Valerie Rae Hanneman
I Cor. 15:58 (MSG). “With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.”
We had our annual Board of Managers retreat a couple of weekends ago. It was a time of worship, prayer, brainstorming, and learning. It was great! Over the weekend we ate meals prepared by Lill and Richard Wilson, Lill’s daughter Candy and Faye Lowes. Saturday morning we had this egg, cheese, mushroom casserole thingy that was so good that I am going to get the recipe - even though cooking is not my forte. Sonday afternoon we were served this to-die-for meatloaf with all the trimmings. And the food was just the beginning. Faye, Richard and Lill made sure we had snacks, water, sodas, everything we could need. They served us the food and cleaned up after us. They spoiled us rotten.
I learned a lot about leadership and team building from the weekend. What I learned will impact my role in our church and impact my leadership role at my job. I was glad to sit at the feet of our Pastors and the Board to drink in their knowledge and experience. Do you want to know who I learned the most about servant leadership and team building from?
Richard, Lill, Faye and Candy
Are you surprised by my answer? I was with some of most extraordinary leaders in Fresno’s community of faith and I learned more from the cooks and bottle washers? You bet I did. Let me tell you about those cooks and bottle washers. During the retreat I often watched Faye, Lill and Richard as they served us. Not one time did I see them without a smile on their faces, without a gracious word to us, and without a willingness that bordered on eagerness to serve us. I know that had I said to one of them, “I know this makes me a heathen, but I would rather have mustard with my meatloaf instead of catsup.” they would have gone down to the kitchen to get me mustard. They would have wondered about my sense of taste (maybe even my sanity) but they would have gone willingly. They taught me that people who are truly in servant leadership are happy to be there - they are not grouchy about what they do.
What we saw them do for us was just the tip of the iceberg of what they did. They had to buy the supplies, prepare the food, set-up the room, serve us, clean up after us, clean the room on Saturday and then do it all over again on Sonday. Lill’s daughter, Candy, doesn’t even attend our church and she spent hours preparing food for the retreat. They taught me that people who are truly in servant leadership don’t grouse about the size or difficulty of the job they do. They know the job, they plan the job - and then they do the job without complaint.
The easiest way for Richard, Faye and Lill to handle the weekend would have been to set up with plastic tablecloths, paper plates, plastic silverware and Styrofoam cups. Clean up would have been a snap. Pull over a trash can and dump it all in. But that is not what they did. We had cloth tablecloths, china dishes, and real, heavy silverware. Because we use the fancy stuff so seldom, I would not be surprised if they had to wash all those dishes before they could use them. Then they washed them all on Saturday night - then again on Sonday. They taught me that people who are in servant leadership go the extra mile to do the job the best they can.
But here is the most impactful lesson that they taught. If you were to ask the world who the leaders were at that retreat they would point to the Board of Managers and Pastors as the leaders because they lead the church. But Jesus doesn’t think like the world. (Praise God for that! We would be headed for a much warmer eternity if He did!) At that retreat, Jesus showed me the servant leadership of the unnoticed. Faye, Lill, Richard and Candy were content - more than content - to serve in the roles of the usually unnoticed because their focus was not on the position where they were serving. Their focus was on the Person that they were serving. Because they chose to serve without regard to the position they serve in, Jesus has made them leaders. Again, this is catiwhompus to how the world works. For the world, to be in leadership is to be in power - and power is everything. Their focus is on the position and the power of leadership and that is what they serve. They are leadership servants.
So do you have to be in an unnoticed position to be a servant leader? No, you do not. Again, the servant leader chooses to serve over choosing the position. Lill, Faye, Richard and Candy are great examples of servant leadership. But then so is each one of the members of the Board of Managers and our Pastors. I have seen them serve as Pastors and on the Board of Managers. I have also seen them serve by picking up garbage on the campus, fixing something that is broken, cleaning out toilets, and washing dishes long after the rest of us have gone home. I know that you have seen it too. They chose to serve Jesus on the Board of Managers, they choose to serve Jesus by cleaning out a toilet. Bottom line is that they choose to serve Jesus first.
The world says it is all about leadership servants, that the focus is on the leadership position and power. Jesus says that it is all about servant leadership, that the focus is on the servant heart who serves Him and not the position.
Jesus says that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. The Church’s strength to defeat hell is because of her servant leaders. True power is in the servant leader heart. The world serves the power and position of leadership and that makes it powerless. The world is under a death sentence - on the last day it will pass away. But Jesus’ Church remains forever.
Would you serve if you were asked to be on the Board of Managers? Would you serve if you were asked to take out the trash? Do you serve the Person - or the position?
LORD Jesus, if You ask me to take out the trash, I will do it gladly and to the best of my ability. If You ask me to serve on the Board of Managers, I will do it just as gladly and to the best of my ability. All that is important is that I serve You.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@frsnofirst.org
Check out our blog at www.fresnofirst.org - it’s at the bottom of the page.
Posted by Valerie at January 20, 2006 08:05 PM