Lead By Serving

This was a post that I started writing last Monday on my iPhone.  While writing it, it suddenly disappeared and has only now reappeared that I logged into blogger on my computer.  So here it is, but imagine it being posted a week ago.

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My home church in Waynesboro is currently without a regular custodian on staff. In essence, there's no one to do the "dirty work." On my way to get lunch today, I drove by the church and saw someone on his hands and knees in the bushes with piles of weeds beside him. In fact, there were several piles of weeds all down the sidewalk. He must have been weeding and fixing up the landscaping all morning. I realized that the man was a deacon and a leader the church. Even though he was a leader, he took the time out of his day (and it probably took hours) to do a task that nobody really would want to do. That's what a true leader does.
Last summer during CentriKid camp training, Lance, Lifeway's Childhood Events Director, shared a story with us about Dan Cathy, Chickfila's CEO.  Apparently, it is not unusual to find Dan in the cafeteria of CFA Corporate serving his employees by cleaning up their trays and seeing how they are doing.  As the leader of a huge corporation, he could easily sit in his expensive office and never seen another employee, but he takes time out of his day to serve others.
If a leader just sits at the head of a table and barks orders at those who are lower than he or she is while never getting his or her hands dirty, the chances are that he or she is probably not a very effective leader.
That's what the leader in my home church did. He probably never meant to be recognized and definitely did not want to, but he was just their to serve his congregation.
In fact, that's what Christ did, and we should follow his example.

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45