there now and discovered something that changed his understanding of leadership.

You see at Harvard his knowledge and his education mattered.

You know, his books mattered, his reputation mattered.

But at large those things were nearly weren't nearly as important as it was caring for people who couldn't care for themselves.

And he would help feed people and bathe people, dress people, listen and be present with the people there.

And you see Nouwen went there is a leader and a teacher, but he soon realized something else at work.

And later he would write this.

He said it was clearly a move from leading to being led.

One day Nouwen was invited to Washington D.C.

to speak at a conference of among Christian leaders about servant leadership.

Instead of going alone as the expert, Nouwen brought one of the members of his L'Arche community with him as a companion, but also as a co-presenter.

A man with severe intellectual disabilities named Bill Van Buren.

And Bill's presence became part of Nouwen's message on leadership.

Nouwen had discovered that Christian leadership is about serving and lifting others up.

It's about helping others become all that God wants them to be.

That everyone has value, worth, and something to give as his image bears.

Isn't that beautiful?

And according to Jesus, which we read, real leadership isn't about gaining gaining more power or privilege or prestige.

Church, that is the way of the world.

And that's how James and John were thinking about it in Mark chapter 10.

Look at that again.

James and John went to they they want to they went to Jesus and they want to move upward in the world.

And the kingdom of which they are imagining, which looks more like the kingdoms of the world than the kingdom of God.

They want positions of honor in that kingdom.

They want to be close to power.

And Jesus said, that's the way the rulers of the world operate.

And he uses this phrase to lord it over their people.

But among you, it will be different, Jesus said.

See, worldly leaders exercise authority by making people serve them, but Jesus says that's not how it works in my kingdom.

And I know that many of us who've grown up in the church, I mean it's like, oh yeah, yeah, I know that.

But don't lose sight of how radical this is, what Jesus is teaching on leadership.

It would have sounded nonsensical to people in the first century.

But Jesus says, if you want to be a great leader, become a servant.

If you really want to be somebody, become a servant to everyone.

And then Jesus gives them himself as an example.

For even the son of man, a Jesus favorite designation about himself from Daniel 7, even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

You see, Jesus isn' simply giving us a leadership technique.

It'd be a mistake to hear that, right?

Or if you're just sifting through the New Testament to find leadership principles.

If you want to know what a leader looks like, look to Jesus.

Jesus is giving us a picture of himself.

And so the greatest leader who ever lived was one of the greatest servants who ever lived.

Just think Philippians chapter two.

So the greatest leader who ever lived was the greatest servant.

And if we're going to be a thriving congregation that's healthy and Christ-centered, then we have to talk about the kind of leaders that we are becoming.

Because a thriving congregation doesn't simply need leaders who can accomplish great things.

It needs leaders who look like Jesus.

Amen?

Say amen if you believe the world needs more Jesus-looking leaders.

Amen.

That is what he had in mind and what we had in mind when our thriving core team worked out this definition of spiritual leadership a few months ago.

Spiritual leadership is serving, empowering, and equipping others to carry out God's work in their spheres of influence.

Think about that.

If you look at that definition, you can see in that definition it's this isn't just about people serving as leaders within the church and her ministries and programs.

It encompasses our growth and development as disciples of Jesus who can lead wherever God has placed us in this world.

For us to become a servant leader in the way of Jesus, we first need to recognize and respond to the call to be formed in our character, to be shaped, right?

Because leadership flows from character.

If you're taking notes, I'll say that again for you.

Leadership flows from character.

That's what Paul emphasized in his words about elders and leaders in his letter to Timothy.

The Apostle Paul said that his character and maturity that matter most.

Look at this.

What should we expect from Christian leaders?

1 Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 through 13 Paul writes and shares with Timothy this young man that Paul had been developing as a leader, and he says that leaders who look like Jesus are to be above reproach.

What does that mean?

It means trustworthy, to be people of integrity, to be free from blame and accusations.

They're to be a faithful person that is reliable and committed.

They're to be self-controlled that is they don't fly off the handle with their people, isn't habitually careless with their words, saying whatever they're thinking.

That's not a good leader.

They're respectable.

That is people can look up to them.

They're a role model, right?

That's the way we would say it.

It's the way we used to say it.

Our leaders we wanted to be role models.

To be hospitable, Paul said, friendly and giving, able to teach that is they're wise and they're knowledgeable about some things and they can instruct others.

They're not violent, which of course is antichrist.

He says they're to be gentle and kind that is showing mercy and compassion to others.

Not argumentative, always opposing what someone is saying because somebody needs to do it.

Or always wanting to debate just for debate's sake.

They're not a greedy person.

They're they're content.

I can hear Jesus say this way like they're not a Judas looking for a way to benefit himself by slipping his hand into the into their family purse.

No.

They manage their household.

Not that everything is perfect at home.

That's not what this means, but the home you see is a reflection of leaders who who are really just what you see.

Right?

Their responsibilities of ministry in the larger church if they're going to handle that, they need to be able to take care of business at home.

Paul says to Timothy they have a good reputation with outsiders.

That is nonbelievers see Jesus in them.

And people who don't know the Lord yet recognize the Lord in them.

Paul says they don't drink too much.

What Paul actually says there is they don't indulge in too much wine.

Why?

Because this is an unhealthy way for leaders to deal with stress and anxieties as a follower of Jesus.

And to be clear, that's an unhealthy way for any of us to deal with stress and anxiety as followers of Jesus.

And he says healthy leaders aren't living for themselves.

It truly is sad to see when too many leaders have been put in positions of power and influence too quickly before they've learned these lessons.

Church, beware.

Beware of the leaders who haven't dealt with their own sin, who haven't come to terms with it, who who who haven't been broken, who haven't who haven't dealt with their own trauma and insecurities and unforgiveness and their mommy and daddy issues.

Beware of those who've not dealt with the speck in their own eye.

For those kind of leaders end up using people instead of serving people.

Now why would they do that?

Even though there might be a part of them that means well, they're trying to meet their own emotional needs by using you to do it.

Those leaders lack self-awareness and leave a trail of hurt, of brokenness, of broken friendships, divided churches, burned bridges, and spiritual carnage.

You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

You've seen that before.

You're likely seeing it now in some places.

Which is why it's so important Look at this.

that we're being spiritually formed as we help others in their formation so that we can develop in commission healthy leaders among us.

In his book The Emotionally Healthy Leader, Pete Scazzero writes this.

He says, your being with God or lack of being with God will trump eventually your doing for God every time.

Let's sit with that.

I'll say it again.

Your being with God or your lack of being with God will trump eventually your doing for God every time.

We cannot give what we do not possess.

We cannot help but give what we do possess.

So that's the order of things, isn't it?

Being with God before doing things for God.

This is the point of spiritual disciplines in the life of a leader.

This is the point of Sabbath and of resting in the life of a leader.

Of communing with God.

Of having something to give before you try to give.

As I said earlier, healthy leadership flows from Christian character.

I don't know if we talk about character very much anymore.

Ever thought about that?

I I remember as a young person even in elementary school, wasn't in a Christian school, but they talked about character and how character matters.

And it's specifically Christian character that in the first century the Roman world noticed and paid attention to.

Because many of the ways in which they lived, the choices they made, the ways that they talked, the way they treated others, the way they cared for the least of these, it caught the attention of the pagan world.

We often call it holiness at Brother in Christ Church.

Friends, our leadership will only be as healthy as our relationship with Jesus.

And only be as effective as our level of commitment to our own spiritual formation.

And and I can speak from experience, this is how leaders get into places of burnout.

They're giving out of a lack.

They're giving out of things they don't have because they're not spending time with God.

Church, we are not supermen and superwomen.

And we need the Lord to give us the strength to lead.

And so healthy leaders who are being formed by Jesus and are being intentional in their character development are learning to do a few things.

They're learning to receive correction, acknowledge mistakes.

They're they're they're learning to apologize.

They're learning to listen.

They're learning to manage conflict.

Not avoid it, manage it.

Navigate through it.

They're learning to regulate their emotions.

Respect boundaries.

Receive feedback.

Resist defensiveness.

Handle criticism without retaliation.

Celebrate other people's successes.

Admit what they don't know.

Ask for help.

And be teachable.

This is a Christian leader.

And truthfully, this is for all healthy and mature followers of Jesus, isn't it?

Like this is the road we all should be on.

So don't like look at that and say, well, I'm a believer, but I don't really want to be a leader, so that's not for me.

No, this is for all of us.

It's not like, well, there's the disciples and then there's the serious disciples.

Folks, you're a disciple or you're not.

That's it.

This is the way in which Jesus is calling us.

So, being intentional and becoming more like Christ, right?

And and rising to the role of a leader is challenging, but it is rewarding because we're choosing to grow up into Jesus and embody the heart of the shepherd king.

Listen to what Apostle Peter wrote about leaders in 1 Peter chapter 5 verses 1 through 4.

He said to the elders, that is the leaders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a fellow leader, and a witness of Christ's sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed.

Listen to what he's saying.

There is some suffering and hardship that comes with being a leader.

I mean, right off the bat, he addresses the leaders.

That's the first thing he says.

It's hard sometimes.

And you're suffering now, but just remember there will come a day.

There will come a day when you will be rewarded.

Verse 2 he says, be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them.

Shepherds, caretakers of God's flock, not your flock.

Not my flock.

You say, well, pastors come and go.

So do you.

You will die.

And people will carry on the work of the church without you.

And sometimes people get mad and they leave, right?

So none of us are here permanently.

This is not our church.

It's the Lord's church.

It's not my flock.

It's God's flock.

You follow.

This is what Peter is saying.

Not because you must serve, not because you must, but because you're willing.

That is lead with the right heart, a heart for Jesus and his people.

He says be eager to serve.

Don't pursue dishonest gain, but be eager to serve.

If we're not eager to serve, and this isn't meant in a in condemning way, it's just sort of a reality check.

If there's not an eagerness to serve, that's reflective of something going on in our heart.

And so we need to go to the Lord with that, don't we?

Verse 3 he says, not lording it over.

Where do you think Peter got that phrase?

Remember back in Mark 10, right?

Peter was there.

Peter heard those words.

Peter didn't forget those words.

This is what a leader looks like.

Peter knows it.

Not to lord it over people.

This comes directly from Mark 10 verse 42, being examples to the flock, he says, because the healthiest Christian leaders don't merely tell people where to go, what to do, they show people what it looks like to follow Jesus.

This is important.

Where would the church be without leaders who can show others what it looks like to love, serve, and follow Jesus?

Where would the church be?

Verse 4 he says, and when the chief shepherd comes, you'll receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

He begins with that reminder.

Right?

It's hard sometimes.

We're going to suffer.

But remember there's coming a day, and then he finishes.

Peter finishes with that thought.

When the chief shepherd appears, when Jesus returns, you'll receive the crown of glory.

In other words, leaders, it will be hard at times.

I can hear Peter say this.

It will be hard at times, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Keep going.

So if we want to continue on the way of being a thriving congregation at Grant, then we should ask ourselves some questions.

Here's some questions we could ask.

Who are we forming?

Who are we mentoring?

Who are we discipling?

Who are we giving opportunities to serve?

Who are we teaching to lead?

Who are we encouraging?

Who are we challenging?

Who are we preparing at some point to take our place?

Last week I shared the story of how New Hope Ministries began over 40 years ago with people at Grantham praying for God's power and provision.

What if we look back into our past and look for examples of how we've played a role in developing healthy leaders?

Who might the spirit bring to mind to encourage us to keep going in this important work?

Who are those leaders who are aspiring to look like Jesus even still today?

Well, you know, there are many people and stories that we could share.

We could spend, you know, till noon, certainly, at least until noon, sharing those stories.

We could probably pass a mic around the room and you could tell your own.

We don't have time for that, so I'll just name a few.

Maybe this will stir some of your memories and and recall some stories.

Alex Sider, John and Carolyn Sider's son, grew up at Grantham.

He served for 20 years as faculty and administrator at Bluffton College before being appointed president.

He earned his PhD in religion from Duke and served as a visiting fellow at Oxford.

He's authored two books as well as numerous articles and chapters in Christian theology, ethics, Anabaptist studies, and disability studies.

Lindsay Davis grew up at Grantham and was mentored by Linda Gebhardt, the then youth pastor many years ago.

Lindsay went to Eastern University, major in youth ministry, and Grantham hired her as the interim youth director one summer.

And following college, she and her husband graduated from Gordon-Conwell Seminary and served as youth pastors at a variety of overseas ministries in Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Cayman Islands.

Bruce Bundy was a Messiah student, came to Grantham Church looking for a place to serve.

He wanted to get involved.

For 4 years, he helped with youth ministry and served as a Bible quiz coach.

He and his wife Merly accepted the call to use their gifts in ministry to begin a church in Spain, and they continue to serve there today.

Some of you know they have a a retreat center along the El Camino.

We support them now as global workers.

David Stuebing, son of Rich and Kathy Stuebing, grew up being discipled here at Grantham.

He was the youth pastor for a time and is now serving alongside his wife Melissa, who also is a Messiah grad, who leads Co-Laborers International, a ministry that serves alongside locally led efforts in Zambia, Costa Rica, Kenya, and around the globe, caring for impoverished communities in areas of education, nutrition, drug and alcohol counseling, and youth and children initiatives.

In the past 10 years at Grantham, we've had nine worship interns.

Several of them are now serving in ministry or church leadership, including Gabby Bonafont, who's now Gabby Green, who is the worship pastor at Manor Brethren in Christ.

Also Rachel Mori, who was on stage this morning, right?

Pastor Dave Perry was they were both Grantham worship arts interns when they were students at Messiah.

More recently, we've seen folks like Dwayne and Julia Johnson, who started 180 Ministries, who we've supported and continued to encourage in various ways in their development as leaders.

Seth Daire Liones, who's an a missions intern at the moment.

For the past few years has been exploring God's call in his life as a servant leader.

So we've helped to develop some leaders.

We are helping develop some leaders.

Who else can you think of?

Who else comes to your mind?

Will you just thank God for that work right now?

Just thank him in your heart.

Just thank you, Jesus, for the many ways in which you have worked through our people in years past.

When we think about leadership development, we think about passing the baton.

We use that track metaphor, right?

Passing the baton within our church ministries and programs, we can see some recent examples of people like Shirley Graff who passed away earlier this year.

Shirley mentored Franny McNickle and decorating for Taizé and other special worship services.

We're currently seeing caregiving training from MJ and Phair and Jeff James to help our caregivers serve people well within their ministry groups.

We also see people stepping up to carry on Don Eisley's work in our fellowship mills.

Are there other ways that you see this work happening?

And do you see the need for us to be more intentional in raising up leaders, especially as we prepare to step down from roles?

It could be a board member role, a commission member role, the committee work like the PFC.

Are we thinking ahead?

Are we thinking this master apprentice sort of relationship?

You watch, I do, you watch, right?

And then passing it off to them to be able to to do as well.

Then we're not coming to the end of our terms and our service not having given any thought to that.

You see a thriving congregation will a thriving congregation will consider who is around me that I can train to do this work, who can I can pass the baton off to carry on this ministry.

How can we be more intentional in that?

To sum up this second message here here are three takeaways to sum up everything that we're talking about.

Number one, healthy leadership, we're saying, begins with character.

It's about who we are becoming more than what we are doing.

Number two, Jesus-like leadership is expressed through service.

It's not about you, it's about being a blessing to others.

What does that look like in your areas of ministry or of work in your vocation?

Leadership expressed through service about blessing others.

And number three there, healthy leaders develop healthy leaders.

It's about developing people who can further the mission.

What is the Lord saying to you, church?

And finally, here are some questions to help us reflect and respond together.

Just listen to the voice of the Spirit.

We enter into a time of reflection and response.

What's God saying to you and what are you going to do about it?

Number one, what is my leadership revealing about my character?

And some of us, for younger people in the room, one thing we need to be mindful of is even as God is calling you now, maybe as I remember in junior high, calling you to be a leader, that doesn't mean tomorrow you're going to start in that role.

That means now, today is the day to begin the training.

I think we often forget this.

You know the apostle Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus, right?

Met Jesus on the road to Damascus, blinded by light, knocked off his horse.

This was a smart guy.

This was a zealous for God kind of guy.

Do you know that after Jesus met him on the road, stopped him in his tracks, rearranged his life, transformed him?

It was 14 years before he ever went on an apostolic journey.

There's work to be done to be a leader.

Will you submit yourself to that process?

How is God inviting you to grow in humility, integrity, maturity, and accountability?

So that when the Lord makes it possible for you to be in that position, you've earned it.

You've earned it through training.

You've earned it through trial and experience.

You've earned it through suffering.

And you will be a better leader for it.

Number two.

Who am I serving with the influence that God has given me?

Am I using that influence to accomplish my purposes or to help others flourish?

What is the Lord saying to you?

And then lastly, number three.

Who am I helping become a leader?

Who is God inviting me to encourage, to mentor, or equip so they can serve and lead others?

This is work all of us can do, church.

I trust that you're hearing from the Lord and you will respond to him in this time together.

Let's pray.

Father, we are so thankful for Jesus and for the servant leadership that he shows us.

We're also, Lord, thankful for your grace.

For none of us truly live up to this standard.

We are all a work in progress.

But God, we know that what you want from us is to commit to that work, to enter into that process, to be shaped and formed in Christian character, to be the kind of people, disciples, leaders who look like Jesus.

Would you speak to us, God, in this time of worship and of reflection, this time of prayer?

Help us to hear your voice and help us to respond to it.

And Lord, may you bless Grantham Church that we would continue the development of healthy leaders for your name's sake and the glory of your kingdom.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.