Text: Jesus called them together. He said, “You know about the rulers of the nations. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave. Be like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free. (Mat. 20.25-28, NIRV)
Yesterday the United States celebrated its 233rd birthday. During that time, many people have inspired us, led us, and made contributions to this experiment in democracy known as the United States of America. How about George Washington – Commander of the Continental Army that won freedom over the British and also the first president of the United States. Or how about Abraham Lincoln – president of this country during perhaps the most incredibly difficult time that this union has experienced?
Or how about Tony McAuliffe? He was the commanding general of the American forces that were hunkered down at Bastogne during WWII. The German army had launched a huge offensive that was trying to drive a wedge between the British and American forces. The Germans had surrounded the American troops in the city of Bastogne. The weather was brutally cold and the American soldiers were not equipped for winter. The people of the town helped by giving the soldiers blankets and white linens that they could use for camouflage in the snow covered country. But the American soldiers were in a desperate situation. They were isolated from the supply lines, had no possibility that relief was on the way and they were greatly outnumbered and outgunned. Their situation looked bleak. On December 22nd, the Germans sent four soldiers under the cover of a 2-hour truce. The Germans were carrying a note demanding the surrender of the Americans. When the note got to General McAuliffe, his first reaction was that the Germans were trying to surrender to us. When he learned that the Germans were demanding the surrender of the Americans under threat of annihilation, he laughed and said, “Us surrender? Aw nuts!” Out of that came the official response to the German commander. The note read, “To the German commander: “Nuts!”
Leadership is also essential in the Church. God called many leaders to preserve his Word and the lineage through which the Savior would be born: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets, the Apostles, the church fathers, Luther and the other reformers. Leadership in the Church has many of the same qualities as leadership in the world, with one major exception – the place that God is leading. People today are looking for hope. We are burdened with so many things: the economy; illnesses; relationship struggles. We need to be shown a vision that inspires hope. How does God inspire – how does God point us to the future? He shows it to us - and then He moves us there!
Think about how God did this to Abram. He took Abram outside one clear starry night. Abram had been sweating that there would be no heir for him. He was contemplating leaving it all to his servant. Then God showed Abram the starry night and said, “Son, look up there. If you could possibly count the stars up there, that is going to be the number of your descendants. And so an old man who had given up hope was blessed to know that God would find a way – not only to give him an heir, but to bring a Savior into the world.
The prophet Habakkuk was given a number of visions that showed the tragedy that the people’s rebellion would bring upon them. He was angry because God had given him a vision of how an evil nation would be used by God to punish his people for rebelling. Habakkuk rebelled. He in essence said to God, “How can you let the evil Babylonians also hurt the faithful people?” But God said, “No – you proclaim this vision, it will come to pass – I the Lord will make it happen.” And it did! Vision drove the prophets. Jeremiah lived when the full weight of God’s judgment was brought to bear on the people. But right in the middle of all that – God shines a vision of hope for the people: For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29.11) And we see how this came to be – not only with the restoration of Israel – but in the work of Jesus. God leads with vision! We need to have God’s vision lifted up among us too – to know that God is moving us to a better place.
When it gets down to brass tacks, leadership is about influence. Everybody has the capacity to influence another person. Many years ago, a navy buddy invited me to go work out at the gym. He came to pick me up about 9:00am and as soon as I got in the car, he offered me a Long Island Iced Tea. He had brought a large gallon thermos filled with the cocktail. I passed on it, but he insisted. Finally I said, “Hey man, it’s only 9:00 in the morning. It’s too early for that stuff. Besides, you shouldn’t be drinking so much.” He slammed the brakes and after a few choice words he asked me if I wanted to walk. Now this buddy was older than me. He held a higher rank than me. After that day, he didn’t hang out much with me. He left the place where we were stationed as a very bitter man. About two years later, I saw him again at another duty station. But he was an entirely different person. Wow, let me tell you, his smile could light up a room. His eyes were twinkling and he was really happy. When he saw me he came to me and he hugged me and said, “Thank you Eloy!” I asked, “What for?” He said, “Don’t you remember? When you told me that I drank too much? I got some help and don’t drink anymore. And I’ve wanted to tell you thank you.” What a blessing this was for me! Did you get what happened? – The junior person – the younger guy in the relationship - was able to do something that influenced the older, wiser person. And even though I had no clue this was happening – God used it for good.
God chooses leaders from all categories – you’d be amazed! Young people can be extremely inspiring leaders! The scriptures are full of examples. When Moses and the freed Israelites were wandering the desert, it took two young guys, Caleb and Joshua to trust God enough to say that Israelites could enter the Promised Land and that God would lead them through. When the Philistines sent their champion – the giant Goliath – to fight the inspiration for God’s people. When the prophet Joel was given a vision of how God would rescue his people through the work of the coming Messiah and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the vision included those who would prophesy – or be given the vision of salvation: men, women, young and old, sons and daughters.
We need to take seriously the notion that ORLC needs to develop leaders to take us into the future. It needs to be something that we do systematically and with energy. We are on the verge of an agreement with Concordia University – Texas. Listen, they will give us the materials of the Lay Leadership Institute and we can pilot that material here to prepare folks for leadership in our congregation. I think that this is awesome and I hope we can encourage the young men and women and the adults and the older men and women of the church to engage this. I want us to have plenty of people just itching to have their names on the ballot the next time we have elections at ORLC.
There are lots of things that we can learn about leaders, but today I just want to talk about two of these things. The most important ingredient for leaders is integrity. The scriptures communicate this thought in a number of ways. When Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Titus, he said: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech…” (Titus 2.7-8a) Leadership is more than outward appearances. Image is what people think that we are. Integrity is what we really are.
Integrity builds trust. There is no better example that I can lift to you than Mike Hill. Listen, I’ve only know this brother a few months and I’ve seen the integrity and consistency that he has brought to the ministries that he has led for us. And know what – there is a lot of evidence for this. Oh, I’m not talking about perfect pitch, nor am I talking about a full resume – although he has these too! I’m talking about lives – relationships – people, young and not so young that love him and that he loves. Integrity builds trust and Mike is a trusted leader at ORLC.
Integrity also has high integrity value. In his book, Reason to Believe, R. C. Sproul tells the story of a young man who was raised in a Jewish home. His dad was zealous in attending worship and religious instruction. When the family was forced to move to another city in Germany, there was no synagogue in the city. All the pillars of the community attended the Lutheran church. The dad announced one day that the family was simply going to become Lutheran. When the stunned family asked why, the dad said, “It will be good for my business.” The young man became confused and bewildered and his disappointment became a deep bitterness that would plague him all his life. He left home to study in England. The young man wrote a book in which he conceived of a whole new worldview. In that book, he called religion the ‘opiate of the masses’ and reduced the influence of religion to purely economic terms. The young man was Karl Marx. The system developed by this bitter man has condemned countless thousands to hell. The influence of the hypocrisy of his father has been felt around the world. Tell me that integrity doesn’t matter.
The indispensible quality in leaders is vision. The scriptures tell us: “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” (Proverbs 29.18a) Not everybody understands or even values the power of vision. We’ve talked about how God leads his people through vision. He expects his people to be led by vision. Here’s some interesting thoughts about how people view vision:
1. Some people never see it. They are wanderers.
2. Some people see it but never pursue it on their own. They are followers.
3. Some people see it and pursue it. They are achievers.
4. Some people see it and pursue it and help others see it. They are leaders!
Let’s close with these two quotes: “Be like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others,” said to the disciples by Jesus Christ. “Good leaders must first become good servants.” Written by Robert Greenleaf – one of the first gurus of leadership. Listen, one of the greatest anachronisms is the heavy-handed person who has a position. The contrast offered here in these quotes is amazing. Jesus, being God, did not Lord it over people, but instead humbled Himself – even to a death on the Cross – to serve us because He loved us. We are enjoined by Jesus to lead in the same way – with our hearts tender, our minds agile and open and our lives radically transparent. When this happens, God can do amazing things through people. May we find God doing amazing things among us! Amen.
