Serve

When we go eat lunch or dinner out, I’m grateful for the people who serve tables. They are there to make my dining experience smooth and special. I can remember a time when I barely noticed them. Years ago, when I was in full-time ministry, some of my students/friends waited tables to get through college. I remembered hearing stories from their jobs. They had very little base pay, most of their income was earned from tips from customers. My wife and I decided that we would always tip on the high end.

Jesus is having His last supper with His disciples, and He drops a big principle on them. This principle is a huge part of His teaching through His ministry. Check this out…

 ²⁵ Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ ²⁶ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. ²⁷ Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. (Luke 22:15-27 NLT)

This was a bit of a foreign concept to His followers as they saw Rome in charge of their homeland. Rome ruled with an iron hand. Many, if not all the Jews thought that the Messiah would come and overthrow Rome with power. They thought the Messiah would come in and set a kingdom like the ones they had known before.

The last night Jesus was with the disciples, He introduced a huge concept. It wasn’t completely foreign to them as they had watched how He served and loved people.  His idea of leadership structure was completed inverted from how the world worked. Servant leadership is highly effective and completed under rated. Leaders who lead with an iron hand will get the job completed but not with “buy in” from their followers. Fear is still an intense motivator. Love is still stronger than fear.

I believe when others see a servant’s heart, it’s harder for them to push back in anger and frustration. It’s easier for a “meeting of the minds” when serving one another is the goal of the discussion.

After all these years, servant leadership is still effective but often seen as weakness instead of strength. I would argue that there is no other kind of effective leadership than servant leadership.

Pressing On!

Dwayne