Servant Leadership

 Numbers 30-31; Mark 9 

 “…he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.’”

Mark 9:33-35

The disciples were arguing about positional authority. Jesus responded by challenging them to live with spiritual authority. The “very last”, or “servant of all”, was the lowest position in a household. Jesus’ call to “deny yourselves, take up your cross and follow me” was a call to “live dead”. The call of leadership is a call to lay down ambition and learn to follow and obey.

Are we leading in the world’s way, or in God’s way?

The leadership Jesus modeled confronted the powers, delivered the spiritual prisoners, and boldly invited people into a new Kingdom. If we aspire to lead in any way in Christ’s Kingdom, we, too, must live as the “servant of all”. It’s a high bar that is impossible apart from the empowering work of the Holy Spirit each day!

“Lord Jesus, I humble myself before you, and acknowledge I have much to learn from you as a servant-leader.”