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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Servant
Leadership
(John 13:1-5, 12-14)
by
Karl J. Forehand
Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing
that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father,
having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And during supper, the devil having
already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray
Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and
that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, rose from supper,
and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself
about. Then He poured water into the
basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel
with which He was girded... And so when He had washed their feet, and taken
His garments, and reclined at the table again, He said to them, "Do you
know what I have done to you?
"You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher,
washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (John 13:1-5, 12-14)
There is often confusion, among
men, when it comes to leadership. We
often focus on control. In
other words, “How well do I control my surroundings.” By our standards, Jesus life was out of
control. One of His three closest
friends denied knowing Him. Another
of the hand-picked disciples betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. His own people, the Jews, wanted to kill
Him. He had infinite knowledge, yet
when he taught the disciples, they didn’t “get it.” Jesus did not control others – He had total control of
Himself. His humanity was in complete
subjection to the Father, so He didn’t worry whether He controlled others.
We often focus on “building an
army.” It is true, in leadership,
that if no one is following, you are just taking a walk. But, many of us want the world to revolve
around us. False assumptions, like
control and followers, lead to false hopes.
David Augsberger gives a list of several of these:
1. A Hope for No Tensions: (If
one can be sweet, surface, cheerful, then tensions can be avoided. So
niceness is necessary.)
2.. A Hope for No Differences:
(If one can be agreeable, compliant, adaptable, then differences can be
erased. Since differences are dangerous.)
3. A Hope for No Criticism: (If
one can communicate cautiously, with questions, cleverly with concealed or
indirect messages, then criticism can be escaped. Since comments are
criticism.)
4. A Hope for No Anger: (If one
can hide, suppress, deny, or defer anger, then negative feelings can be
eliminated. Since anger is attack.)
5. A Hope for No Weakness: (If
one can hide pain, stifle tears, conceal sadness then one will appear strong
and invulnerable. Since sadness is weakness.)
6. A Hope for No Disobedience: (If
one can gain another’s love, they will have to be loyal, obedient, conforming
to the lover’s demands. Since love is control.)
7. A Hope for No Craziness: (If
one can keep all debate perfectly reasonable, then all feelings can be kept
in their place. Since logic is the last word.)
8. A Hope for No Failure: (If one
can strive to be completely adequate, successful, perfect, one is safe. Since
failure is final.)
David Augsberger, When
Enough is Enough, (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1984), p. 106
Notice, these are all false
hopes. Men are unhappy and they are
changing careers, changing families and changing locations trying to find
what they are falsely hoping for. The
void that most men have, that they haven’t recognized is an absence of the
key ingredient: servanthood. It is
easy to dismiss this character quality until we look closely at Jesus’
life. Jesus washed feet.
Washing feet was not even a
courtesy, like a back rub. It was
considered beneath most people.
Think about it: a person that wore sandals and walked to work would
have less than desirable feet. They
would be dirty, blistered and possibly smelly. Washing feet was the job of a servant. Jesus accepted the responsibility of doing
it.
Why did Jesus do it and what
does it teach us about leadership?
1. Leaders love completely
This passage says Jesus
loved them “to the end” or “to the uttermost.” We have to remember that love is a verb. It is not a mystical feeling. It is a transitive reality that requires
an object. It is action toward
another person.
Imagine for a moment that you
are in Jesus’ sandals. You are about
to be betrayed. You have completed
absolutely everything that God the Father told you to do. You just finished supper. You are full and content, ready to
relax. That is when most of us pull
the lever of recliner and “kick back.”
Jesus washed the disciples’ feet.
The times when you are exhausted
– the times when you have finished your “to-do” list are the times (if you
love to the full) that you serve.
They didn’t deserve it. They
were a bunch of complainers and doubters that often made Jesus’ life much
tougher than they should. He served
them any way because He loved them completely and His love was made complete
in what He did.
Servanthood is a root thing of
the Christian life. We don’t do it
for any reason, other than because it is right. We do it from sincere, agape love. We can’t punch out when we are full or frustrated or
tired. If we love completely, we have
to serve.
Do you love completely?
2. Leaders take responsibility
We have to have a sense of duty. We have to know what God expects and
follow through. This passage says of
Jesus “knowing the Father had given all things into His hands…” Service to others was part of what the
Father had entrusted Him with. The
picture of a life of obedience is not complete without service. Did you know the Greek word for ministry
means “service.”
The passage also says Jesus knew
He had “come forth from God, and was going back to God.” The message God wanted men to clearly
understand was this: You must serve
others. It is not an option. It is an integral part of the Christian
life.
Jesus did not announce what He
was about to do. We assume that we
deserve some recognition for service, so we announce it before and after we
do it (just so no one will miss it).
He also didn’t put conditions on the service. He didn’t say, “Okay, I’ll wash your feet
if you will clean up the table.” Most
of us have to have a motive for serving.
How about doing it because it is right?
Most men are very responsible in
their careers. When we get home, we
are tired and we become like Java the Hut (of Star Wars). We sit on our throne and demand that
everyone serve us. If we are truly
responsible, we will take the lead from Jesus and learn to serve, even when
we are tired. Maybe I should say,
especially when you are tired.
3. Leaders lead by example
Real leaders don’t orchestrate
servanthood, they MODEL it! Actions
often speak so loudly that people don’t listen to what we say. It reminds me of one of my favorite poems.
Walk a Little Plainer Dad
Walk a little plainer dad, said a little boy so frail
I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fail.
Sometimes your steps are very plain, sometimes they’re hard to
see
So walk a little plainer dad, for you are leading me.
I know that once you walked this way, many years ago,
And what you did along the way I’d really like to know
For sometimes when I’m tempted, and I don’t know what to do
Could ya walk a little plainer dad, for I must follow you.
Some day when I grow up, you are like I want to be,
Then I will have a little boy, who will want to follow me.
And I should want to lead him right, and help him to be true
So walk a little plainer dad,
FOR WE MUST FOLLOW YOU
How about you? Are you a servant?
Complete love in ministry, marriage and parenting requires service. I know you are responsible in many areas –
how about where it counts? What
legacy are you leaving behind? Too
many men want to be masters – we need more servants. Listen to the story of Hudson Taylor:
Years ago the
communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of
Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in
a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary
of the gospel.
As the author was
doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor’s saintly
character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out
his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing
his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as
his personal Savior.
Whether we realize it
or not, our example leaves an impression on others.
Karl
J. Forehand, 2002
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