Yesterday, in two off-the-blog chats, uninitiated by me, people brought up the importance of servanthood. Both of these people hover higher up the ERC mountain than I ever climbed.
One of them was describing five priorities that he lives by which, he said, he listed not unnecessarily in any order but the first he mentioned was:
"1. Understanding and (producing) fruit of servanthood."
The other spoke eloquently of his passion to use his gifts to serve the people of the church he pastors. He decried the ambition that some seem to have to move on to a bigger church or to lead at a Conference level.
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Now, of course, there is some context.
If you read this blog, you know that one of my major criticisms of the ERC and the CGGC is that the hierarchs are concerned with leading and with developing leaders.
I've been quoting Jesus on servanthood and reminding readers that Jesus declared that to be the greatest in the Kingdom is to be slave of all.
Yesterday, I said, in one of those chats,
"As far as servanthood is concerned, if we struggled to grasp what servanthood is with half the zeal we invest in figuring out what leadership is, the Kingdom would be exploding in the West."
One of the places that the ERC's new New Strategic Plan will fail...one of them...is in its desire to have healthy, life-giving regional LEADERSHIP.
We've been failing for generations as human beings in our body have aspirated to lead the church, not to follow the Lord of the Kingdom and to walk in His power.
I'm blessed that others in the body are striving to serve Him and others.
A hopeful sign for the future of the Kingdom, as far as we are concerned.
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But, if we are going to become a community of servants...
...make no mistake about it...
...it will be because our people defy the vision of our hierarchs who want to lead the church...
...and not live as followers of Jesus and slaves of all.
We must repent, even if they don't.
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