A few Sabbaths ago I found myself watching the "hymnal guy" do his thing before and after services. This guy was everywhere, smiling and greeting members at the door; carrying a hymnal to an elderly woman who was already in her chair, scanning the congregation during the song service for anyone who may have forgotten to get one at the door; And, finally, making his way down each isle to collect hymnals randomly strewn among the chairs after the service had ended.
The care and concern this gentleman paid to such a seemingly mundane task was nothing short of amazing. The "hymnal guy" had been quietly performing this act of service, without accolades, without praise, without recognition, week after week, Sabbath after Sabbath as long as I had been attending.
As I observed this man, the thought struck me that I wasn't just watching someone pass out hymnals, I was observing true leadership in action.
When it comes to leadership, we Christians, including yours truly, are often overly influenced by the definitions of the culture around us. The quarterback on the field, the power player in the board room, the guy at the head of the table, the loudest, most eloquent, confident person in the room; these, our culture would have us believe, are true models of leadership. It's the image on the outside, rather than the quality of the character on the inside, that is portrayed as the ideal.
Jesus came modeling, and teaching, a decidedly, other worldly concept of leadership.
In Luke 22, he says "'The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves."
And, in a move which completely rocked the disciples worldly paradigm of leadership, Jesus performed what was, at that time, considered one of the lowliest, most menial of tasks. He stooped to wash their feet.
The true leader in God's eyes? The person with the ability and confidence to stand in front and inspire others to follow? Maybe, sometimes, but not primarily.
Leadership, as God's sees it, is primarily defined by character, not ability. It's the one who consistently and selflessly chooses to do for others what most would not.
It's the person who sees the needs within their families, within their churches or their community and steps in to fill it. It's the father or mother who goes to a thankless, unfulfilling job day after day, year after year, sacrificing personal goals and dreams, in order to provide food, shelter and clothing for their family. It's the spouse who remains loving and faithful through good times or bad, through sickness and health. It's the parent who, not only teaches, but consistently strives to model God's love and way of life to his or her children. It's the person who refuses to compromise what is right, even in the face of ridicule and rejection by their peers.
It's a type of leadership to which the world pays little respect these days but one, upon which our Savior, beginning with His disciples, began building and developing in His church some two thousand years ago. It's the kind of leadership He desires be promoted, encouraged and developed within His body still today.
I Corinthians 1:27 tells us that "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty."
Ultimately, God is preparing leaders to rule with Him at His return to establish His Kingdom. It's a government which will confound and bring to shame all false notions of leadership for it will be a government led, not by quarterbacks and executive types, but by foot washers and, yes, "hymnal guys."
Originally posted November 19, 2011
Reposted today in honor of the recent passing of Mitch, "the Hymnal Guy"
Your labor of love will be greatly missed.