The Zone Gathering

We are launching into our new series on service, and we begin today at the very beginning– developing an attitude of service in our own lives as leaders. Here is the bottom line: we need to view service as a lifestyle, not a project.

If you are like me, there is a tendency to view “service” as an activity to schedule on the small group calendar. And we will definitely talk about service projects and how to bring those into the rhythm of your group life. But real service must take root in the attitude and life of the leader to make any real and lasting impact. We’ve got to throw out our ideas of what we think leadership is and follow Jesus’ example of leadership. We’ve got to obey the most fundamental command of all Christ-followers: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.” That’s what it means to “Be One.”

There is no easy formula for developing an attitude of service; it’s something that God births within us as we follow him. But here are some steps we can take to put ourselves in positions where God can work in our lives.

Pray for God’s heart. Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command.”
Look at the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Most of us lead like Martha. Leading a small group requires a lot of work. We have to make sure our snacks are set out and the seats are arranged and the temperature is adjusted to a comfortable setting. Oh yeah, and there’s a lesson to prepare. And lots of people with lots of hurts and needs. If we aren’t careful, we will find ourselves like Martha– running around like crazy trying to meet needs that we are physically incapable of meeting.

But Jesus is more interested in our leadership hearts than in our leadership activity. Here’s the first step towards developing a lifestyle of leadership: ask God to give you his heart. Servant Leadership means we lead from a heart that reflects God’s heart.

In his book Leading From the Heart, Michael Mack said,

“In order to have the heart of the Father, we must begin by having a heart for the Father.” (emphasis added)

That happens by following Mary’s example and sitting at his feet. We will never develop an attitude of service unless we cultivate a heart that is fully devoted to God.

Here are a few more easy things you can do to move towards developing an attitude of service.

Get involved in service. This is an easy and obvious step. You won’t have a heart for serving unless you jump in and experience it.

Study the life of Jesus. Take a week or two and read through the four Gospels. Take notice of Jesus’ leadership style. When and how did he serve? What motivated his words and actions?

Consistently check your leadership motivations. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul encourages us to have the same attitude that Jesus had. “Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God.” Reflect on that passage daily or weekly to keep your attitude and motivations in check.

What are some other ways you can think of to develop an attitude of service?

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2006 at 10:57 am and is filed under Leadership Lessons, Service. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.