Biblical Leadership | Matt Williams & Ken Collier

Matt Williams & Ken Collier. Biblical Leadership: Becoming a Different Kind of Leader. Ambassador-Emerald, 2004. 184 pp.

A Leader Like No Other

Leadership is influence, so the accepted definition goes. Influence is the ability to move another person in a direction you believe is important. By any definition, Jesus Christ was a leader like no other! . . .

Jesus Christ was the greatest leader the world has ever known because He was the greatest follower the world has ever known. He had a sharply focused view of exactly what His Father desired of Him. No trial, no deprivation, no conflict, no misunderstanding, and no death threat made Him swerve from following the will of His Father. What a leader! What a Follower!

Although those terms may sound contradictory, this dynamic balance is what God desires in our lives. He desires a leader who blazes a clear trail because his eye is on the Leader. God desires churches which walk the straight path because the leadership does not get lost on rabbit trails; rather, the leaders pursue the path of the Just One. . . .

The primary quality of a godly leader is that he follows Someone who is stronger than he is, wiser than he is, more discerning than he is, and more in control of circumstances than he is. A godly leader, whether a parent, teacher, supervisor, deacon, business leader, or student body officer, excels at following Someone to a greater degree than others around him do. How unlike this pattern is from the modern view of a leader as one who is great because he chooses a direction and consults only himself and his own resources!

God’s plan calls for a different kind of leader. His plan calls for someone who loves to be under authority and proves it by following God alone. His plan demands a leader who realizes that his greatest duty is to follow another. This is the leader who will make a difference.

A Different Head: Jesus Christ

A Very Different Idea—A Leader Is a Servant

I was stunned, but this was exactly what I had been looking for. The speaker had just given a challenge about Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24, and what he said was like a flash of lightning suddenly illuminating a nighttime scene. It was a simple enough concept. Verse 2 reads, And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had. . . . This was a revelation to me. This man was called his eldest servant, but he was obviously a good leader. As a matter of fact, he ruled over all that he had! This man, capable of being a servant, was the kind of man Abraham chose to be the leader of his household! Is it possible that being a servant helps qualify one to be a leader? If the good leader is a good leader because he is a good servant and a good follower, that would be different from the commonly accepted profile of a leader. . . .

A Different Leadership

Biblical Leadership—Christ’s View

Leadership is not how many serve you, but how many you serve. It’s being excited about seeing the Master successful in the lives of other people. And with each position of leadership comes a greater responsibility to serve those under our authority. This makes our influence a great training ground for future servant-leaders.

Let’s examine the three key principles that make biblical leadership the avenue of God’s power.

Be a minister

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45)

Servant of all! When I think of this principle, my thoughts go to a situation that took place a few years ago. When I first traveled to Mexico, I attended a pastors’ conference in a little village called Chouchacoyo. Pastors had traveled from all around this mountainous region to attend. Some came by car, some by truck, some even walked or rode mules or horses to attend. It was a wonderful conference, and those of us from our church had a great time. One of our most notable experiences was the sleeping situation. It was simple: just find a spot, put your bedroll down, and enjoy a good night’s rest. We did. In fact, we found some old army-style fold-up beds behind the church. We set them up outside and slept under the stars. It was great!

The following year I was able to attend the conference again, this time as a speaker. I brought five other men from our church with me. When we arrived, I told them about the army beds, and we went to look for them. They were not to be found. Soon it was time for the service to begin. Following the service, my friends and I were outside fellowshipping with the people. A man approached and, through a translator, asked me if I wanted a bed. “Ah!” I thought, “This man must know where the army beds are.” So I replied, “Yes.” He left, and we continued to fellowship. About 45 minutes later I saw a man climbing that steep dirt road toward the church. He had a large object strapped to his back-a piece of foam and a wooden frame. This man had gone home and gotten his bed from his home, the bed that he and his wife slept on, and he was bringing it for me. “I didn’t mean for him to bring his bed. I can’t take his bed!” I said to the translator. “No, he wants you to have it. He would be hurt if you didn’t accept his service,” was the reply. This man understood the principle of being a minister. He didn’t have much, but he used what he had to minister. What can we do today to serve someone else? We have gifts, talents, abilities, and possessions. God wants us to use what we have to be a blessing to others. Biblical leadership is taking what we have and giving it back to God by ministering to others. . . .

Have the mind of Christ

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father. (Philippians 2:3-11)

This passage presents four key thoughts:

1. Put others before yourself, v. 3.
2. Have the mind of Christ in all that you do, v. 5.
3. Christ made Himself of no reputation, v. 7.
4. Christ became obedient unto death, v. 8.

These practices—illustrated through the life of Jesus Christ—sum up biblical leadership. This is having the mind of Christ. The one underlying foundation of all is not to think of ourselves and what is best for us. Like Christ, we must choose to make ourselves of no reputation and to become obedient to the will of our Heavenly Father, having as our one desire to see the Master successful in the lives of those around us.

Last summer I had the privilege of heading up a mission trip to Mexico with over eighty adults and teens from our church. Our theme for the week was Philippians 2:5, having the mind of Christ. What a week we had! Even before we got into Mexico, the Christlike attitudes and actions manifested by members of the mission team greatly impacted each other’s lives as well as the lives of others outside our group. It was an unbelievable week, one we will never forget, a week which glorified God to both Christians and non-believers in Mexico. As I heard testimonies of Christian teens and adults seeking to have the mind of Christ, it occurred to me to wonder, “Do we have to travel hundreds of miles to a foreign country to display the mind of Christ?” No. We can focus on Philippians 2 and these vital principles every day if we choose. . . .

Wash dirty feet

Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things unto his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so lam. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. (John 13:1-5, 12-17)

Let’s think about this passage and the role that Jesus Christ played here. This is not really about removing dust. Attitudes, not actions, are the heart of this being a servant of all. If the attitude is right, the actions will be there. We are talking about someone who doesn’t just do servant things, but someone who is a servant.

We use the term servant commonly around our churches, and I’m afraid that sometimes we get the idea that being a servant is based on what we do. I may think I’m a servant if I have a good voice and I sing solos at church. I serve by singing a solo. Or, I’m an usher and serve the Lord by ushering. Or I’m a cheerleader; I try to get a lot of spirit going in our school, and I serve by doing that. Or I’m an officer in my class, and I try to help my class. Those things are all good; there is nothing wrong with any of those things. It’s great to be involved, and the Lord can use those activities. However, I’m afraid that we sometimes think that if we are doing those things, then we are servants. No. A servant doesn’t just do servant things, but as he does those things, he serves. The difference is primarily in our motives. So what is the objective of being on a team? Is it helping everyone else? What is the objective of being an usher? Is it helping people feel comfortable as they come to church so that they are not distracted from the message?

Taken from pp. 1-2, 5-6, 52-56 of Biblical Leadership by Ken Collier and Matt Williams, © 2004 by Ken Collier and Matt Williams. Used by permission of Ambassador Emerald International, Greenville, SC 29609. All rights reserved.

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