In May, I got the opportunity to visit a church in New Hampshire that I have worked with for a few years now. They simply invited me to visit and be. What I experienced there blew me away. No, it wasn’t powdered preaching or a concert-like presentation of the worship band – it was much bigger than that.
The usual center of attention at churches, the pastor, wasn't a high class CEO at the front of his congregation wearing a holy smile. In fact, he was in the thick of the crowd and I would have never known that he was their senior pastor if I had come in off the streets. (Oh, but his sheep knew.) And just in case you were wondering, there is a team that delivers the message at their church – it’s not just him Sunday after Sunday. I found out later why, and that is even more revolutionary – a bit more like Jesus did it.
But what was so special? It wasn’t what he wore, what he said or didn’t say – it was simply the way he served his people.
As Jesus modeled it, the greatest leaders are servants.
"But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” –Mark 10:43-45
"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” –John 13:14
You see, what made the experience so special was the clear impression that this man imitates Christ, thus he embodies the fruits of the Spirit, thus people follow him. I could clearly see that this pastor wasn’t one who spent the week in his office planning for an elegant sermon or the most desired series to come – he was more concerned with being the sermon.
After staying with he and his family for 7 days and watching him interact with the people around town – not just church people – it was easy to see that this man leads himself well. He was a great steward of himself, his family, humble in his dealings, and knew that he wasn’t God’s gift to the church.
On our way to the airport, he began speaking of a group of men in the church. My ears perked.
“I’ve been asking who to approach – the men who are pastors (the spiritual gift, not the profession). When I feel God gives me clearance, I ask them to join me in what we call an internship. Some of them agree to start working with me for a few hours once a week and some don’t. It’s not about a title, it’s about serving God with our gifts.
If Jesus was serious about making disciples, then shouldn’t pastors disciple too?
I mean, most churches, when they lose a pastor, whether he has moved on, passed away, or retired, go on a moose hunt to find someone to fill his place, and often it takes months, sometimes years. This way, as I get to serve and disciple men in the church and help them polish and better utilize their spiritual gifts, we won’t have to go on this wild moose hunt to find a pastor. We’ll be a church filled with pastors, those exercising the gift, not the profession, and one will be ready to lead the flock – the new senior pastor will come from within, serving."
With all that being said, is leadership more about initiation and decision making or more about being Christ?
And whether you’re a pastor (the profession) or not, your gifts are for the benefit of the church.
How are you stewarding the gifts you have been entrusted? But more importantly, how are you using those gifts to serve and benefit the people of God?
