Every denomination has heroes of the faith. Perhaps if you are Baptist – it is Charles Spurgeon! If you are Pentecostal, it may be Aimee Semple McPherson or Phoebe Palmer! Or if you belong to the Alliance Church – it may be A.W. Tozer!
These people are not only an inspiration to the people of their own denomination but an example for all Christians. In the early days of the Salvation Army, we had such a man Commissioner Samuel Logan Brengle – an American Officer.
The story is told that during his College years, Brengle was a brilliant law student who was very gifted in the art of speaking. The Lord called him to the ministry of preaching. After he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, he became a circuit preacher with the Methodist Episcopalian Church.
During the following year he was recognized as an excellent preacher and was recommended to become the pastor of a large city church. His leaders even saw in him the potential to be a bishop one day. As a result Brengle decided to enroll at the Boston Theological Seminary to pursue a Bachelor of Divinity degree before moving to more responsibilities.
It was around this time that the Salvation Army was established in Boston. Brengle was attracted to it and in due course he resigned from the Methodist Church and offered his services to the Salvation Army. This meant that he had to go through a training period to learn the nuts and bolts of Army ministry. This is when he wondered whether he had made a mistake!
His first assigned duty was not to preach to a large crowd, but to clean and polish the boots of his fellow officers in training! He found himself in a little room with eighteen pairs of muddy shoes, a can of shoe polish and… the temptation to quit… To him this was an obvious waste of his time and talent. He had proved himself to be a brilliant speaker; a preacher with a very promising future. He asked himself: “Is this the best they can do for me in the Salvation Army? Did I make a mistake?”
Then in his imagination, he saw a picture: Jesus was washing his disciples’ feet! In his journal he wrote:
Quote. “I could see my Lord – who had come from the bosom of the everlasting father and the glories of heaven and the adoration of its hosts – bending over the feet of uncouth, unlearned fishermen, washing them, humbling Himself, taking the form of a servant. I immediately fell on my knees and prayed: “Lord, you washed their feet; I will polish their boots.”
Brengle learned an important principle that day in Christian leadership: the call to regard and to serve others with humility. (attitude and action).
Philippians chapter 2 is a challenge for us to evaluate our attitude and service towards one another. The principles of humility apply to all believers, and I believe it is particularly important for those of us in training for Christian leadership to make sure we serve God and others with all humility.
The letter to the Philippians is referred to as a letter of joy… Phil 1: 3 – 4 says:
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel…”
… yet some commentaries indicate that there was perhaps a hint of division, or at least a possibility of one, especially among some of the church leaders. Paul emphasized the necessity of unity among the brothers, the need to be of one accord, a quality that is possible only when there is true humility.
Perhaps in our local church everything appears fine. Perhaps there is no hint of division, yet it is wise to take Paul’s advise to ensure that our ministry is successful.
• In what way can we show humility towards those we serve? • How is Jesus’ example of humility going to affect our lives? • What particular aspects of His example on humility can be articulated in our ministry as Christian leaders?
The Apostle Paul answers this question first of all by pointing that true humility starts an attitude of the mind. He says:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (v. 3)
Nothing should be done out of selfishness. When we go to our churches, after studying at Seminary, we may be tempted to boast of our knowledge. We may be tempted to show off what we’ve learned, to discuss theology and use words that people don’t understand.
This is particularly true for those of us perhaps who minister to a congregation where some are unlearned. How easy to baffle them with words.
Or are we tempted like Commissioner Brengle to feel that a task may be too menial just because of the higher education.
Paul writes that we should be sensitive to others, that we should pay attention to how we deal with them. Paul says it’s easy: all you have to do is consider others better than yourselves! That should make you humble.
Or perhaps we mean well and we want to implement a new program or change some ways of doing things. But how do we deal with those who don’t understand.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” (vv. 4 – 5)
The Word of God says that Christ Himself was God, but He didn’t believe that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit.
Some commentaries believe this passage of Scriptures (5 – 8) may have been an early Christian hymn that Paul inserted at this point. Perhaps Paul himself wrote this hymn about Christ – we don’t know. What is important however is that this hymn gives us the model of humility in Christ. A model that we can follow to be a successful leader in Christian ministry.
Nothing should be done in vain conceit. Jesus Christ gave up his place in heaven, and then he descended from heaven and was born to be a man. He gave the glory, he gave up being surrounded by tens of thousands of angels and archangels.
He left the pure, the holy, the heavenly places where there is no sin, where there is violence, where there is no hate.
He demonstrated an attitude of humility. He didn’t grasp at everything that was due to Him. He didn’t say: “Hey, I am the son of God – I deserve better than this – I am the Son of God. All things were created to me. I never sinned; I deserve to stay in heaven with my Father.” No, he didn’t, he came down to earth to live among His people as a man.
Not only did he come to earth to be a man, but the Word of God tells us that “Jesus Christ made Himself nothing, that He became like a servant. He could have come like a king. He could have been the son of a rich merchant. He could have been born in supper class society. However he chose otherwise.
So many People today are eager to raise their social status, whether by being with the right people, dressing for success, or driving the right car. Who are we trying to impress. Let’s check our attitude to make sure it reflects our Christian walk.
Not only should we, as Christian leaders imitate Christ’s humility by considering others better than ourselves, but they should also be looking out for the interest of others. In other words, not only is our attitude important, but we should also be interested in serving others.
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (v. 4)
The world doesn’t look at this that way. Paul calls us to serve others. We live in a world which says “what’s in it for me?”
Let’s look at Jesus. His status was clear – The disciples recognized that Jesus was their Lord and teacher, but he did not stick to that… He did not stand upon his own rights. He didn’t stand in the public places and say: “That’s not my job! He did more than the call of duty demanded. He assumed the form of a servant.
We find in John’s Gospel Jesus washing the disciples’ feet just before the Passover:
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13: 14).
Jesus took a towel and girded himself and performed the duties of a servant by washing the feet of his disciples. To the disciples who stood there watching Jesus, he taught them the true meaning of being great – it starts with humility in attitude and in action. This is exactly Paul’s point when he writes to the Philippians, “He took the very nature of a servant.”
That is the nature of a servant. A servant is a person whose job is to help others, to serve others. What makes a good clerk at a grocery store? Is it someone who just hangs around the aisle or one who goes out and meet customers and helps them find what they need.
The Apostle Paul admonishes us to follow Christ’s example in being humble and we read that he himself followed his own advice.
“I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Cor. 10: 33, 11: 1)
Believers should think like Christ Jesus. To be humble for Jesus might be difficult now, but in the end, He will reward us.
Believers should act like Christ Jesus. He was fully obedient to God even when that caused his death on the cross. Peter writes:
“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats."” (1 Peter 3: 22 – 24)
In the gospel of Matthew, we read once more of Jesus’ humility and how we should imitate him.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11: 29)
Jesus demonstrated humility. He focused on the needs and hurts of others; he listened to them, showed compassion for them, loved them.
What about each one of us today who are training for Christian ministry as leaders? Are we willing to focus on the needs and of the hurts of others? Are we willing to go the extra mile?
Surely, if Christ Jesus humbled himself so very deeply, we believers should be constantly willing to humble ourselves in our own small way. Surely, if he became obedient to the extent of death, we should try to achieve in our lives the of oneness, humility and service, which is pleasing to God.
Remember our story of Commissioner Samuel Logan Brengle? That early incident, he wrote years later in his biography, was the best training he could have received. It taught him the practice of humility. It showed him that the Army stood for service, humble service to lowly people in the name of Jesus. Never again would he be embarrassed by a menial task. The Lord blessed his ministry. He rose to high leadership position with the Salvation Army in the United States.
The Apostle Paul concluded (vv. 9 – 11) that the path to humility is the path to greatness. Since Christ humbled himself to the point of dying on a cross, God has exalted Him to the highest place and made His name greater than any other name – a name to which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
