Servant Leadership as Marketplace Mission

Good morning! How is everyone this morning? It’s good to be here. It’s good to be in the house of God. It’s good to be part of the family of God! Amen!

Why a tie?

Now I know what you are all wondering. Why is Mike wearing a tie? Perhaps because he wants to look presentable. It is quite counter cultural, you know, to wear a tie at this church. When was the last time you saw a speaker with a tie on at New Life church? I remember the last time I wore one. Paul Nesbit got a hold of it and he just about strangled me!

Is it so odd? I have seen stranger sights. I have seen Wesley Campbell, the Pastor, up here with half his face painted blue. Shawn Worsfold, our Generations Pastor, dressed in a suit of Armour!

Shoeless Mike

Oh, it’s not the tie you are wondering about? It’s the fact I don’t have shoes! Where are Mike’s shoes? Why is Mike preaching in his bare feet? Perhaps he had a bad year in business? No!

There is a method to my madness.

There is an answer to these questions. There is a method to my madness. However, for the solution to the mystery of the tie and shoeless Mike we will need to wait to later in the message.

New Life church Vision Statement

This morning our subject has to do with our Vision and Values at New Life church. Over the past few weeks we have been speaking on subjects that relate to our Vision and our values as a church. A shortened version of the Vision Statement is “An apostolic community fervently loving God & others, daily contending for the kingdom.”

The Text – John 20:19-25

The text I will be teaching from is John chapter 20, verses 19-25. Lets read it together. "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." - John 20:19-25

Lets focus on the Commission

Lets focus on the Commission that Jesus gives to his disciples. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." The reason I have chosen this text is that the word “sent” in Greek translates “apostello” which is the origin of the word apostolic. Thus as an “an apostolic community” we are essentially saying “we are a “sent out” community.[i] We are a community on a mission. What then is that mission?

New Life – Sent to the Nations

If you look around this Sanctuary you will notice all these flags. Each one represents a nation that one of our missionaries has visited over the past 15 years. There are over 60 flags here. Since the Church’s inception we have made it a priority to send out missionaries to the nations!

McLoughlin’s sent to Zambia

Over there is the Zambian flag! that is there because my family and I spent two years in the nation of Zambia with YWAM. Sue did some part time medical work and I taught Zambian entrepreneurs how to start businesses God’s way. It was a great experience.

Are you going to stay in Missions?

When we got back from Zambian in 1996 everyone was asking us “Are you going to stay in Missions?” that was an interesting question, because most people think Missions is something you do over there, in Africa. In fact, most church people think that the Great Commission is for professional ministry people, zealous Christians who have a Call from God to leave their secular jobs and serve Him full time!

Missions is for everyone

However, missions is for everyone, not just the professionals! If you are a Christian you are in Missions. Missions is just as important here in Kelowna as it is in Zambia. Missions is about a way of thinking as much as it is a place or a people group. I know that we often see Ralph here, exhorting us to support ministry for the children. But Ralph isn’t just wanting us to throw money at missions, Ralph wants us to be IN Missions. In fact, Ralph’s objective is to clear this place out! He wants everyone out on Missions. Amen!

Missions in the marketplace

Problem is, most people can’t afford to drop everything to travel to some far away place, even for a short period of time. So the question I want us to examine this morning is “How do we do missions here in Kelowna? How do we be a “sent out” community in Kelowna? What does missions look like in the local marketplace?

YWAM Marketplace Missions

This questions is of particular passion of mine. I am still with Youth With A Mission and the ministry I do with them is to help Christians in the marketplace integrate faith and work. So that’s one of the reasons I am speaking with you this morning.

Lets set the stage

Lets set the stage, It’s the third day after Jesus Crucifixion. The disciples are in the room with the doors locked. They have just been through a very traumatic time. Jesus, their Lord and master has been summarily executed by the Roman Authorities on instruction of the Jewish authorities. There are these strange rumors that the tomb is empty. Word is getting out that maybe the disciples have stolen the body. Their situation is quite dire. Fear is the dominant emotion.

in THE Panic room

How many people here have seen the movie Panic Room staring Jodie Foster? I watched it with my children the other day. It’s about a single mother and her daughter who move into a New York apartment. In this apartment there is a special room. It is a room they can escape to if people are breaking into their house. Well, it just so happens that the first night they are there, people are breaking into the house! So they escape to the Panic room. The special reinforced door locks into place and they are safe. But the phone is not yet hooked up so they can’t call the police. YIKES! They are trapped in the Panic room! Later in the movie they are saved by the police but not after many harrowing hours in the Panic Room.

The context we are looking at is the Bible’s version of the panic room. The disciples have locked themselves in this room so as to be safe from the authorities that would most certainly kill them if they found them.

we have had Our fill of Fear

I think of all of our emotions fear is one of the most powerful. We have had our fill of fear over the past year since September 11^th, 2001. More recently the Beltway sniper in Washington; Just as we are thinking it would never happen in our own neighborhood, we get news that a Government worker has just shot himself and two coworkers in Kamloops. It is happening here as well.

So what is the remedy for fear?

So what is the remedy for fear? Faith is the remedy for fear.

Jesus appears

If we look at the passage Jesus appears in the panic room! The disciples are overjoyed. He shows them his hands and side. Jesus is alive! This is the remedy to all fears. Jesus is alive! This is the good news that propels us out of our place of fear. So this is the context of Jesus’ commission to the disciples and also to us. Because Jesus is alive we need no longer fear the world, the Beltway sniper, terrorists. Because Jesus is alive we have hope for eternal life. We need not fear death. Jesus has overcome death! This is the gospel! The good news.

THE commission – What is it?

Now that the disciples have gone from fear to faith, Jesus has a mission for them and for us. What is that mission? Lets look at the passage from the amplified version. The passage from John 20:21 states “Just as the Father has sent me forth, so I am sending you!”

Jesus is still on a Mission

Note the phrase “has sent me forth” This means Jesus has a mission and he continues in that mission. He has not stopped his mission and turned the keys over to the disciples. We are not carrying on the task of mission because the original missionary Jesus has retired! No. Jesus is alive and he is still very much active in his mission.

God is on a mission

In fact, the gospel of John repeatedly emphasizes the ongoing activity of God in “sending forth”. In John 17:3 Jesus tells us that the Father is sending the Son. Jesus says “now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” In John 14:26 , he shows us that the Father and the Son send the spirit. “but the counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said.” And in John 15:26-27, the Father and the Son and the Spirit send the church. "when the counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the father, the spirit of truth who goes out from the father, he will testify about me. and you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

We are included in God’s mission

Thus from this emphasis we conclude, mission is God's own going forth, mission is God's work not just our work. There is a church because there is a mission not vice versa![ii] Mission is God's mission first and foremost. It is a mission in which we are included.

He who is sent is as the one who sends him.

Another key phrase in this passage is “just as” which is complimented by the word “so” The disciples are sent AS Jesus was sent. The form of this phrase is similar to a popular commissioning word that was common in the culture at that time. “He who is sent is as the one who sends him.” [iii]

With the authority & power of the one who sent him

Thus the person goes with the full authority and power of the one who sent him. When Jesus says “I am sending you” He is the Commissioner! Jesus, the one who is alive, who has power over death! The one who is still active in mission! He is the one who sends us! We go as his representatives with all his authority.

We must do it AS he does it.

However, to exercise that authority, we must follow in his pattern. We must do it AS he does it. So this begs the question then. How was Jesus sent? How are we to emulate him?

Parallel structure points out THE clue

Now lets take a closer look at what it means for Jesus to be sent. John emphasizes this point with the parallel structure of the text. He repeats the phrase "Peace be with you!" twice. Lets look at what comes after this text to uncover the meaning. "Peace be with you! After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. And then again "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." The marks of the crucifixion are the clue to how God sent Jesus.

Obedient to death

The apostle Paul gives us a better idea of what this means. He says "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!" - Philippians 2:5-8

His Pattern = our pattern

Jesus’ mission was to make himself nothing, to take the nature of a servant and die on a cross. This is our model. Certainly, Jesus accomplished things we cannot, such as dying for the salvation of mankind. However, the pattern of his mission is the pattern of our mission.[iv] We are called to humble ourselves, and to become like servants even to the point that we must die to our significance and our rights as persons. This is the measure of Jesus’ service and it is the measure of our service.

Jesus models servanthood

The best example of Jesus’ servanthood is the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet in John 13. Let’s read the passage

“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.' "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." -- John 13:1-20

Jesus verses Judas

This passage is about who Jesus is. The narrator emphasizes the contrast between Jesus, the servant leader, and Judas, the betrayer who is referred to three times, at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the passage.. Jesus responds to Judas and his betrayal with love in his action of washing his disciples feet including Judas’ feet.

Jesus is saying I am God but I have come to serve

The key to this passage is found in the last verse where he says “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.” In Isaiah, God uses this expression “I am he” "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. Isaiah 43:10 When the betrayer leads the Jews to capture Jesus in the garden Jesus responds with the words “I am he!” And all of the people fell flat on their faces. Why? Because they are in the presence of God. Jesus is saying I am God and I have come to serve mankind.

The Church - sent to serve

Jesus is setting an example of servant leadership. He explains his actions, "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. – (verses 13-15).

Jesus came to serve

In the gospel of Mark, it further explains this concept. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:42-45

Servants who lead rather than leaders who serve

Servant Leadership & Accountability to one another is one of the values at New Life church: Servant leaders are servants first and leaders second. Servant leaders are servants who lead rather than leaders who serve. The emphasis is on servanthood!

THE Pattern - incarnational mission

Thus our mission, following the pattern of Jesus, is servant leadership We are sent to serve, just as Jesus was sent to serve.

one of us

The principle way in which Jesus served us was that he appeared in this world as one of us. His mission was an incarnational mission. The story in John 13 illustrates this. He took off his robes. This illustrates his laying down his divine nature. He took up a towel. This illustrates his taking on human flesh. Jesus is God in human form. This is his act of service.

Where is the church Monday to Friday?

He is calling us to incarnational mission as well. For example, I want you to imagine a map of Kelowna. Now imagine red stick pins for each member of the Church family in that city. Where are the pins mostly concentrated on Sunday morning? At Church I would hope. Where are they Monday morning? Scattered throughout the city, but concentrated in various workplaces. What about Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, even Saturday? 6 days out of the week, the Church family spends time outside the Church walls, in the marketplace, in the neighborhood and in the home. These are the places where the presence of God needs to be felt. These are the places of incarnational mission.

Validating truth relevant to you

Jesus in his incarnation left his place in heaven and entered foreign territory as one of us. So too, we are to leave our place of spiritual security, the church, and enter foreign territory as one of them. This is the best way to reach people as one of them, to experience what they experience. This is what brings understanding and the ability to communicate truth that is relevant to a person’s world.

No little people and no ordinary work

For example, in the marketplace people are seen as instruments of productivity. "the more you do for me the more valuable as a person you are:" In contrast, the servant sees people as beings of infinite value and intrinsic worth. "no little people and no ordinary work." He can only do this if he serves in solidarity with them as Jesus did with us in his incarnation.

Mike the Rookie MOA

I am the Business manager of my wife’s medical clinic.[v] There are four doctors at the clinic and six office staff who have the position of Medical Office Assistant or MOA for short.. As the Business Manager I oversee an Office Manager who oversees the other five staff people. Because I work out of my home I am not working on site and as the saying goes “out of sight, out of mind!” However, it quickly comes to the mind of the staff who the boss is when it comes time to develop budgets or make spending decisions. Often, I have heard the concern that it is difficult to work with me because I am not onsite. This sometimes results in a feeling from staff that I do not understand their day to day pressures.

Working in a medical office can be a very difficult job. There is an organizational culture in medical practice that values people for what they can produce. The value of the Doctor is very high. On the other hand, office staff are not valued. In fact, Doctors can be quite rude and arrogant with their medical staff. That is not the case at our Medical clinic, however, it may be a problem at other clinics. So office staff can struggle with a feeling that leadership does not value who they are or what they do.

As I was preparing this message, I was approached by the office manager with an idea that one of the staff had suggested. Why not have Mike come in for a day and work as a Medical Office Assistant? At first, when I heard the idea, I thought. “That’s not the job of a business manager!” But after some gentle nudging by the Holy Spirit and after the realization that maybe this was an opportunity to discover first hand some of the lessons about servant leadership that I would be teaching, I thought why not?

Well, the day arrived. It did not get off to a very good start. I arrived 3 hours late for my shift! There was a slight communication problem on my part as to when I was supposed to be there. Of course, all the staff were saying. “Looks like he has chickened out!“ Anyway, I did finally arrive and I spent 6 hours working as a Medical Office Assistant. Of course, this being my first day, I had to be shown everything and I was prone to making a lot of mistakes. One poor patient was left sitting in the waiting room for an hour because I had forgotten to register them and get their chart out!

It was a somewhat humbling experience for me. I felt weak because I did not know what I was doing. I felt afraid that I was going to make a mistake. I felt rushed by all the demands of the patients and phone calls and faxes! I felt what a rookie MOA feels on their first day.

Seeing our world first hand

The next day, I got a call from the Office Manager and she had a very good report from the staff about my time there. It seems that the staff were much more impressed by the fact I actually showed up for work and I was willing to be a rookie MOA for a day than by the fact I did a poor job registering patients. Let me read one of the comments from the card they sent me to say thank you. “We’re all so glad you were willing to work with us and see our world first hand” “Seeing our world first hand” is exactly what Jesus came to do and it is exactly what he is sending us to do!

This willingness on my part to be weak and “see their world first hand” built bridges with the staff at the clinic. I can now stand in solidarity with the staff because I was experiencing what they experiences. This is my statement to them as a servant that there are no “little people and no ordinary work”. Everyone deserves respect as a valued member of the team and everyone’s work is important no matter how mundane it may seem to the “big bosses.”

Authority - the fruit of service

The result of this kind of service is authority. It is not the authority that derives from position, power, personal strength, privilege or prestige. The authority of a servant is a moral authority. It derives from the respect, the loyalty and the love that others pay towards the servant because they know that he/she stands with them as they face their world in fear, in weakness, in suffering, in need and even in death. This is the authority the disciples gave Jesus as he stood with them in their Panic room. This is the authority that God gave Jesus. “Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

An authority we can command

This is the authority that we give Jesus as we walk in relationship to him. It is the authority we can command as we follow his example. It is the authority that he entrusts with us when he says to us as he said to the disciples "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

A MARKETPLACE MODEL OF SERVANThood

It is out of this place of moral authority that servant can stand out for Christ and make a difference in their world.
Here are 12 ways that Christians can model servant leadership in the marketplace.[vi]

1. In the marketplace influence is exercised through power and control, but the servant influences others through truth and trust.

2. In the marketplace the focus is on looking good, to the servant the focus must be on being good.

3. The purpose of business in the marketplace is money, the servant’s purpose in the marketplace is to create value in community.

4. In the marketplace, business values winning customers; whereas, the servant values serving customers.

5. In the marketplace business values the paper relationship of transactions with customers; whereas, the servant values a covenant relationship with customers that goes the extra mile.

6. In the marketplace the worthiness of the recipient determines actions. - “So what have you done for me lately?” For the servant action is based upon a foundational belief system. Love always believes the best.

7. The way of creating meaning for workers in the marketplace is through external symbols, such as the perks of the job; whereas, the servant's way of creating meaning is through serving people’s need for purpose, significance, and community.

8. In the marketplace, the focus is on controlling behavior through compliance to rules; whereas the servant empowers people through alignment of personal vision with organizational vision.

9. In the marketplace leadership seeks compliance: "Do what I tell you to do." Whereas, the servant leader seeks commitment: "Do what you believe."

10. In the marketplace authority is derived from the amount of power leaders have over people. To the servant authority is derived from the level of service provided & value created for people.

11. In the marketplace, the world believes ultimate authority resides in leaders. Whereas, the servant believes ultimate authority derives from fidelity to governing commitments.

12. In the marketplace leadership values independence & self-directedness; whereas, the servant values interdependence & a relational covering.

summary & Application – sent to s.e.r.v.E.

Therefore, we are sent to serve. This is our mission as an apostolic community, a “sent out” community. This is how we love God and love others, this is how we daily contend for his kingdom. Thus in application, I propose that we spell the word SERVE this way.

Serve First

S stands for “Serve First”, that is, take the place of a servant. You may not be a fiery evangelist or gifted speaker, but everyone can serve as a servant. (Ephesians 6:7)

Expect God

E stands for Expect God - it's God’s mission not your mission. Jesus has already gone ahead of you and prepared the way. (Psalm 5:3)

Respond in Love

R stands for Respond in Love to whatever situation or happenstance comes your way, trusting that God has given you the opportunity and he will give you what you need to respond to it. (Galatians 5:13)

Validate the Truth

V stands for Validate the Truth, that is live what you believe! Be a person of integrity who seeks to demonstrate the truth of their convictions daily in whatever sphere of activity God has assigned to them.. (Ephesians 4:1)

Exercise your Authority

E stands for Exercise your Authority, that is, you need to step up to the position of servant leadership and influence your home, your workplace, and your neighborhood for Christ. (Titus 2:15)

So if you S.E.R.V.E.. you will find people noticing there is something different about you. They may ask you questions or you may have opportunity to serve them by praying for them. This will open up doors to share the gospel.

3 minutes to go

summary – sent to s.e.r.v.E.

The tie = your incarnational opportunity in THE marketplace

So lets solve the mystery of why is Mike wearing a tie in a “non tie” church? The tie symbolizes the place, the position, and the people God has given you in the marketplace or where ever you spend time. This is your opportunity to serve.

The Bare feet = the heart attitude of a servant

Now, why the bare feet? The absence of shoes expresses the heart attitude of s.e.r.v.e.. that will first serve, expecting God to show up because it is his mission, always responding in love, validating the truth by living what you believe, and being ready to give a reason for the hope within you. This is the how we are sent into the world and this is how we ought to live in the marketplace to witness to the love of God by serving other in his name.

Let us pray shoeless.

Let us pray shoeless. If you are ready to be a servant first i want you stand with me in this prayer by taking off your shoes and stand before God shoeless. If you have never made a decision for God, I ask that you too take off your shoes and stand before him as a conscious act of submission to him.