Introduction

It’s not a great time to be a political leader up for reelection. There is a tremendous level of dissatisfaction in the world right now with incumbent leaders. We saw it in the recent UK elections a few weeks ago, where the Tories had their worst-ever showing. We see it in our national politics where Prime Minister Trudeau’s approval rating has been in the dumps for quite some time. South of the border, there seems to be a sense. They are merely under-shepherds, accountable to the real Shepard, God who has given them the responsibility to protect and nurture the flock that they are exploiting and neglecting. This is a damning indictment. The people are going into exile and at least some of the responsibility rests with the leaders who haven’t stewarded their trust with integrity.

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This dissatisfaction with authority also extends to religious authorities. A seemingly never-ending series of scandals involving church and ministry leaders have left many of the formerly faithful fed up with the self-serving way authority has been exercised. So we might say that there is a general sense of dissatisfaction with authority in the zeitgeist.

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This isn’t a new phenomenon. As long as there have been people in charge of other people, there have been people abusing that authority by exploiting or neglecting the people over whom they have authority. The question we have to ask ourselves is whether that’s just the way it has to be, or whether there could ever be an alternative.

Two Visions of Authority

Jeremiah served as a prophet of God in the crucial decades leading up to Judah’s exile to Babylon in the 5th century BCE. Criticizing the kings of Judah for their self-serving use of authority was just another day at the office for Jeremiah. But in one of his oracles directed at Zedekiah, Judah’s last king before the Exile, he hints at a new kind of monarchy that God will one day bring about:

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior (Jeremiah 23:1-6, NIV).

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Incidentally, Zedekiah’s name is a combination of Tsidiq (righteous) and Yah (God), so this new king’s name is a play on words with the current king. The Message? Zedekiah failed to live up to his name, but one who comes after will be the kind of king that Zedekiah never was.

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Jeremiah compares Zedekiah and his court officials to shepherds who scatter the flock. I don’t know much about actual shepherding, but from what I read, scattering the sheep would be shocking malpractice. Sheep are safer in a flock, but when they are scattered, they are easy picking for predators. Judah’s leaders have misunderstood their position. They are not in the final authority, because, as God points out, the flock is His. They are merely under-shepherds, accountable to the real shepherd, God who has given them responsibility to protect and nurture the flock that they are exploiting and neglecting. This is a damning indictment. The people are going into exile and at least some of the responsibility rests with the leaders who haven’t stewarded their trust with integrity.

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But this word of condemnation also comes with a reason to hope: God promises to bring his people back from exile and to place new leaders over them who care for the flock. He points to the coming Messiah, who will show them a completely different way of being a shepherd. Jesus develops this metaphor when he says:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep (John 10:11-13, NIV).

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Jesus exercises a new kind of leadership that serves rather than takes. There are many stories I could tell from Jesus’ ministry that make this point, but the two that most stand out in this way are the cross (of course) where Jesus lays down his life for our sake, and Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. In Jesus’ day, everyone wore sandals. There weren’t roads or sidewalks or modern sanitation practices, so, after a long day of walking, people’s feet would be filthy. If you went into someone’s house where there were servants, washing the guests’ feet would be the job of the lowest servant. Foot washing was the kind of activity that diminished the one who did it in the eyes of everyone else. And that’s the job that Jesus does. He then tells his disciples to follow his example

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him (John 13:14-16, NIV).

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If Jesus—God in the flesh—doesn’t refuse to serve, we must also do so. If we don’t, we’re making ourselves out to be greater than our master. Jesus is saying that we can’t be his followers unless we ‘lower’ ourselves to serve.

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Jesus has no patience for self-serving leadership. We see this in a story where two of Jesus’ disciples—the brothers James & John—have their mother ask Jesus to give them the highest positions of authority when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus understands that this request comes from a place of self-importance and so he sets about to correct their understanding of power in God’s kingdom:

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Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28, NIV).

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“Not so with you,” Jesus says. Last week we looked at how Jesus needs to judge our values and assumptions before we can understand and follow his will. Here we see that in action. James and John aspire to power for its own sake. The culture tells them it’s something they should try to get. The disciples are indignant, not because James and John have misunderstood Jesus’ message, but because James and John want the authority that they want for themselves. Jesus has to completely redefine what authority means. In the world’s kingdoms authority is about power. In God’s kingdom, it is about humble service.

Servant Leadership Among God’s People

You may be asking yourself, “This is a good lesson for leaders in the church to learn, but I’m no leader, so this isn’t relevant to me?” But if you are a disciple of Christ, you are called to a place of leadership.

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In Revelation 5, we see a vision of the heavenly throne room. The elders, representing God’s people, sing a song about how Jesus is worthy to open the scroll (God’s plan of salvation) because he sacrificed himself (serving).

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10, NIV).

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Did you notice that the people he bought through his sacrificial act of service reign with him? It is the calling of every believer to be a leader. But we must first redefine leadership in light of Jesus if we hope to lead properly.

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The language of ‘servant leadership’ is common, but is often abused. For some, servant leadership means “I’m so wonderful, that I’m serving you by bossing you around” But this isn’t what servant leadership is about. Servant leaders do the things that seem unimportant when that’s what the people under their authority need. Healthy parenting shows us a model of servant leadership. Changing diapers and midnight feedings don’t seem glamorous, but they are necessary for the sake of the baby. So parents’ love drives them to lay aside what they want (to avoid touching poop and to get a good night’s sleep) for the benefit of the baby. If we naturally love those around us in this way, we will naturally lead by serving.

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Servant leadership doesn’t require a formally recognized position of authority. If I see needs and address needs from a place of love, then I am serving as a leader. How is this leadership? Like Jesus, washing his disciples’ feet, we lead by setting an example of practical godliness. I can exercise servant leadership when I bring snacks on Sunday. You are engaging in servant leadership when you help your elderly neighbor remove snow from their driveway. Kids, you can be a servant leader at school by including the people who are being excluded in your play. Jesus is king and his kingship is expressed in his acts of humble service for others. We are his vice-regents when we do likewise. As Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.”

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Practical Tips for Servant Leadership

‌The first thing we need to do is to see where the opportunities are. Some of us are naturally attuned to that. For others of us, seeing the opportunities doesn’t come very easily. So the first step is prayer: “God give me eyes to see the needs around me.”

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The second step is to identify what is needed to address the need. Sometimes you might recognize a need you’re not able to address. Is your inability absolute? An example of this is a person who needs a ride to their doctor’s appointments while you have to be at work. If this is the case, the best response is to pray that God will send someone able.

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Sometimes our inability isn’t absolute but perceived. When God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of his people, Moses says he can’t because he feels inadequate. God reminds Moses that he can make him adequate. Often God calls us to do things that are out of our comfort zone because our limited ability demonstrates God’s power at work in us. So if God highlights a need in the community, don’t discount the idea that he’s calling you to fill it because you don’t feel up to the job. That may be exactly why he’s calling you.

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The final thing is that we need to be willing to do what we are doing without recognition. Some of us want recognition. Others of us need to be needed. It isn’t servant leadership when we serve to be recognized for our piety or to create codependency. In other words, our motivations matter. Servant leadership is motivated by love. Service done with selfish motivations doesn’t show people who God is, and God doesn’t reward it as such. Those who serve to get noticed, get noticed, and receive their reward in full. But if we can remove ourselves from the equation and serve to meet a need from a place of love, then we are following after Jesus as he shows us what true leadership is supposed to be about.