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Tag: #servantleadership

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How Do You Become A Kingdom Leader?

Back in the day, we thought that leaders could only be born. We thought that either that ‘leadership charisma’ came naturally to us or it didn’t. Thankfully, we realized that this was not the case. In more modern times, we were taught that leaders could be trained. I do not believe this is entirely accurate either. It is definitely not the case if you want to be a leader in the kingdom of God. Kingdom leadership is not a communication style, or of a set of tools, or emotional intelligence skills (although all of these are beneficial). Therefore, it cannot be taught. To become a kingdom leader, you must be processed or refined. I propose there are three steps involved:

  1. Calling
  2. Crucifixion
  3. Co-creation

Calling

Every believer is called to be a leader. If everyone is called, then you may well ask, what’s the value of this step? The significance is that I believe everyone has a very specific assignment or purpose to fulfill on this earth. Therefore, it should be one of our primary tasks to determine our purpose.

We have been given the gifts, talents, abilities and personality needed to fulfill our assignment and our assignment alone. Only you can be a good you and that is precisely why everyone is a leader in the kingdom. It’s not a position or a title, it’s a particular facet of God that only you carry to be expressed in a specific sphere of life on planet earth.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. ~ Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Crucifixion

Kingdom believers must serve from a place of selfless love. What stops that? All our self-serving agendas. The only way to truly become a vessel fit for God’s use is to crucify the flesh of our selfish desires.  This is a painful and often protracted process. The good news is that life gives us ample crises and trials that offer us the opportunity to become like Christ. Yes, that is good news! The trials of life are gifts – the potential of a better us on the other side.

This is where many exit the process and instead of becoming leaders that glorify God, we become pariahs in the body of Christ. There is nothing more heartbreaking than men and women in positions of great responsibility who refuse to do the inner work of maturing in Christ. There is no room for ego, selfishness, greed, domination, empire-building power-seeking, and the like in the heart of a Godly leader.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ~ James 1:3-4 (NLT)

Co-creation

Should we make it this far, there is one final step – learning to lead in partnership with God. Ultimately, kingdom leaders are persons who are actively expanding the kingdom of God. That means that they are actively making more and more of earth like heaven. This cannot be done by human will and understanding.

Kingdom leaders need to be actively working by the wisdom and grace of God. These leaders live their lives led by the Spirit. The successful leader in God’s eyes is not one who has the largest church, the most followers, or the greatest number of books, it’s the one who has most diligently built according to His blueprint and commands.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” ~ Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)

Let’s Do This!

I would argue that the most dire need in the world today is for selfless servant leaders. The world needs you to become the leader that you were born to be. The internal, personal work of developing our leadership capacity is one of the greatest things we can do to contribute to humanity. Let us not neglect this noble work of character development. The world needs us. Let’s do this!

Copyright 2022, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.

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A Culture Of Compliance

Welcome to part 3 of the kingdom culture series. Today I want to talk about how we lead people in the kingdom. Due to their span of influence, leaders have a great impact on the culture of the organizations or teams that they lead. Arguably nothing influences culture more than how we treat the people we lead.

Although it still exists in some organizations, I believe that the pitfalls of leading through intimidation, punishment and domination are well known and accepted in both the secular and church arenas. However, what is still prevalent and widely accepted today is a culture of compliance. Meaning that followers are required by leaders to comply with their instructions, no questions asked.

While compliance may be acceptable in the world value system, a culture of compliance is not kingdom culture. Many church people do not get this. Perhaps it is because in the Old Testament times it was all about compliance. The leadership system centered around a strict compliance with the religious laws and rituals enforced by the leader/king. It fostered an ultimate leader culture that was so dominant that the spiritual health of the entire community rose and fell on the character of the leader alone.

Then, over two thousand years ago Christ entered the scene and flipped the script. He modelled and taught a different kind of leadership. His leadership placed supreme value on winning the heart not just enforcing surface obedience. He said (Mat 5:27-28):

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus was the ultimate change agent for this new culture. Changing the compliance culture that had grown deep roots over hundreds of years of Jewish tradition was a monumental task. Jesus repeatedly confronted it head on as he butt heads with the religious leaders. He did not mince words. Check Him out in action(Mat 23:27-28):

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

In the corporate world many leaders are focused on compliance with the company’s rules and the leader’s instructions. Insubordination is severely punished and not towing the line leads to victimization. When we consider that many churches function along the same lines we should be cut to the heart. The culture of the world has deeply infiltrated our churches. We have lost our saltiness.

Jesus walked in this earth humbly. He modeled the type of leader that God desires. His first response to sin was mercy and forgiveness. He did not seek to lord it over others and assert His authority and control as so many religious leaders do today. He loved us first and demonstrated it by dying for us while we were yet His enemies.

Remember when Jesus gave an experiential lesson to His disciples in servant leadership by washing their feet? He even washed Judas’ feet! The feet of the man whom He knew would cause Him so much pain and suffering; that man’s feet. In other words, Jesus loved and served the rogue church member who was out to assassinate His leadership. Think about that. Jesus’ objective is not to get us to serve Him by coercion or manipulation. He is committed to winning our love through loving sacrifice and service.

The church is rife with leaders who believe that their followers are best served by a culture of complete compliance to their leadership. Sin is shamed and punished. Those who obey unquestioningly and fawn over the leaders are favoured. Corporate world culture with a side order of hallelujah. I believe most church leaders are genuine but just do not understand how kingdom submission works. Submission is VOLUNTARY and in the church it is supposed to be RECIPROCAL. Forced submission is domination, period. Sometimes more subtle approaches like social pressure or withholding love or withholding opportunities are used but the cancer is the same. Corporate leaders use the same tactics.

The missed opportunity here is the opportunity to transform the heart through love. That is what Jesus is after. That is what the Father is after. That is what Jesus came to demonstrate. Gaining compliance without transformation of the heart is no gain at all in Christ’s books. The body of Christ is supposed to operate as a community of equals serving each other. We each have different roles and gifts but we are all directed by one head; Jesus Christ. We submit to one another. We honour one another. We love one another. There is no hierarchy of value in the body. The toe has the same value as the eye. Jesus says it this way (Mat 23:8-12):

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

As kingdom leaders we have one job; to love all and to serve all. Our objective is not to gain people’s compliance but to win their hearts for Christ. That, is kingdom culture.

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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The Fire Series: The Progression of The Church – Are We Getting Better or Worse?

A distinct characteristic of Christ is His humility and commitment to serve others. We just celebrated Palm Sunday which commemorates the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and all hailed him as king. It was a pivotal moment when He was recognized as the King of Israel and how He chose to be in that moment was not coincidental. He could have rode in on a stallion or in a chariot but He chose a young donkey. Jesus went to great lengths to communicate that He came to humbly serve.

In Matthew 20 he gives the disciples a lesson in leadership:

25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

As Jesus-followers our mandate is one of service. This is the mark of the true disciples of Jesus. It is in this context that I wish to discuss the church and its progression through history. Many people say that the church has lost its place of influence in society I do not believe that that is a complete picture of the church. I believe that the church has been advancing steadily from the day of Pentecost until now. I believe that Jesus has been building and maturing His church indomitably throughout the ages. I believe the church is getting better and better.

My difference of opinion stems from my view of how the church is called to influence culture. I believe like Christ, we are called to serve. Christ did not come to form a political kingdom or institute laws to force all to bow to His way. It is in this context that I assess the church and I believe that a good way to assess the heart of the church is to look at what Christians do when they are the major influence in society. The true heart of Christians comes to the fore when they have political power and social clout at their disposal. At the end of the age, this is where we are heading; to reign and rule with Christ and the issue will be the same as it was in Matthew 20; will we lord it over others or serve them?

To illustrate why I believe that the church is getting better, let’s take a brief walk through the history of the church. The early church was a persecuted minority under Roman rule. In fact, the word Christian (little-Christ) was not a compliment in those days, it was a put down that entitled you to persecution and even death. Many of the early disciples were executed for preaching the gospel. Then, in 313 AD, Constantine became the first Christian Roman Emperor and Christianity became the official religion in 380 AD. The Roman Catholic Church became a force to be reckoned with and the real heart of Christianity was unveiled.

By 1184 AD the church had taken it upon itself to suppress all who did not agree with its way of thinking. The Medieval inquisitions began. Heresy was a crime against the state and heretics were imprisoned and in the worst cases, burned at the stake. It seems that Christians had quickly forgotten what it was like to be persecuted for your beliefs.

At the same time war was being waged against the Muslims to take the Holy Land. The Crusades as these ‘holy wars’ (Jihad?) were called lasted from 1096-1272. The church used military might to extend its influence. Christians killing in the name of Christ; the ultimate oxymoron. Like a toddler on a throne, the church used its unbridled influence to make the world bow to its will by violence.

Fast forward to the 15th century, the “Age of Discovery”, when European nations began to colonize new territories. These white settlers saw it as their responsibility to bring civilization, commercialisation and Christianity (the three Cs) to the savages living in the new world. At this stage the church has matured from imprisoning or killing people for not believing in Christ. Instead, painting themselves as bearers of the light, missionaries rode the tide of colonisation and systematically indoctrinated the newly invaded territories. The heart of the church was characterised by a spirit of superiority that made them duty bound to deliver the natives of Africa and the Americas from their barbaric living. At the same time, the church if not actively, at least passively, supported the slave trade, the systematic eradication of native cultures and the dehumanization of non-European, non-Christian peoples.

In the 16th century there is a huge split in the church that marks the end of a homogenous Christian church. “The Reformation”, initiated in 1517 by the German Catholic monk, Martin Luther, sets off a splintering of the church that has resulted in an estimated 30,000+ Christian denominations in existence today. This is another marker of an immature church – the inability to hold differences of opinion without breaking relationship.

A huge jump forward is made in the late 17th century when the Catholic Church formally condemns the slave trade. Eventually, due in no small part to the work of evangelical, William Wilberforce, slavery is abolished in England in 1833. In 1863 after a bitter civil war, Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation ends slavery in America.  However, that is just the beginning of what was a hard fought battle for civil rights and freedoms for the former African slaves. The most notable proponent in this battle is Martin Luther King Jr – a Baptist minister who led non-violent protests in the 20th century to win equality for African American people. It cost him his life in 1968.

Today the church is effectively severed from state affairs and has a much humbler posture. We feed the poor, advocate for the refugee and promote respect for the human dignity of all men. The message of the gospel is preached worldwide (even in places where it is illegal to do so) and converts are completely voluntary. I also see signs that the divisions in the Body of Christ are being bridged. We are bridging our theological divides with a renewed spirit of love and maturity.

We as a corporate body are closer to the Christ-model than ever before in history and those who long for the days when Christianity was forced upon the public are in fact harbouring the vestiges of immaturity that I hope we have permanently left behind. Of course, there is still a way to go. There is a thriving business within the church where Christ is used for self-enrichment and promotion. There are still many who believe that Christian morals should be enshrined in law. And there are many more who try to use fear or social power to shame and condemn people into Christian ideals but that is not the way of Christ. God holds the human will as sacrosanct in that He does not force anyone to follow Him and He is not interested in that kind of kingdom.

The kingdom of God is a voluntary surrender to a worthy King. A King so kind and loving and merciful and pure that all who truly see Him cannot help but bow before Him.  Our job is to unveil THAT King! To unveil the Christ who while having the complete power to bend all space and time to His will, allowed Himself to be mocked, beaten and killed so that we could have eternal life!  When the Church can possess complete power and yet use not one ounce of that power to bend another’s will by even the slightest margin, but only to love and serve and entreat, then we would have arrived at the fullness of Christ!

Joyfully,

Copyright 2018, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.