About Ryan &
P2Y.com

Jesus said, "The first will be last; the rich will be poor; to gain your life, you must lose your life..." In that same context, I have found that to be a leader, you need to be a servant.

Jesus Christ Himself set the example for us where in Mark 10:45 He says, "For I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many." Philippians 2:3-8 describes Christ's character and His willingness to be a servant on behalf of all mankind.

The Bible is filled with examples of other people who were servants (such as Barnabus, Ruth, Jonathan, Rehab, Daniel, Good Samaritan, etc.) and we also have modern day role models of servants.

The Apostle Paul was another man who had all the world credentials (Phil. 3:4-6), but it was "all counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (Phil. 3:7-14). Because Paul was willing to be a servant, he had three definite characteristics:

1) Transparent humanity -- He wasn't perfect and he wasn't afraid to admit it (Romans 7).

2) Genuine humility -- Focus on God and not himself. He just wanted to help others.

3) Absolute honesty -- A life of integrity, void of ulterior motives and hidden meanings.

Because these areas were in order, Paul could speak the words he did as described in Philippians 2:1-5.

Other verses: 1 Peter 5:6; James 4:10; Luke 14:11. When God becomes the focus, not yourself, then He can use you in tremendous ways in this world.

What are some of the characteristics of a servant? Here is a partial list: Humility, unselfish, selfless, compassionate, hospitable, merciful, committed, available, anticipates needs, love, cheerfulness, joy, sacrificial, obedient, good listener, forgiving spirit, honest, peacemaker, generous with time and money, great faith, acceptance of others, encouraging, patient, not looking for credit, caring, devoted.

Consequences of Being a Servant:

1) May suffer for doing right.

2) May feel afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down (2 Cor. 4:8-9).

a) Realize that NOTHING touches me that has not passed through the hands of my Heavenly Father first.

b) EVERYTHING I endure is designed to prepare me for serving others more effectively. It is a necessary part of the preparation process. "Things may not be logical and fair, but when God is directing the events of our life, they are right."

3) May feel unused and unappreciated.

4) Potential exists for others to resent you.

Some Miscellaneous Thoughts on Servanthood:

1) Servants have a cheerful spirit. They look to the positive, not the negative.

2) They are unselfish with their time and money.

3) They have an uncanny ability to perceive and anticipate needs.

4) A hospitable spirit. At dinner parties they are the ones behind the scenes washing the dishes.

5) They are sometimes anonymous. Anonymous giving can be so fun!

6) They hunger and thirst for righteousness. They will do anything to see honesty and righteousness prevail. Speak and act the truth.

7) They are persistent and diligent. Some of the hardest workers you will ever have. Not just putting in their time, but willing to do what it takes to get the job done right.

8) Forgiving spirit when they are the offender (Matt. 5:23-24) or the offended (Matt. 18:21-35). True servants not only forgive, but they forget. Their pride is defeated.

9) They do not keep records of who did what, and they don't look to others to receive the credit.

10) Servant's are in the minority...We are the salt and the light that is referred to in Matthew 5.

11) "Christ's system of leadership proclaims a message fundamentally different from that of the unbelieving world: to be first, be last. The key to leadership is servanthood, vulnerability, crucifixion. In short, Christian leaders must be willing to admit and confront their mistakes and failures rather than covering or denying them. To be truly Christ-like is to be fully human, vulnerable, tractable, as the Son of Man chose to be." -- Penelope Stokes

12) "Is there a job description for ministers? You bet. It's found in 1 Timothy, Chapter 3. The Apostle Paul outlines the characteristics a pastor must have. First on the list is that he or she be 'above reproach.' The pastor must also be 'self-controlled, respectable, able to teach, not a lover of money' and have a good reputation. The point is not that a pastor is sinless, which is impossible, but that his conduct is such that he can speak with authority in telling others how to live their lives." -- Cal Thomas

What I've learned: To keep my eyes open for opportunities, my wallet open for giving, my time open for flexibility, my heart open for availability, and my ears open for listening -- even the unspoken needs.

Recommended Reading: "Improving Your Serve" by Chuck Swindoll.

A few nights ago a peculiar thing happened.

An electrical storm caused a blackout in our neighborhood. When the lights went out, I felt my way through the darkness into the storage closet where we keep the candles for nights like this. Through the glow of a lit match I looked up on the shelf where the candles were stored. There they were, already positioned in their stands, melted to various degrees by previous missions. I took my match and lit four of them.

How they illuminated the storage room! What had been a veil of blackness suddenly radiated with soft, golden light! I could see the freezer I had just bumped with my knee. And I could see my tools that needed to be straightened.

"How great it is to have light!" I said out loud. I then spoke to the candles. "If you do such a good job here in the storage closet, just wait until I get you out where you're really needed! I'll put one of you on the table so we can eat. I'll put one of you on my desk so I can read. I'll give one of you to Denalyn so she can cross-stitch. And I'll set you," I took down the largest one, "in the living room where you can light up the whole area." (I felt a bit foolish talking to candles--but what do you do when the lights go out?)

I was turning to leave with the large candle in my hand when I heard a voice, "Now, hold it right there."

I stopped. "Somebody's in here!" I thought. Then I relaxed. "It's just Denalyn, teasing me for talking to the candles."

"OK, honey, cut the kidding," I said in the semi-darkness. No answer. Hmm, maybe it was the wind. I took another step.

"Hold it, I said!" There was that voice again. My hands began to sweat.

"Who said that?"

"I did." The voice was near my hand.

"Who are you? What are you?"

"I'm a candle." I looked at the candle I was holding. It was burning a strong, golden flame. It was red and sat on a heavy wooden candle holder that had a firm handle.

I looked around once more to see if the voice could be coming from another source. "There's no one here but you, me, and the rest of us candles, " the voice informed.

I lifted up the candle to take a closer look. You won't believe what I saw. There was a tiny face in the wax. (I told you that you wouldn't believe me.)

Not just a wax face that someone had carved, but a moving, functioning, flesh-like face full of expression and life.

"Don't take me out of here!" 

"What?"

"I said, don't take me out of this room."

"What do you mean? I have to take you out. You're a candle. Your job is to give light. It's dark out there. People are stubbing their toes and walking into walls. You have to come out and light up the place!"

"But you can't take me out. I'm not ready," the candle explained with pleading eyes. "I need more preparation."

I couldn't believe my ears. "More preparation?"

"Yeah, I've decided I need to research this job of light-giving so I won't go out and make a bunch of mistakes. You'd be surprised how distorted the glow of an untrained candle can be. So I'm doing some studying. I just finished a book on wind resistance. I'm in the middle of a great series of tapes on wick build-up and conservation--and I'm reading the new bestseller on flame display. Have you heard of it?"

"No," I answered.

"You might like it. It's called Waxing Eloquently."

"That really sounds inter--" I caught myself. What am I doing? I'm in here conversing with a candle while my wife and daughters are out there in the darkness!

"All right then," I said. "You're not the only candle on the shelf. I'll blow you out and take the others!"

But just as I got my cheeks full of air, I heard other voices.

"We aren't going either!"

It was a conspiracy. I turned around and looked at the three other candles; each with flames dancing above a miniature face.

I was beyond feeling awkward about talking to candles. I was getting miffed.

"You are candles and your job is to light dark places!"

"Well, that may be what you think" said the candle on the far left--a long, thin fellow with a goatee and a British accent. "You may think we have to go, but I'm busy."

"Busy?"

"Yes, I'm meditating."

"What? A candle that meditates?"

"Yes. I'm meditating on the importance of light. It's really enlightening."

I decided to reason with them. "Listen, I appreciate what you guys are doing. I'm all for meditation time. And everyone needs to study and research; but for goodness sake, you guys have been in here for weeks! Haven't you had enough time to get your wick on straight?"

"And you other two," I asked, "are you going to stay in here as well?"

A short, fat, purple candle with plump cheeks that reminded me of Santa Claus spoke up. "I'm waiting to get my life together. I'm not stable enough. I lose my temper easily. I guess you could say that I'm a hothead."

The last candle had a female voice, very pleasant to the ear. "I'd like to help," she explained, "but lighting the darkness is not my gift."

All this was sounding too familiar. "Not your gift? What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm a singer. I sing to other candles to encourage them to burn more brightly." Without asking my permission she began a rendition of "This Little Light of Mine." (I have to admit, she had a good voice.)

The other three joined in, filling the storage room with singing.

"Hey," I shouted above the music, "I don't mind if you sing while you work! In fact, we could use a little music out there!"

They didn't hear me. They were singing too loudly. I yelled louder.

"Come on, you guys. There's plenty of time for this later. We've got a crisis on our hands."

They wouldn't stop. I put the big candle on the shelf and took a step back and considered the absurdity of it all. Four perfectly healthy candles singing to each other about light but refusing to come out of the closet. I had all I could take. One by one I blew them out. They kept singing to the end. The last one to flicker was the female. I snuffed her out right in the "puff" part of "won't let Satan puff me out."

I stuck my hands in my pocket and walked back out in the darkness. I bumped my knee on the same freezer. Then I bumped into my wife.

"Where are the candles?" she asked.

"They don't . . . they won't work. Where did you buy those candles anyway?"

"Oh, they're church candles. Remember the church that closed down across town? I bought them there."

I understood.

When most people think of the great commission and God's commitment to reach the whole world, including the Gentile or non-Jewish nations, they think of Matthew 28:18-20 where Jesus told His disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations." But Jesus was actually restating a commitment God has to reaching all the nations that can be seen throughout the Old Testament.

In 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 we can see that God made us for the very purpose of being with Him in His presence in eternal life, or "so what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." And "life" is knowing God (John 17:3). But people on earth followed the evil desires of their hearts instead of following God. Yet God loved all mankind and wanted them to be in a love relationship with Him. He could have come down in fearful power and told all the rebellious humans of His love. Instead, He chose to use a man.

Genesis 12:1-3 says, "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'" Here God made a covenant, or contract, with old Abraham.

In those times when two people made a contract they would cut an animal in half and then walk between two halves of the animal together to seal the contract. By this action they were saying, "If one of us does not keep his end of the contract, may the same happen to that person as this animal."

What, in the Old Testament, did God often appear as? He usually appeared as fire (pillar of fire, burning bush). Why bring up these issues of contracts and fire? Read Genesis Chapter 15. I know you may be rushing past this, but please stop for a while and read it. It is important that you do!

God committed Himself to fulfilling His promise to bless all nations through Abraham. In Genesis 15 the burning pot (God) passed through the animals by Himself saying that He was going to make the covenant work and that Abraham was not responsible for making the covenant work.

Galatians 3:8-9, "The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."

We see from this that there is a faith that brings men back into the relationship with Himself.

Look at Matthew 1:1-17 and follow the lineage from Abraham to Jesus.

Galatians 3:14, "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

Yes, God would bless all nations through Abraham.

Isaiah 53:4-6, "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham.

The last words of Jesus to his disciples before He ascended into heaven were these, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

Let's dissect this "Great Commission" step by step and see what we find. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore..." The United States was at the edge of a cliff, on the verge of attacking a defiant Iraqi army. Our nation was overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. At this time, President Bush assured our nation that if our people went to war, they would be backed by every resource and power of the United States. The soldiers would not be in there half cocked, half armed, and half backed. They would be fully backed. Jesus told us as the Commander-in-Chief of the Universe that we would be backed fully by His authority in Heaven and on earth. In addition, if you always obey a commanding officer, how much more the commander with unmatched authority.

Now Jesus commanded us to do three things: make disciples; baptize; and teach. In the original language there is one dominant command and two supportive commands. It is generally thought that the main command is "go,' but it is not. What the beginning of verse 19 says is, "as you are going, make disciples of all nations." The emphasis being on making disciples. If a person is not making disciples where they are at, how can they expect to go to a different place and make disciples? The best foreign missionaries are those who are missionaries wherever they are at now, whether home or abroad. The main command in the Great Commission then is: as you are going from the cradle to the grave, choose to actively pursue making disciples of all nations.

This main thrust is supported by two other commands that give the main command some tracks to run on. These are baptize and teach. Let's first deal with baptize. In our day in America, if a person tells you they were baptized, it probably will not give you much of a feel of whether or not they have really accepted Jesus. Being baptized is almost a cultural event of growing up remotely related to a church. This was not true in many cultures of the past or in other parts of the world today. Baptism is designed by Jesus to cause us to radically and publicly identify ourselves with Him. It is saying to all who know you that you have been buried with Christ and risen a new person in Christ, symbolized in the picture of the "water grave." Symbolically, you go in one person and come out a new creation.

Baptism: a public statement of your changed life in Christ. Christ wants us to publicly, and unmistakably identify ourselves with Himself. If we are going to make disciples of all nations, those that claim to be disciples must be willing to make this radical identification. It is the step that separates the faith that says, "I believe in Jesus but that doesn't make much of a difference to me," from the faith that says, "I believe in Jesus and that makes all the difference in my life."

The other rail of the track in making disciples is teaching. Jesus said, "and teaching them to obey." Teach them to obey what? "...everything I have commanded you," said Jesus. When people get involved in "making disciples" it becomes very easy and expedient to set out X number of things we need to teach a disciple. Then after those X number of things are taught, they are a disciple and your job is done.

There is a difference, though, between teaching someone all that Jesus commanded and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded. The focus here is on teaching them to obey Jesus.

Discipleship: How can I teach someone to obey Jesus?

or

How am I supposed to disciple people?

To disciple means to teach; the most powerful way of learning is through personal experience. That is why a person's faith must be their own, not their parent's, friend's, or pastor's. The second most powerful way a person learns is by watching another do something. How did Jesus teach His disciples? They never had an official Bible study, or classroom, or textbook. Jesus' life was their textbook. Jesus called them to follow Him and watch Him pray, heal diseases, and interact with people. Then, if something was not clear, Jesus would explain it to them.

Bible studies are important and seminaries have their place, but teaching people to obey Jesus is letting them see you obey Jesus. This takes consistent and close relationships with those we are teaching. Remember the greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. This applies to those you're teaching. Love them deeply from the heart.

In addition to love, scripture gives us a blueprint for discipleship. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."

Think about it. What an ingenious plan. You could preach awesome things to a crowd of thousands, and yet days later most will have forgotten everything you've said. Is that any lasting impact?

Try this on for size. If you share your faith with 1,000 people a day, it would take you about 21,000 years to share your faith with 7 billion people on the planet (a very conservative estimate). Now that is just sharing your faith; not building any depth or helping them grow. Let's look what could "mathematically" happen if we did something else. If one person disciples two people for two years and those two go disciple two people themselves and so on. How long would it mathematically take to reach the planet? Approximately thirty-six years. That's not just sharing your faith with a person, but loving them and helping each one grow for two years. The two years is just for giving some guidelines to do the math, but this example does show us to think in terms of multiplication, not addition. "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."

As a disciple it is important to realize that each follower learns from many people. Therefore, each Christian would have many folks "discipling" them, so encourage those you are discipling to learn from other Christians beside yourself.

It is often thought that Jesus just called His disciples to follow Him once. "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Actually Jesus had three calls to at least three of His disciples.

In John 1:35-42, we see Jesus' 1st Call -- to Relationship

The men asked where Jesus was staying. Jesus told them to come and see. Then they went and spent that day with Him in Bethany. He called them to relationship.

In Matthew 4:18-19 we see the 2nd Call -- to Training

This call was to the same men by the Sea of Galilee which is seventy miles north of Bethany. They already knew Jesus. He was calling them to training. "I will make you fishers of men."

In Luke 5:1-11 we see the 3rd Call -- to Ministry

Jesus told the same men that from that time on they would catch men. He was calling them to ministry.

I think this sets a pattern for us to build relationships with people. With those who are reliable and able to teach others also, we are to let them watch our lives up close. We need to teach them and help them grow. Then we need to challenge them to be involved in being fishers of other men.

Here are eleven points on Being a Discipler:

1) Do the things Jesus did.

-- Come alongside people in everyday life.

-- know where they are at.

2) Are you sharing opinions or scripture?

3) Be consistent in the time together.

4) Be available outside of set time.

5) Be yourself.

6) Be in prayer for them.

7) Challenge them.

8) Let the disciple push you to the limits.

9) Be humble.

10) Make time to play together.

11) Be willing to play a large or small role in someone's life. Remember: discipleship just for the sake of discipling someone, void of love, is nothing.

Jesus' Style of Ministry -- His Approach:

1) Offered people His friendship

2) Started where they were

-- Woman at the well

3) Listened to what they had to say

-- Nicodemus

-- He had more to say than we do

4) He sought the root of their problem

-- Paralytic

-- Rich Young Ruler

5) He took their questions seriously

-- Woman at the well

-- Luke 10

6) He sometimes asked favors of them

-- Zacchaeus

-- Woman at the well

-- Only a true friend would ask me to help them

-- We tend to be self-sufficient, but no self-serving

7) Did not force Himself upon others

-- James and John fire down

8) He knew the value of eating with people

-- Wedding

-- Zacchaeus

-- 4000 & 5000

-- Simon the Pharisee

9) He was confrontational

-- He who is not with me is against me

-- Fruit

-- House on rock

10) Led them to definite faith in Himself

-- "I AM" statements

11) Gave them something to do

-- Lepers

-- Fetch me a donkey

-- Take up mat

-- It is better to have a hundred men work than to do the work of a hundred men

Now, if we go back to the Great Commission after Jesus commanded His disciples to (1) go and make disciples of all nations, (2) baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (identification with Jesus), and (3) teach them to obey all. Jesus then says, "and surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age."

Well, it is not the end of the age yet. That seems to say we are included in this awesome commission! We are Christ's ambassadors and we have been given the ministry of making this story known to the nations (2 Cor. 5:11-21).

Further Recommended Reading:

Destination 2000 by Bob Sjogren

The Master Plan of Evangelism by Coleman

Leadership Guide:

Back to The Table of Contents
Go to Previous Section
Go to Next Section