It is one of the filthiest lies Satan whispers in the ear of
our comfortable and entitled generation.
From before we can even remember, we have been
indoctrinated, at nearly every turn, with the idea that being “a leader” means
getting the gold star. Leadership is a form of recognition, a kind of
accomplishment, the path to privilege. Being declared a leader is like winning
an award or being identified among the gifted.
Leadership is a form of success. And since you can do
whatever you dream, and can achieve whatever you set your mind to, you too can
be a leader — at home, at work, in the community, in the church. Why would you
settle for anything less? Leadership means privilege, and no generation has
considered itself more entitled to privilege than ours.
The Lie About Leadership
The world’s spin on leadership is in the air of our society,
felt in the subtext of our adolescence, and reinforced in our public elections.
We are swimming in it everywhere we turn. Why follow when you can lead? Why
contribute to the glory of another when you can be the chief beneficiary
instead?
“One of the marks
of Satan’s influence in a society is leaders lording it over those for whom
they are supposed to care.”
As novel and inspiriting as it may seem, it’s a very old
deception. From the garden, to the history of Israel, to the Middle Ages, to
our innate notions about leadership today, the natural, human, sinful way to
think about leadership is to be king of the hill. To view leadership as the
ascent to honor and privilege, rather than the descent to attend to the needs
of others.
One of the distinct marks of Satan’s influence in a society
— evidence that the god of this world is blinding unbelievers en masse — is
that leaders lord their leadership over those for whom they are supposed to
care. The lie may be as prominent (and embraced) today as it’s ever been, but
by no means is it new.
Not Lording It Over
The voice that calls most clearly for the true path of
leadership — leadership as sacrifice, not privilege — is Jesus himself. He
warned sharply against both the pagan and religious leaders of his day who
sought to use their people for their own benefit, rather than serve.
“You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise
authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great
among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be
your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25–28; also Mark 10:42–45)
Jesus summons us to have a distinctly Christian perspective
on leadership. And if these words from Jesus on the nature of true leadership
weren’t enough, he made it unforgettable, on the night before his death, on his
knees with a washbowl and towel in his hand.
“If I then, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s
feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have
done to you.” (John 13:14–15)
Sacrifice for Their Joy
The apostle Peter, who led the apostles as first among
equals, strikes the same clear note for a distinct vision in the church.
Christian pastor-elders are to serve “not under compulsion, but willingly, as
God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over
those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2–3).
“Christian
leadership is fundamentally about giving, not taking.”
For a follower of Jesus, greatness in leadership is not
defined by how many you have beneath you, but how consistently and
significantly you are led by the Holy Spirit to make personal sacrifices to
serve the true needs of others. Christian leadership, as captured by John
Piper, is “knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to
use God’s methods to get them there in reliance on God’s power.” And taking
such initiative is typically another way of saying “sacrifice.” Initiative is
personally costly.
What specifically is the good for which faithful leaders
will take initiative and make sacrifices? According to the apostle Paul, it is
laboring for the joy of those in our charge. “Not that we lord it over your
faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith” (2
Corinthians 1:24).
Leadership as Sacrifice
Christian leadership, then, is fundamentally about giving,
not taking. Christian leaders are not empty, immature individuals looking to
prop themselves up with new privilege. Rather, they are men and women who are
secure enough, and mature enough, to empty themselves for the good of others.
“At the heart of
leading is taking initiative we otherwise wouldn’t take and making sacrifices
we otherwise wouldn’t make.”
Mark this, husbands and dads, pastors and presidents, the
very essence and heart of leadership is taking initiative we otherwise wouldn’t
take and making sacrifices we otherwise wouldn’t make, to guide our people
somewhere good they otherwise would not have gone. We embrace short-term
personal difficulties for long-term corporate gains. We are among those who are
learning that life’s greatest joys come not in private comfort and ease, but in
choosing what is uncomfortable and hard for the sake of others’ joy. We are
learning to find our joy not in the ease of attending to self, but in the
toughness of attending to others.
Christian leadership — in the home, the church, and
elsewhere — is not for those clawing for honor and recognition, but for those
most ready to fall to their knees and be inconvenienced by the needs of others.
They are those who, in a sense, have their house sufficiently in order to be
able to turn their attention to serving others. Instead of pursuing their own
immediate benefit, they are willing to sacrifice for others’ benefit.
Like the Son of Man, we lead not to be served, but to serve
(Mark 10:45). We die to self so that others might live.
Written by David Mathis
David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is executive editor for
desiringGod.org, pastor at Cities Church in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and adjunct
professor for Bethlehem College & Seminary. He is a husband, father of
four, and author of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual
Disciplines.
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