Leading Like Jesus

"Jesus of Nazareth was the greatest leader in the history of the world." - Michael Green

"Come and follow me." -Jesus Christ

Leadership is nearly as difficult to define as any idea can be. Today, you may find hundreds, if not thousands of books that attempt to define leadership. The simple fact that people devote an entire book to describe leadership attests to the complexities involved in understanding it. In this brief study, I will offer five metaphors of leadership.

The Foot Washer: the Leader as Servant
The Good Shepherd: the Leader as Nurturer
The Wise Manager: the Leader as Trustee
The Trustworthy Pilot: the Leader as Steersman
The Prime Example: the Leader as Model

Of course, you may be able to think of ten or twenty different images that reveal other facets of leadership. However, the five pictures you will see below entail what I believe to be some of the essential images conveyed in the New Testament (NT, hereafter) for leaders in the assembly of Jesus followers we call the Church.

Before we take a look at these five metaphors for Christ-like leadership, I would like to examine what the Bible tells us about two specific leadership roles within the Church, namely elders and deacons.

Elder. The NT provides two words (episkopos and presbuteros) which used interchangably when referring to a particular role of leadership within the church. They have been translated variously as elder, overseer, and bishop. The terms do not suggest "power" and "position," but rather the function and practice of ministry. The terms and their context suggest servanthood, responsibility, accountability, and not authoritarianism.

The Bible provides awful warnings to those who would use the role of leader for power trips. No where in the NT do we read about men or women being "in charge." Christ is the "head" of the church, and we are responsible to Him for our roles within His Church. 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, and Ephesians 4 all make it very clear that no one member is more valuable than another. If God has established a hierarchy in the Church, it is only a functional one: Any influence leaders have is derived not from position, but from a diligent and self-sacrificial service to the community of believers.

Elders (in the sense of church leaders) can be found in the following Scriptures: Acts 1-2, 20:28, 22:5; Philippians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1:7; Hebrews 13:7,17; James 5:14; 1 Peter 2:25, 5:2. Perhaps the best translation for this role is "care-givers." They are those who have been entrusted with the spiritual well-being of the church.

Deacon. The NT uses the word diakonos, from which we get the word deacon. The word is found 29 times in the NT. It is used in various senses; from "one who serves at a table," to an "office of deacon in the church." As an "office," the role of deacon is not clearly defined in the NT. What we are able to say is that they were "helpers" to the elders. They too are to care for the spiritual health of the church under the insight and direction of the body of the elders.

Deacons in the NT consisted of both men and women (for women deacons, see Romans 16:1, and likely, 1 Timothy 3:11). The Bible is not explicit concerning the duties of deacons, however their close association with elders in 1 Timothy 3 (in characteristics and abilities) suggests that they are assistants in servant-leadership with the body of elders under the headship of Jesus Christ.

It is debatable whether the seven Hellenist believers in Acts 6:1-7 were deacons or not. These points would suggest that they were not deacons (or at least that any assertion that they are deacons is quite weak):
1) They are not identified as deacons (the assumption is made that they were deacons because they waited on tables: one use of diakonos in the NT-this has also been used to argue that deacons are entrusted with serving the bread and juice in communion).
2) The context does not imply that another "office" was created (it suggests a cross-cultural conflict resolution).
3) I would also suggest that this passage's secondary use is simply to introduce Stephen who comes powerfully into the story in Acts 7.

I bring this point out because I would like our churches to re-examine the role of deacons in our churches. Too often I have seen deacons identified as custodians, gardeners, and carpenters instead of spiritual care-givers. It would do us a great service to consider the fact that there were no building chairmen or grounds chairmen among the early deacons-there were no buildings or lawns!

Others. There are other roles of leadership that can be seen between the lines of the NT. Teachers, mentors, and other care-givers are found in passages like Acts 18:24-28, 2 Timothy 1:2, and Titus 2:3-5. A Christian does not need to be an elder or deacon to have a godly influence on others. Their influence comes, as stated above, from a diligent and self-sacrificial service to the community of believers.

The Foot Washer: the Leader as Servant

John 13:1-17 provides the most significant image for understanding the role of leadership in the church. In a pyramid model of leadership, those who are greatest sit atop the rest of the group, sending orders down the chain of command. In taking up the basin and the towel, Jesus turns that pyramid model upside down. The way to spiritual greatness is to become the servant of all.

Read Philippians 2:5-11. If the invitation of Jesus is to follow him, how is it that we have leaders who refuse to participate in "low" positions of service. Someone once mentioned to me a church leader who simply refused to call on those in a nursing home. "I don't do nursing homes," he reportedly said. As we follow Jesus in leadership, we must be willing to take the lowest act of service. Humility is the hallmark of the servant.

For eight summers while I was in college and seminary I worked for a swimming pool installation company. There were certain undesirable duties (scooping out smelly, algae-fied, mosquito-infested, rotting-leaf-filled muck; crawling around under poorly-built decks; standing in the rain; babysitting a fire hose). These were what we called the "crap jobs" (I apologize if the term is offensive). For the godly leader, there is no such thing. We are willing to lovingly serve in anything because whatever is done is done "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."

In taking on the very nature of a servant, Jesus turned the power-scale on its head. Leighton Ford writes, "Greatness is measured by taking the last place, by a total commitment to welcome the "little ones," by a breadth of sympathy and an openness to all who name his name, by a passion for personal purity, by toughness with ourselves but gentleness with others."

When James and John came to ask Jesus if they could sit on either side of him "in your glory" (Mark 10:35). They were asking for positions of power and prestige. He told them that leadership in God's kingdom means something very different than what it means in this world.

"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all" (Mark 10:42-44).

Jesus came among us "as one who serves" (Luke 22:27). The questions each of us must answer are, "Who, where, when, and how are we to serve?" Allow me to give four general guidelines for answering these questions: 1) serve where you are, 2) serve who you are with, 3) serve with the gifts and abilities God has given you, and 4) be willing to serve in any capacity (regardless of how "low" it may appear).

The Good Shepherd: the Leader as Nurturer

Klaus Bockmuehl writes, "Shepherding people means to help them grow; it demands thoughtfulness about 'how to make the other one great' and it implies nothing less than the act of true friendship for others."

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep" (John 10:10-11).

It is interesting that over the past few decades churches have been looking to the corporate world for leadership models while the corporate world has been looking at could arguably be Scriptural models (even if they don't necessarily follow them). The church has, to a significant extent, become result-oriented. We have surrendered to the idea that the church is, in one sense, a business--even an enterprise. However, when the church is driven by the "bottom line of 'getting the job done,' we have sacrificed the shepherd mentality" (Ford, in Transformational Leadership, p.164).

One reason many churches today are in such poor shape is because of a neglect of true shepherding. We have, in large part, forgotten that we are supposed to be making disciples, not just converts. Disagree? Consider how we measure success: What is your average attendance? How many baptisms have you had? Is our weekly offering making budget?

Jesus interacted with the crowds, but he spent the bulk of his time with twelve particular students. How much healthier would the church be if shepherding followed Jesus' example? Shepherding is about growing people. It is not about making sure everyone is pleased with the way things are being run. It is not about making sure everyone gets their fair share of attention. It is about how well the followers of Jesus are growing in likeness to the Master.

As nurturers, leaders in the church are concerned with the spiritual health of the individual people within the group-and thereby with the health of the group as a whole. Nurturing, of course will be concerned with the physical needs of people. Our love for others is most visibly expressed in meeting the needs of others. Therefore, shepherding does involve visiting the sick, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and helping the helpless. Compassion is the hallmark of the shepherd.

In addition, though, we must recapture the courage to lead people to ever-deeper faith commitments and knowledge of and love for God. Here we help others to learn ways to open their lives to God through teaching, practice of spiritual disciplines, mentoring, and confronting sinful lifestyles.

Finally, a word of caution to the nurturer. We nurture others only as long as we direct them to the Good Shepherd. Church leaders must remain appropriately small as they care for others. There is a temptation to desire to be someone's savior. However, there is only one Healer who can truly bind up broken hearts and lives. We are foolish when we try to take His place.

Can you think of some practical ways Christ-like shepherding can take place-in both formal and informal settings?

Remembering that the under-shepherd is also a member of the "flock," what are some ways you can reach out to be nurtured yourself?

The Wise Manager: the Leader as Trustee

Stewardship is a well-worn word, but one that lacks weight in our culture. Perhaps a better image is that of a trustee. As leaders, we have been entrusted with the care of God's people. When Jesus restored Peter and asked him, "Peter, do you love me?" Jesus told Peter to take care of his lambs. With the image of Trustees of God's people, the weight of our responsibility becomes painfully clear. Aspiring to leadership is not something to be entered into without counting the cost.

One parable in particular comes to mind when one considers this image of the Trustee. In the parable of the talents, three servants were entrusted with various amounts of money. The good and faithful servants invested what they had been given and doubled their investment. The wicked servant risked nothing, did nothing, and buried his trust in the ground. The master returned and praised the two who had invested their money. Their faithfulness was in acting as their master would have acted had he been there. Toward the third servant, though, the master was very upset. He did not act responsibly with the money he was given.

Faithfulness is the hallmark of the leader as a trustee. As leaders, our responsibility lies in the relationships and vocations we have been given. Jesus was entrusted with a mission and a group of students. He was faithful in obedience to his mission and in his development of his students.

How might we as leaders consider our role as trustees with respect to church finances? How is the church budget a spiritual document?

How might we as leaders consider our role as trustees with respect to our investment of time and energy?

How might we as leaders consider our role as trustees with respect to the identification and development of our spiritual gifts as well as those of others within the church?

The Trustworthy Steersman: the Leader as Pilot

One of the NT images of leadership is the Greek word kuberneoio, which means "administration" or "helmsmanship" or "piloting." It is the word we see in 1 Corinthians 12:28, "God has appointed in the church…gifts of…administration…."

The pilot needs vision. Not just a vision, but vision. Vision is another frequently used word in our day. Leonard Sweet writes, "Fifty years ago, if you admitted you had a 'vision' the people in white coats would come and take you away. Now everyone has a 'vision,' and those who don't are taken away. You can't run for garbage collector these days without a vision."

Vision for the trustworthy steersman is the ability to see things the way they are and to know which route is the right one. It comes by walking closely with God so we are able to view the spiritual landscape from His perspective-at least relatively. The pilot knows what needs to be done because of his or her intimacy with the God who knows the way things really are and what must be done.

God-given clarity is the hallmark of the leader as a pilot. Leadership in the church is about seeing where God is already at work and steering the church in that direction.

Jesus had an intimacy with His Father that empowered him to always know what to do. In John 8:28-29, Jesus says, "I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me. And He who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." Immediately after that, Jesus said, "If you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

I wonder how much of our indecisiveness in decision making is due to our failure to walk and listen closely to God as a normal pattern of life? Surely we must question our decisions-we are finite and flawed human beings. We might not hear God's direction clearly. We might misinterpret His will because of some unknown bias. But God's will is not so mysterious that we are left to make the best of things on our own. When we are walking closely with God, we can feel reasonably confident that our thoughts and decisions are informed by a God-given perspective on our world.

Can you think of any examples in Scripture where leaders piloted the church through choppy waters because they had God-given clarity? Might I suggest Acts 6 and Acts 15?

Consider some of the challenges that cultural change presents for this church. If our message is unchanging (the good news about Jesus), how might we need to modify the method (which must always be renewed) of delivering that message?

How would a God-given vision of the world be essential to determining such changes?

The Prime Example: the Leader as Model

Last, but certainly not least, the leader is an example. Jesus' continuous charge to his students was to follow him. "Obey all that I have commanded you." "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Jesus is the Prime Example for our lives. We are also his students, so we must model a life of followership.

Paul wrote, "Follow me as I follow Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Godly leaders are there to serve as examples; modeling lives that are lived in pursuit of Christ rather than the things of this world. Modeling is more about such a pursuit rather than modeling perfection. It is impossible for us to model a sin free-life in the sense of being without sin. However, we can model a life lived free from the power of sin to dominate our life. As Barry McCarty wrote, "(leaders) aren't sinless, but they should sin less."

We model for others what it means to live in the freedom of grace as we "work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling." This calls for an appropriate openness about our struggles and victories. It calls for a willingness to make ourselves accountable to other Christians, even as we hold them accountable.

Integrity is the hallmark of the leader as a model. That means we have one life-it is the same in public and private. This is where the characteristics of godly leaders found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are best understood. When we live with integrity, those who follow in our paths will not easily go wrong.

When a person lives in duplicity (having a public life and a second, secret life), he denies the omniscience of God by imagining that he can hide from God, he denies the righteousness of God by imagining that God does not care, and he denies the justice of God by imagining that God will do nothing about it.

The call of the spiritual leader is to single-minded desire to live as Jesus lived in relationship to the Father. We must have, as Keirkegaard wrote, "the purity of heart…to will one thing." As we live with integrity, those who follow our example will find the same single-mindedness in their own lives. They will truly be able to follow us as we follow Christ.

Jesus modeled and taught us how we are to faithfully care for his Church. It is my hope that these five Biblical metaphors will help us to see some of the important facets to the responsibility of leaders in the church. However, it will do no good to know the metaphors without finding ways to make them a reality in our lives. It would be more than appropriate for you to think of practical ways you can be a humble servant, a compassionate shepherd, a faithful trustee, a pilot with God-given vision, and an example with a life of integrity.