The Three C’s of Godly Servant Leadership

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Text:  Mark 9:30-37

Mark 9:35

And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

(ESV)

The model of servant leadership is gaining prevalence not only in Christian leadership but also in the secular world.  This is both amazing and refreshing to see as it further demonstrates the practical nature of the teaching and theology of scripture and its application in the daily lives of people.  However, even the biblical concept of a servant leader is powerless and ineffective when it becomes disconnected from the greatest servant leader ever, Jesus Christ.  Revival can only come to our world as God’s people serve the lost as Jesus came to serve, not by dying for their sins, but by sharing the message that the Son of God, Jesus, has already died for their sins and ready to forgive them. 

The text of Mark 9:30-37 begins with Jesus once again sharing that He will be delivered into the hands of men who will kill Him (Mark 9:31).  However, as a demonstration of His victory over sin and death, Jesus also shares that three days after his murder, He will rise from the dead.  Unfortunately, the Disciples do not understand the meaning of Jesus’ message (Mark 9:32).

The Disciples lack discernment that Jesus must first die on the cross to provide forgiveness of sin (Romans 5:8).  While we cannot definitively know what was happening in the minds of the Disciples, their lack of understanding could have contributed to their wrongful discernment that after the resurrection, Jesus would march into Rome and take over.  This belief that Jesus would establish some new world order of government after His resurrection could have contributed to the argument as each of the twelve is jockeying for a position of prominence in this new government (Mark 9:33-34).  Jesus as God was aware of the conversation of the Disciples and knew he must introduce the concept of the servant leadership as the Disciples would not become deputies in a new world order or government, but leaders of the Church charged with spreading the news of the Gospel (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).  The three C’s of servant leadership for the Church involve,

1)      Communion with God – The Disciples had something we do not have, direct physical communion with God through Jesus Christ.  The thought of losing this communion with the death of Jesus was probably devastating to them.  However, Jesus also told them that He would rise from the dead in three days.  Not wanting to lose this communion again, the disciples may have begun jostling for a position close to Jesus.  However, even though the Disciples experienced physical communion with God through Jesus, we have something they did not have, the complete canon of Scripture.  Since the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13) believers in Christ also have the power of the Holy Spirit within them to carry out the mission of the Church (Romans 8:11).  This is the fulfillment of what Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23 with believers having the truth of the Bible and the Holy Spirit empowering them to be spiritually empowered servant leaders through spiritual and truthful communion with God.

2)      Child-like belief (Mark 9:36-37) – Jesus’ use of the example of a child illustrates the need for believers not to seek supremacy over others but to accept all that desire to come to Christ with a child-like belief.  There is no need for one to possess complete theological knowledge of truth to receive salvation, only the belief and trust of a child.  Christ-centered servant leaders must receive all coming to the church seeking Christ not from a position of moral superiority but through remembering that we too once came to Christ with the innocence of child-like belief. 

3)      Commitment -  The motivation of a believer and follower of Christ must not be to achieve some high position in the Church but instead serve others as they serve Christ, providing spiritual leadership that points others to a relationship with Christ.  This begins as one initially comes to Christ with a child-like belief to receive forgiveness from sin and adoption into the family of God and continues through communion with God through the study of the Bible, prayer, and being with other believers on a regular basis.  I want to invite anyone that has not previously approached God with a child-like belief to receive forgiveness from sin to do so now by praying with me,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

I encourage those that just prayed to continue serving God through communion with God through Bible study, prayer, and regular connection with other believers.  I also encourage you to serve others by sharing what Jesus has done for you so they too can have communion with God.  We can all have a role in bringing revival to the world through serving Christ and others by sharing the message of the Gospel and what Jesus has done for us (John 3:16).