“Servant Leadership” 

Mark 9:30-37

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a 

Servant Leadership.  Servant Leadership?  What an oxymoron!  How can a servant lead?  Leadership takes power; freedom to operate with independence and agility; requires obedience, or at least respect.  A servant has no power, no independent freedom, cannot demand obedience but must obey.  What is this idea of servant leadership? 

As we thought of leaders, we may have thought of a charismatic president like JFK, one who combined the power of the office with a personality that caused things to happen.  Perhaps we thought of a corporate leader, Thomas Watson revamped IBM from typewriters and mechanical calculators into the leader in computers: freedom to operate, corporate agility.  Patton: he spoke and soldiers jumped, or else!   

How many of us thought of Mother Teresa or Ghandi; leaders who refused to be constrained by tradition or government, yet without formal power?  Or perhaps a company leader such as Susan Wells.  Never heard of her?  Well, she ensured that the corporate computer system met all the demands of the users, not her own demands.  What about Dee or Dorothy or Loreen?  All leaders of volunteer organizations; leaders who cannot demand obedience; in fact, demands often drive away the very volunteers they depend upon. 

Servant Leadership.  Perhaps it is possible to lead without power, without freedom, without instant obedience.  But how? 

Leadership needs a goal, an objective.  Something that people do not think that they can achieve; perhaps something that they may not even want to achieve.  A leader takes people to goals; as Stanford professor Jim Collins first described them, Big Hairy Audacious Goals!  Something to get excited about; something almost beyond imagination; something that brings out the best in people; something that challenges.  Setting foot on the moon; that was a goal almost beyond belief; do it in 10 years? Absurd!     Goals. 

Leadership also needs someone who can be led.  A young woman was troubled by the question on the college application: Are you a leader?  Fearing rejection she finally answered it honestly: no.  The letter from the admissions office started with “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.”   By its very definition, leadership isn't about where we take ourselves, it is about where we take other people, the led, followers.  We love to hear stories of the most unlikely people being led to great things.  The underdogs in sports: the 1980 Olympic hockey team.  The inner city AP math students in Stand and Deliver.   The perennial favorite rag to riches story: Cinderella.  

But there is another, critical aspect to the led, the followers.  People are both leaders and followers at different times, different areas, of their lives.  Most all of us have times in our lives when we need to follow, when we need someone to help us through challenges and adversities.  We need a leader who will help us with the simple goal of getting back together, who will encourage us, who will invest themselves in us.  

And this idea of taking people to a goal.  This isn't just a get them going and watch what happens type activity.  Its being there, putting effort into the journey.  Putting something of yourself on the line as the leader: time, energy, risk of ridicule. A focus on the led.  There is a saying that greatness in leadership isn't how high you can pull yourself up but rather how far down you can reach to pull others up. 

What does all this have to do with today's Scripture?  With us being here this morning?  Perhaps everything, or at least everything that is important. 

Jesus is setting a goal for the disciples; for us.  This is truly a big hairy audacious goal!  Many times we only partially hear what Jesus is saying about the journey to Jerusalem, to his death on the cross.  We do not like to hear bad news, and that sounds pretty bad!  Our hearing starts to go as we wonder how can we avoid this horrible ending?  It is easy to be like Peter and want to change, to fix, this goal; to offer advice on inspirational goal setting.  This. This cross, isn't a goal that we want to hear about; not a goal that motivates us. 

But wait!  The cross alone is not the goal.  The goal is on the other side of the cross: resurrection!  Now that is a goal beyond belief!  Do you mean to say that we can not only go to our deaths, but can go on to new life by following this leader?  Wow!  The cross, resurrection: two integral parts of the same event, not two different activities that we can accept one and avoid the other. 

Jesus takes us there.  This is not a series of do it yourself instructions or motivational speeches.  This is a leader who is going to the same place, and going first, so that we can and may follow.  There is no question that Jesus as leader is giving of himself; giving all of himself to include his life, to lead us there. 

And who are the led, these followers?  They are people like the disciples, only partially hearing the goal, not fully understanding what it will cost the leader, without a clue what it means to them.  The led are arguing over who will be greatest.  They have suffered failure, embarrassment, even rebukes.  But, they are still being led.  Jesus has hand picked his dream team; and it looks like us!  This is not a team of superstars but everyday people. 

Okay, but what about this servant part of leadership?  How does one lead as a servant? 

First, we need to look at the image of children that Jesus presents.  There are many modern images of what this might mean.  However, in Jesus' time children were the least powerful, least free people of society.  Children were under the authority and care of others, had no right of self-determination.  For the disciples to become like children is to give up any hope of being important leaders, of being first in the kingdom of God's leadership team.  It is not about how great we are, how we tower over others.  It is about how we reach out to others, reaching to the children, symbols of the poor and powerless, those who most need help. 

Yet, does this not also model Christ's own leadership?  He claims no power of his own; only what the Father has given him.  He has no right of self-determination: he follows a predetermined path to the cross, and beyond.  Jesus is the greatest man, fully man and fully God, yet he does not claim special privilege, does not seek self advancement.  Instead, he reaches out to each of us. 

Without using power, Jesus led by example, by his life, and death.  The power he did use to make whole the demon possessed, to heal the sick, to comfort the afflicted, came from God and flowed through Jesus to the led.  Power used only out of compassion for others. 

Sometimes, we confuse freedom with focus.  Jesus knew where his life would end, there was little freedom.  Yet, his focus on the goal, his focus on the led, caused people to follow.  Even people who did not fully understand, like the disciples who argued over greatness. 

Also, we confuse demands for obedience with our desire to be led.  Jesus invited people to follow, invited people to leave all that they owned, leave family and friends, and follow him.  And they did!  And they still do! We want to be led when we recognize the leader and the goal. 

Now, we do not have to be like Jesus to be a servant leader; not all goals have world-wide impact. 

We can help others by suggesting goals and helping them achieve them: Years ago, a minister asked me to lead the junior high Sunday School class.  For me, that was, probably still is, a very audacious goal!  Yet, he helped me find gifts I did not know I had. 

Some of us may not be able to lead.  We might be at the point where we need to be led.  After brain surgery, I was barely conscious, not sure if I could think, glad that I could hear, wondering if I would be able to walk again.   I was in desperate need of a goal to get me out of that hospital bed.  The recovery room nurse suggested that we meet in one year at the start line of the Army 10 mile run.  I needed to be inspired by that big goal.   

Leadership is also investing time and energy in others, in developing relationships with others.  Relationships such as Jesus built with the disciples; they did not understand, but because of their relationship, they followed.  The deacons, when visiting the sick, comforting the bereaved, encouraging those who falter, providing refreshments after the service are demonstrating leadership; servant leadership.  Along with so many others: Sunday School teachers, musicians, ushers and others.  Leadership by reaching out to others.   

I would like each of us to spend a minute thinking about a servant leader, perhaps one in this congregation, or a goal you would like to lead others toward, or a person who needs the comfort of a relationship. Think of how Logan might be changed if we each strive toward a goal; a goal reflecting the love that Christ has shown to us.  What would Logan be like if we each became servant leaders; servant followers of Jesus Christ? 

Share your thoughts as we pass the peace, as we gather for fellowship.  Thank a leader, propose a goal, offer to lead. 

September 24, 2006

Rev. Alan Hammond

First Presbyterian Church

Logan, Utah