July 6, 2003
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I
want us to spend a few minutes this morning thinking about leadership. The
simple definition of a leader is this: one who guides or directs, or shows the
way. Think about the way you give leadership, think about the ways in which you
receive leadership. Who have you guided through the years, in what ways have you
shown the way to others? Who have been the leaders you have admired? Do you
welcome the leadership of others or do you insist on being leader most of the
time? As you know,
next year is an election year. As we vote for President, and for other offices,
people will make leadership decisions. Some will make their choice based on
whether or not they believe incumbents deserve re-election or some one new needs
an opportunity to lead. Some will look at all the issues and will make their
choice based on their values and their desires to see the country move in one
direction or another. It is not
only the political arena that seeks leaders. A university athletic director
wants a coach who is a leader, who knows the game, and in these days behaves
ethically on the field or court, and in their private life too. We want
educators who are informed and inspirational. Parents want good children,
children want good parents. And in the church, we need and want leaders with
creativity and vision. The need for leaders is great. No matter the size whether
fifty or five thousand, 20% of the people do 80% per cent of the work. Are you a
leader all of the time or some of the time. Being a leader none of the time is
not an option. Our
lessons from both the Old and New Testaments tell us some things about
leadership. In fact, they teach us some things that every leader ought to know. The first
lesson about leadership is obvious. People need leaders. We need people
in our lives who will not abuse or bully us and call it leadership, but people
who will actually guide us, direct us and show us the way to the places we need
to be. People will seek out the leaders they need. That is why came to David. He
was already leading the southern kingdom of Judah. Then people from the northern
kingdom of Israel came to him. They
tell him that even while Saul was king, he was already their leader. Saul had
the title, but David had the talent. Saul had the symbols of power, his shield
carried the royal crest, people met his every need, but David had the gifts to
exercise power. They say to him, “You have been what God made you made you to
be, David. You are a shepherd, come up and talk with the elders, come be our
shepherd now.” David made an
agreement with the people. He will be
the shepherd king who served God and led the people. He will perform a
shepherd’s task as he both “protects the flock and at the same time leads
them into a future that is appropriate and right” (Texts
for Preaching. Louisville. Westminster/John Knox Press, p. 1993, p.412).
He is the leader the people need. David is
anointed king and helps us to know the second thing
every leader needs to know. Leaders are passionate. They feel deeply about where
they want to go, how they will get there, and who will go with them. The people
had a passion for David, David had a passion for the people and for God and knew
that God would direct his time as king, and God had a passion for David. David
did not always do the right thing, but for the next forty years, David led a
united Israel with Jerusalem, as his capital. David makes
leadership look easy. But any of you who has ever been a leader on your job, in
your home, and even in the church, knows that it is not always that way. There
will be days when we think we are leading, but we turn around, and no one is
with us. Even Jesus
faced rejection, he faced it on the cross and he faced it when he went to his
hometown. Today’s gospel lesson lets us know the third
we need to know about leadership. Sometimes ministry and leadership will be
rejected, even by people who know you best, even when it seems they would be
excited and welcoming and willing to follow. It is
sometimes hard to go home, especially to a small town like Nazareth.. The people
who know all about you are there. The people in Nazareth remember Jesus. They
remember when Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem, they heard about his miraculous
birth while they were there. They were curious when the family spent two years
in Egypt, and they remember their return and Jesus working as a carpenter, until
that day when he left for the big city. Now Jesus
has come back not to the family trade, but with a group of disciples. “This is
not just a hometown boy returning for a casual visit. Having disciples marks
Jesus as a rabbi” (lectionary.org,
p.2). They
don’t know when he became a rabbi – but they know him. They want to support
him and when he begins to preach and teach they listen to him, for a while. They
are surprised. “Listen to
how much he knows, he is so smart. Listen to how wise he is – he first went to
school here in our little village you know. I wonder what kinds of things he can
do. Look at how God has surely blessed him. They
remember Jesus the one from Nazareth. They do not yet know him as God’s
anointed one. They remember some one. Someone mentions that there was, as they
recall a bit of scandal involved in that Bethlehem trip. They remember his
family – his brothers and sisters and now they wonder out loud, what did they
do in Egypt anyway? Suddenly,
Jesus is not the one who went into the world and made good. He is the carpenter
who has forgotten his place. “Carpenters were respected and well paid, but
there was gulf between the man who works with his hands and the rabbi who
devotes his life to intellectual and spiritual pursuits” (www.lectionary.org,
p.2). Tell us
how to work with wood, but don’t presume to teach us about God. It’s not
what he is supposed to do. Things are
getting personal. He is not called the son of Joseph when it was the custom to
identify people based on their relationship with their fathers. But they don’t
call Jesus the son of Joseph; he is Mary’s boy. In an indirect way they are
raising questions about his status in town and perhaps more. “It is possible
that Joseph is dead by this time, although we would expect people to identify
Jesus by his father’s name even after the father’s death. This
identification by Mary’s name is intended as an insult and is probably a slur
on the legitimacy of his birth” (lectionary.org.
p.2). They are
offended by what Jesus has said and in their offense they have become they are
skeptical (where did he get this?), they are envious (where did he get this
widsom? They like what they hear, but they don’t want to hear it from him).
And they are suspicious (what kind of power does he have, and what will he do
with it)? The fourth
thing leaders should know is that it is impossible to lead people who do
not want to hear what you have to say. I wonder
what Jesus was teaching? Jesus preached and taught that every person could have
a close salvation bringing relationship with God. He preached and taught
restoration, renewal, and reconciliation. People took offense then and they take
offense now. Maybe we have gotten used to being broken, and broken down, and
broken apart, but that is not God’s will for us. I believe our God wants us to
live lives that have hope and health and meaning for our spirits and when we
don’t or can’t God aches with us. Jesus taught
about accountability commitment. People were afraid of commitment then and they
are afraid of commitment now. Maybe he took the occasion of teaching in the
synagogue to tell the parable of the talents which is in Matthew 25, or the
parable of the pounds from Luke 19. In both cases three servants were given the
stewardship of something precious. Two of them did well with what was given to
them. The other literally buried what they had been given and was turned out of
the community because they squandered what they had been given. I am not
talking about people who discover they cannot do something – we all need to
know what our limits are. And no one is going to be turned out of this
community. I am talking about people who squander the gifts God gives us. We
don’t each have all the gifts, but we have each been given tremendous gifts,
the question is what will we do with what God has given us. Whatever
Jesus taught, his neighbors did not want to hear it so Jesus laments that there
is no honor for the prophet in his own home. Without an open and accepting
environment, there was little he could do in Nazareth. But his ministry was not
stopped. He and the disciples went on to other places, and their leadership
continued. As they
went, they discovered that there are some things only Jesus can do – the
miracles of resurrection and pronouncing salvation are his alone. But the fifth
thing every leader should know is that ministry is a team effort. We cannot do
it alone. A few days ago, I saw a sign in a church office that says: “God
hasn’t designed you to do your jobs solo, but rather to minister to each other
the grace, encouragement, and comfort you’ve received.” He sent them two by two not only so they would
encourage each other but for these reasons as well. “A partner
bestows strength. Not only do partners protect each other from physical danger,
but they also provide pleasant companionship and encourage each other in
difficult circumstances. “A second
person lends credibility. Deuteronomy 15.19 requires two or three witnesses to
convict a person of crime, because a single witness is far more likely to make a
mistake. For that same reason, a single witness has less credibility than two;
Jesus could have sent them in groups of three, but two people are usually more
effective than three. Often, in groups of three people, two will bond with each
other and the third will become an outsider within the group. “A partner
keeps us accountable. A person is less likely to give in to temptation when
accompanied by a partner” (lectionary.org.
p. 4). Jesus sends
them out in teams and tells them to travel light, take nothing extra. “Jesus
tells them to take nothing but a staff and sandals – no bread, no bag, no
money, an only a single tunic. Jesus prohibits not only frivolous items, but
essential ones as well. His requirements go beyond simplicity to reckless faith.
The disciples are to proceed without adequate preparation, trusting local people
for hospitality, but above all, trusting God to provide for their needs” (lectionary.org,
p. 5). He tells
them how to receive hospitality. When you get to a house, stay put, don’t go
from place to place looking for the best accommodations. Accept the hospitality
that is offered. He also
teaches them what to do when their ministry is rejected because the sixth
thing leaders need to know is that your message may not be received, but the
message is to be shared anyway. It happened to Jesus, it will happen to you.
There will be times when you go and do the best you know how to do, and there
will be no offer of hospitality, no nothing. When it does, shake the dust off
your feet and move on. There are two meanings here. The first is that if no one
offers to wash your feet, if they offer you no water, if they will not speak
when you say hello, do let it stop you . Wash your own feet, seek water
elsewhere, speak to the next person you see. But there is
this meaning too. We are responsible for doing what we are called to do. We
cannot always predict the response, but once we know it, we can try to convince
people to see things our way, but the choice is theirs. What about
us? I heard Otis Moss say at Maynard Jackson’s funeral that leadership
involves service in a time of self-centeredness, suffering in a time of
self-indulgence, and sacrifice in a time of self-obsession. We are all called to
lead. Whether
politician or constituent, we are all citizens and we are all responsible for
leading our country. Whether coach or player, we represent one team and we each
have a stake in the team being as successful as we can be. Whether educator or
student, the gift of learning is the goal and all of us should be invested in
learning and teaching all that we can. Whether parent or child, we are in one
family and have a stake in its stability. And in the church each of us plays
some part in maintaining a healthy congregation. People of faith such as you and I understand that
we are called to lead the world in proclaiming that God is alive and wishes life
for us. We are called to understand that to be in service is to be in ministry,
to suffer is to bear up and bear with others, and to sacrifice means to make
what we do so sacred that we offer it to God. As we make our offerings of leadership to God, we
will be sent out from where it is always safe to be Christ’s witnesses
wherever we go. These are the essentials we will need. We will need the people,
the place, and the passion to get things done. Our passion will help us to
worship, to nurture, to share in ministries of outreach, education, community
involvement, ecumenical partnerships, and work with the Christian Church in
Columbus, in Ohio, and in the United States and Canada. And we will need the
resources to provide the ministries we are called to do. As we give
and receive leadership, may we know God’s steadfast love. May our praise reach
to the end of the earth. Pray that God will empower us and that our unbelief
becomes faith, our not knowing becomes knowledge, and our brokenness becomes
wholeness, now and forever. Thanks be to God. Amen. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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