Leading biblically...really? Isn't this what Jesus told us not to do?
There’s nothing more fun that a good oxymoron. Let me share a few: cruel kindness, approximately equal, civil war, burning cold, explicit innuendo and my all time favorite, servant leadership. Oxymora are a combination of contradictory or incongruous words or concepts. This is actually quite different than a paradox, which is a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is true; often conveying a profound truth, difficult to fathom. Oxymora, are contradictory and illogical; paradoxes only appear to be so. Jesus used paradox very effectively, he didn’t use oxymora.
The term servant leadership has become common, even ubiquitous in Christian circles nowadays. I suppose, if we think about it at all, we chalk it up to being a paradox; something that seems contradictory but really isn’t. I’d like to propose that, in fact, the concept of servant leadership is a true oxymoron. As such it should not be worthy of our consideration as a concept for guiding our behavior.
Our confusion comes from two interrelated issues. First, Jesus is talking about something that is common to all human communities; leadership. It doesn’t matter what culture we come from, nor what strata of that society, some are leaders, some are followers. The second confusion comes from Jesus talking about leadership with a contradictory concept; servanthood, at the same time.
Let’s look at Jesus’ brief lesson on leadership and see what he actually said:
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves (Lk. 22:24-27).
When we read these words we commonly think Jesus is giving us a new kind of leadership, or a different kind of leadership or a way of being a leader with a different attitude. Nothing could be farther from the truth; he is giving us something to do instead of being a leader. Servanthood isn’t a different way of being a leader; it is not being a leader at all. He is saying “don’t do this; do this instead.” He wasn’t saying something similar to I’ll give you a new way of being a leader; he was saying don’t be a leader.
Why do we keep trying to turn Jesus words back into the very thing he told us not to do? Why do we feel compelled to use his vocabulary to describe what he was preaching against? I believe there are two reasons, one is motivational and the other is organizational. First, the motivational reason we try to avoid real servanthood, instead embracing leadership, in the name of servanthood, is that we are unconsciously succumbing to foundational principles of the world (Gal. 4:3,9; Col. 2:8.20). The world we know needs leadership to function. Leadership, like all of what Paul called weak and miserable principles (Gal. 4:9), are the way the world works. It’s the worldly way of doing things. The biblical Greek word for this is stoicheia, translated, ‘basic principles or foundational principles of the world.’ But we are to live above and beyond the hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Col 2:8).
But there is also an organizational reason we keep falling into the clutches of the worldly leadership principle, human organizations can’t function without leaders. The buck has to stop somewhere in an organization. They need presidents and team leaders, titular pastors and CEOs. But the Church, local, citywide or universal, is not designed by God to be an organization. It is designed to be a body with Christ as head. A multi-headed church isn’t a body, it’s a beast. We have the new covenant. Christ speaks to our hearts and minds (Heb. 8:10). Jesus Christ can function perfectly as our Head. He knows how to talk to us and his Spirit can control us. And we can function as members one to another who need each other and serve each other; one body, with one head, yet many members.
So what should we do about leadership? We should do exactly what Jesus said, “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Don’t be a servant leader; it is still being a leader. It may be a new or different kind of leader than most are used to, but it is still a leader. Do exactly what Jesus actually said, do something else INSTEAD. Just love people through helping them. Let Jesus be their Lord. If you just point out where Jesus is, and encourage them to follow him, it will be enough.
- Can you think of other reasons why we feel compelled to fall back into the basic worldly principle of leadership?
- Can Christ truly lead us, in real time and in practical ways, or is his lordship merely to be understood as a good doctrinal metaphor?
- What would the Church look like if we all just did what Christ told us to do then loved and served each other? Would it be chaos?
- Could part of the problem be that we really don’t trust Christ (faith) and believe he can lead?
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This is so true! I’ve been thinking along these lines lately as well. The lack of human leadership seems to be one of the big things that discourages people from the institutional church from viewing organic church as legitimate. They are so used to titular pastors and professionally trained clergy that not having those things seems wrong to them. Thanks for this post, Ross.
I like this. This may be a big part of the church reformaton we need now. I am asking questions, for clarification. It seems like there are many scriptures to put together and understand.
It seems some in the house church may want to throw out designated leaders, partially because of leadership abuse issues, or because many leaders have taken on an unbiblical role, and left most of the others passive, with little significant contribution, and not equipped others for service. Or other reasons.
In Romans 12 Paul lists different gifts and not all have the same gifts. There is a gift of Leadership, which means to stand in front and lead. Not everyone has that gift, and the gift of service is listed as a different gift than leadership. Is serving for everyone, while the gift of service is a special function others don’t seem to excel in?
Paul exhorts leaders to lead with diligence. He said he did not exercise his apostolic authority to lord it over others, but like a tender mother he nurtured others.
Did not Paul also issue commands for others to follow, with consequences for not following them? Did he say he would be harsh with the unrepentant? We can see those in the New Covenant who are Apostles, and Elders who are appointed to oversee and shepherd the flock. How does leadership work then? By the example of serving only, and what does that look like and how can it work? How does that fit in with other scriptures which give elders authority to oversee and to lead? And how can they lead with the spirit of Christ? Maybe team leadership, with submission to one another in the fear of Christ helps leaders to serve with love and humility, as they acknowledge Jesus is the head of the church and the head of everyone man.
Ward,
In my opinion, I think we need to note the difference between influence and power. Paul influenced. He didn’t need to wield positional power. He also didn’t mince words. When he did talk about power it was spiritual power, not the organizational ability to control others to do what he wanted them to do. He did, however, have significant influence. Paul’s metaphor of tenderly nurturing like a mother is a perfect example of appropriate use of influence.
The leadership gift mentioned in Rom 12 is a gift to help organize, kind of like a project manager. Like every other gift, when used in the power of the Spirit, it carries with it the ability to influence. But, that is true of the gift of service too. Should such a gifted person use their gift with diligence? Of course.
Elders are more mature believers. It is not a positional title with positional power. But again, it carries with it the ability to influence; because they are respected trusted people. When John talked about the same phenomena in I Jn. 2 he actually talks of three levels of spiritual maturity, children, young men and fathers. The fathers are the elders. They are to shepherd the flock, but that doesn’t mean weald positional power over them. It means to guide them to their true Shepherd. Sadly, most Christians I know are still spiritual children, they are seldom in the battle of ministry (young men) nor are they lovingly fathering and mothering those who are (elders/fathers). Instead they are stuck on the basics of their salvation. Check out how John in the 1 John 2 passage motivates each group.
The word commonly put into English as “appoint” has much more of a feel of “recognize and point out” to others in its original language and context, not appoint from on high. What has happened is 1,700-1,800 years of institutional formation, which just gets stuck in our brains. We start reading the Scriptures through an institutional grid and when the Scriptures are translated into English we put them through the same grid…because it’s what we know.
Apostleship is a foundational gift. It is mentioned as coming first, but that is first in time not power or importance. Apostles start churches from scratch (hence, first) Apostles too can carry a significant amount of influence, particularly with churches which were founded by that particular apostle. But influence is only appropriately to be used to direct people to Jesus, and His leadership; not human leadership. There is only one Lord.
Influence is not power. It is a gift bestowed by the one being influenced. And it is a gift from God who influences others through us. But we can’t tell someone that they must be influenced by us. That is lording over.
Our problem then, is that we can’t seem to get out heads out of the foundational principles of world with their human controlled leadership with positions, power and control and the organizational structures which needs such people in order to function. Since we think within the parameters of these foundational worldly principles, we end up squeezing the Scriptures through this same mindset and read back into the text what really isn’t there.
That is my concern and why I wrote this post. Jesus told us to not be leaders but to serve instead. We set up the church as an institution, with its need for positional leaders, put those human leaders in place and reap the whirlwind. The end result is exactly what Jesus warned us about, and what we have all experienced.
I believe it is time to lovingly set aside the structures that call for positional leaders and stop being leaders. Instead we can follow Jesus or Lord and serve one another. We can do this because Jesus the Lord can speak into our hearts and minds because he lives in us and has a new covenant relationship with us. Once we realize that, we can actually function in the new covenant as communities of believers and individuals at the same time and follow only one leader, Jesus the Lord. We are set free to just influence those who will listen and serve one another. No power or position is needed.
My own 10 years of experience in living like this is that it is at once freeing, spiritually enriching and leads to much fruit; and it’s lots of fun. No small part of this is because the power politics and the wounding that come with it is gone (or at least greatly diminished). But to enjoy that we need to set aside the structures and the “leaders” that come with it and just follow Jesus in community.
Note: in none of this am I accusing those who are positional Christian leaders of intentionally lording over. Some do, of course, but most are just functioning within the system they know. But this still ends up creating a lot of problems.
The pre-eminent issue is that people do not trust God to lead his people.
Michael,
You’ve put your finger on the core issue. Of course it is little more complicated than that. For example, we no longer know how to listen and discern. Many know nothing of the new covenant and what it means. We have traditions and structures in place that contradict and prevent new covenant community life, etc. But when it all comes down to it, these are all expressions or lack of willingness and trust of following Jesus as Lord. Sadly, most don’t even realize we are resisting Jesus’ lordship. We are just doing what we see modeled, and what we have been taught. That’s why unexamined traditions are so dangerous.
Ross
Good stuff. What I’ve been saying lately is, “It’s not that leaders serve or that they are servants. Serving IS leading.”
I’ve heard it said that leadership is influence – I really appreciate your comment that forced influence is lording over. I think that as we focus on being good examples, modeling service and love, then we will find people following our example. This is different from following us. We will end up being leaders in that others want to follow in our footsteps, because they see Christ in us. (As was Paul’s desire.) A positional leader seeks to have people follow him; a model seeks to embody that which is worthy of following, drawing attention to Jesus and not to himself.
Thanks for sharing.
Ross, you asked: “Can Christ truly lead us, in real time and in practical ways, or is his lordship merely to be understood as a good doctrinal metaphor?”
I came up in the Baptist tradition, where scripture and doctrine are the primary ways that believers discern direction from Jesus. Good Christians are those that incorporate scripture into their daily thoughts, words, and actions. The Holy Spirit is acknowledged, but he is typically viewed as a presence behind the scenes. We generally recognize the Holy Spirit only when reflecting on an experience in the past. “Looking back, I can totally see how God was working in my life at that time to (insert positive outcome).”
I think Jesus is gently leading me to listen more to his real-time leading in addition to his word. The two will never be in conflict, so seeking Jesus in the Bible is always relevant, but following Jesus’s real-time leading through the Spirit is still kind of a mystery. I’ve had a few experiences where I’ve said something or done some act because I felt the Spirit prompting me, but these acts have been small and their outcomes minimal (from my limited perspective). I’m praying that God will make me sensitive and increase my courage and obedience.
Hi Joel,
I know you are on the right track. I came from the exact same spiritual tradition as you did. I found that the more I sought an abiding relationship with Jesus and was willing to move out on what I “felt” he had said to me, the more he communicated with me. I became more attuned to his voice, more aware. And my ministry became much more fruitful. Here are a couple of pieces of advice.
• Don’t be afraid to making mistakes. You are serving the Jesus who knows how to work all things together for good for those who love God, for those who are the called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28).
• Take comfort in the fact that Jesus speaks Joel’s language. He knows exactly how to speak to you. He has actually been speaking to you for a long time and you’ve been responding to him. You just weren’t aware of it. What you are really doing is taking your communication to a whole new level where you are become more intentional, more aware and more willingly obedient.
• If you are still not sure if something comes from God or is your own imagination (probably something big) seek wisdom (Js. 1:5-6) and seek wise, trusted council.
• You are already aware that the Holy Spirit will never lead you to do something that is in real opposition to the written word of God. He may, however, shatter some of our religious presuppositions.
• At this stage of your growth in listening the real issues is discernment of the voice of the Spirit. Perhaps it would be helpful to review the “four voices” mentioned in the post about discernment: Four Voices.
I hope this is helpful to you. Keep listening and keep responding in obedience.
Ross
Excellent post! Robert Banks has written an excellent chapter on the nature of Paul’s authority in his book ‘Paul’s Idea of Community’. Banks comments on two statements made by Paul: 1. “We do not lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy” (2 Cor 1:24) & 2. “Brethren, I beseech you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are (Gal 4:12). “The apostle-for all his divine call, diverse gifts, and founding labors-does not set himself in a hierarchical position above his communities or act in an authoritarian manner towards them. He refuses to do this since Christ, not he, is their master (2 Cor 4:5). As himself subject to Christ, Paul stands with them in all that he does. That is why he talks elsewhere of his belonging to the church, not of the church belonging to him (1 Cor 5:2,3; 12:28)”~R. Banks: “Paul’s Idea of Community” (Peabody:Massachusetts, Hendrikson Publishers, Rev. ed., 1994), p 178.
Ross asks: What would the Church look like if we all just did what Christ told us to do then loved and served each other?
Reply: Oh we would loose the chains of injustice. We would untie the cords of the yoke and then break the yoke. We would share our food with the hungry.
We would provide shelter to the poor wanderer. We would clothe the naked. We would help our own kinfolk. Our light would break forth like the dawn.
Healing would come quickly. Righteousness would go in front of us. Glory would go behind us. We would call to the Lord and he would answer us.
When we cried for help, we would hear him say, “Here am I.”
Thanks for the post. I believe that we experience life in relationship. Without relationship we have very little lasting influence. When we become aware that we have limited influence we often automatically resort to “leadership”.
Wes