The gospel completely reorients the use of a leader’s position and power!
Leaders have position. A leader’s position is the realm of his or her authority. This realm may be ex-officio and include a title or de facto and not.
Leaders have power. A leader’s power is the expression of his or her authority in their particular realm.
Leaders have position and power and they use it. The question is “For what?”
God intended a leader’s position and power to be used for the profit of others. In other words, the benefits of a leader’s position and power were to be directed outward.
However, the fall corrupted everything, including the orientation of the benefits of a leader’s position and power. Rather than being directed outward, those benefits get directed back at the leader. As a result of the Fall, leaders now use their position and power for their profit rather than the profit of others.
As our Great Hero, Jesus Christ came to rescue us and restore
the original orientation of leadership. He taught on this restoration in Luke 22:24-30 amidst an argument among the disciples about who was the greatest. Amazingly, this argument took place within 24 hours of Jesus dying on the cross, within moments of their celebration of the Passover Meal where he instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper.
However, teaching on this reorientation was not enough. He exemplified this restored orientation by washing the disciples feet and then telling those disciples, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
From John 13, we learn three things we need to have if we are going to follow Jesus’ example and reorient our position and power. They are
- We need the right perspective – verses 1-5.
- We need the right posture – verses 6-11.
- We need the right purpose – verses 12-17.
The right perspective involves having clarity on our identity and destiny. The right posture involves the humility to let Jesus minister to us in both bathing us (salvation) and then washing our feet (sanctification). The right purpose in following his example involves knowing the blessing that comes from reorienting one’s power and position.
This reorientation moves a leader – from a perspective of a secure identity and destiny, from the posture of regularly experiencing Jesus ministering to him or her, from the purpose of honoring his or her master and experiencing his joy – to take his or her position and power and use it for the profit of others.
After all, this orientation is exactly what Jesus did throughout his ministry – exemplified both that night and the next day as he hung on the cross. It is what he calls his followers to now do, remembering that all of us have been made in the image of God and are leaders of the “slice of the garden” God has given us.
With that in mind, how do you use your position and power?
