Whatever Happened to SERVANT Leadership?

I've become a student of change in the American institutional church.

I see lots of it...

...none of it is for the good, at least if following Jesus is the standard.

Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.

Jesus lived in the world serving the least, feeding the hungry, healing the sick...

And, He was clear in teaching how greatness can be achieved among His disciples: to be great is to become a servant.

The person among His disciples who yearns to be the greatest must become slave of all.

A few decades back, I was on staff at a seminary. At that time, that school, along with most was tweaking the wisdom of Jesus. We weren't in the business of developing servants of the King. We were about the task of developing servant leaders for the church.

I, personally, was never comfortable suggesting that training leaders, even servant leaders, was an appropriate goal of a Christian educational institution...but I was a greenhorn and no one asked me.

However, now, give me the day of the servant leader fad!

These days, churches have set for themselves the task of developing leaders, the very notion that we add the adjective "servant" be damned.

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As I observe the movement in what the church says and does today, I see less imitation of Christ and more and more imitation of the world.

This cannot possibly be good.

It is not good.

We must repent.