WOW! All I can say is WOW! Is there something in you that longs to do something great? When you see other people doing awesome things, does it get you all jazzed up and you begin to dream of how you could do something like that as well? I do. When I see other churches and ministries taking things to the next level I begin to dream. I read Dino Rizzo’s book “Servolution” and it radically changed the way I thought and it moved me to take action. Since reading that book, I have had some unconventional ideas that we have tried at our church that defy comfort. We are doing things that really do not make sense to someone who didn’t understand. We have been doing alot of outreaches…without…yes…without even putting our church’s name on a flyer or even mentioning our church! We have been serving other churches in our town without expecting anything in return! The things God is calling us to do are things that bring glory to Him! I am learning some things about humility.
Do you remember when Jesus washed the disciples feet? That story has me all messed up right now because when Jesus took that role of the servant He told His disciples that a servant is not above his Master. He said, “You call me Master, and you are right, I am and a servant is not above his Master.” He also told them that what He was doing to them they wouldn’t understand at the time but later they would get it…later being after He was crucified. He was telling the disciples that my service to you is dying for you, taking a position by choice to completely give of myself for someone else…for you! You see…that is what the foot washing was all about! AND THEN Jesus said you need to do this to one another! Do what? Wash feet? NO! You need to choose to completely give of yourself for someone else by taking the position of the humblest servant, Jesus. You see, when we humble ourselves it is us placing ourselves in a position for God to deal with our hearts.
Jesus was demonstrating next level leadership when He chose, as their Master, to humble Himself. Peter said that Jesus couldn’t wash His feet and Jesus replied, “If I can’t wash your feet then you have no part of Me!” WOW! Next level leadership is when we take the position of a servant and display for others the love of God by our actions. So many leaders are professional lecturers who talk about what we should be doing but see little to no results from their rants. You want to see results pastor? Wrap a towel around your waist and begin to die to yourself for others…even if you don’t get recognition, rewards or a pat on the back. The two questions I believe we always need to ask ourselves are; 1. WHY am I doing this? and 2. WHO am I doing this for? These two questions will expose the true motive of our heart and we need to be prepared to face ourselves if the answer isn’t pretty. We need to deal with the ugly side of ourselves by admitting that our motives are wrong when they truly are! Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that you are above being selfish or wrongful in your attitudes or motives.
I started this post with an exclamation of “WOW!” and the reason I did was because I had been reading about how other churches were doing great things for God and it inspired me to dream again. The next level is where we learn it isn’t about our Kingdom BUT THE KINGDOM of GOD! It is His Kingdom that we need to be focused on building and that requires learning from others. We need one another to stay sharp and learn. Some people are afraid of outside influence and that is totally wrong and selfish to think you have all of the answers yourself! So many church stay ineffective because they refuse to allow outside influence in from other successful ministries. If somebody is doing something that is causing a win for the Body of Christ, I want to know what they are doing and how they are doing it! What if a football team never learned new plays or ever sought our information about what other teams were doing to condition their players? They may have won in the past but if they don’t look at what is going on and step up their game, they will cease to be effective. Next level leaders understand that to be effective, we must remain fluid in our learning and in our methodology. You never compromise the core principles but you do adapt to what is going on to remain effective…you have to or your cease to remain relevant. Don’t believe me??? How many of you are reading this via dial up modem from your Comadore 64? Odds are is that you are looking at this on your iPhone, iPad, laptop or desktop PC. We understand that the need for change is evident in every area of our lives and that includes church leadership.
Lastly, next level leadership understands that being real…I mean genuine, honest, transparent is a huge key to reaching this generation. If you want to reach the religious, act religious and they will come in by the droves. If you play to religious people’s whims and wants, they will love you and celebrate what you do for them…if you want to reach sinners that need Jesus…GET REAL! It would be easy to grow a church by playing into what everyone wanted BUT am I interested in growing A church or THE CHURCH? The world is looking for genuine people who will get dirty, down on their hands and knees and give their lives for them by washing their feet.
Be a next level leader. It is not the easy way, it is not the popular way but if you really want to make a difference you are going to have to suck it up and get over yourself! If you really want to be like Jesus and want to see lives changed you need to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this and WHO am I doing it for?”
-Keep it real,
-Derik
Leave a Comment
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
