| Subject: Knows the Ones You Serve |
Author:
Eugene
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Date Posted: 12:37:35 06/26/03 Thu
(Notes: This is my reflection which I posted at another forum for the Joshua Fellowship in the Chinese Christian Church of Oxnard. The group is going through material about how to serve the community of Faith as servant leaders.)
But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28, NRSV)
I think it is really great that the fellowship picked up the study of servant leadership as a spiritual endeavor. Honestly, even in our culture (in which one is supposed to be humbled and not sticking his/her neck out) there is no lack of desire to lead. And this desire is not at all completely borne out of a thirst for power, but also largely out of the desire to set wrong things aright. I know for a fact that even today there are brothers and sisters in our church who, even though shying away from ministries at the moment would have wanted to lead the difference aspects of our church towards the right direction. This desire is not only commendable, but also necessary if our church is going to serve the flock whom has yet come into the sanctuary.
Mencius said, “The evil of men is that they like to be teachers of others.” (Mencius, Li Lau I:23) I have come to think of this saying as a good boundary of those of us who are called to serve (and all of us are called to serve). Mencius was not saying that there shouldn’t be teachers, but you all know what he meant -- all to often one teaches not for other’s sake, but for one’s own benefit. Some people like to be respected as teachers; others like to impress others with their intellectual exercise. Also, since we are not others and do not experience other’s pain and difficulties, we are often just dying to dish out some quick fix for others’ seemingly trivial troubles. In the church context, there is also the power of tradition – all churches have teachers and leaders, and so must we. A lot of times, ministries exist largely for the ministers’ need (to do something Christian-like). I wonder what would Jesus say about that.
I have been thinking (for months) about what would I say to encourage new people in ministry. I think if I have to give some advice today, I would have only one thing to say, “Get to know EVERYONE you serve.” I hope I am not being evil (by Mencius’s standards) by giving this piece of advice. Understanding is not the quick fix to the threats each ministry must face, it is only a starting point for a potentially life-changing tool of God. It is not enough to teach one hour a week. It is not enough to lead meetings one hour a week. It is not enough to organize song practices one hour a week. It is not enough, unless you come to know everyone in you ministry.
Can a servant ever be called good and faithful, if he/she does not care about his/her master’s desire? How then can a leader serve with only a token knowledge of his people?
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