Reflections From Sunday Evening

In her book, "Dare to Serve" Cheryl Bachelder defines Servant Leadership by saying "servant leaders are courageous enough to take people to a daring destination, yet humble enough to selflessly serve others on the journey." Today we were talking about servant leadership in the context of Jesus' entry to the city of Jerusalem that initiated what we have come to call "holy week". Jesus gives us an example of servant leaders who lead with courage and humility. Another part of this mindset informs our attitude toward those we serve. Who do we serve? In Jesus time the religious leaders would give the impression that the Temple was intended to be served by the people. By the time Jesus got down with people there would be an idea that the Temple was meant to serve the people. So what do we do with this servant leader idea in our day? We in the Church are clearly meant to serve others. So what does this look like? I sometimes get the idea that we confuse serving with catering. A caterer is a person employed to provide and serve food. That is a basic definition. A group hires someone to make preparation, set up, serve, and clean up. It is important that we do not confuse servant leadership in the Church with catering. A servant leader will inspire people to join in a daring destination. A servant leader leads with courage and humility. A servant leader involves others in moving toward the daring destination of God's greatest plans and purposes. Let's join in serving rather than catering. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve