- Power and Responsibility — Using Influence Well
- Power Perfected in Weakness (2 Cor 12:9)
- Engineering Decisions That Carry Weight
- Servant Leadership: Christ’s Model (Mark 10:42–45)
Leadership is one of the most discussed subjects in the modern world.
Bookshops are filled with books promising better leadership. Conferences teach strategies for influence. Organisations invest heavily in developing leaders who can inspire, motivate, and deliver results.
Yet when Jesus speaks about leadership, he begins by challenging almost every assumption his disciples hold.
James and John have just asked for places of honour beside him in his kingdom. They are thinking about position, recognition, and authority.
Jesus responds by describing an entirely different kind of leadership.
One built not upon status—
but upon service.
The World’s Picture of Leadership
Jesus begins by observing the leadership models familiar to his disciples.
Rulers exercise authority.
Officials demonstrate power.
Influence flows downwards.
Those at the top command those beneath them.
It is a pattern humanity has repeated throughout history.
Leadership often becomes associated with:
- control,
- prestige,
- recognition,
- and privilege.
Power exists to elevate the leader.
People exist to serve the institution.
Jesus quietly overturns the entire model.
“Not So With You”
Perhaps the most remarkable words in the passage are these:
“Not so with you.”
The kingdom of God operates differently.
Leadership is not abolished.
Authority is not rejected.
Responsibility is not removed.
Instead, their purpose is transformed.
Leadership is no longer about being served.
It becomes about serving.
Greatness Redefined
Jesus does something extraordinary.
He redefines greatness itself.
In the world, greatness is often measured by:
- influence,
- wealth,
- visibility,
- and achievement.
In the kingdom, greatness is measured by willingness to serve.
This does not make leadership smaller.
It makes it holier.
Leadership becomes less about personal advancement and more about helping others flourish.
Service Is Not Weakness
Some misunderstand servant leadership as passive or indecisive.
Jesus demonstrates the opposite.
No one exercised greater authority than Christ.
He taught with authority.
He confronted injustice.
He challenged hypocrisy.
He commanded storms.
He raised the dead.
Yet the greatest expression of his authority was not domination.
It was self-giving love.
Servant leadership is not weak leadership.
It is strength placed under the discipline of love.
The Example of Christ
Jesus does not merely teach servant leadership.
He embodies it.
He concludes:
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
This is astonishing.
The Creator serves the created.
The King washes the feet of his followers.
The Lord gives his life for those who rejected him.
Christian leadership begins here.
Not with ambition.
Not with position.
But with imitation.
Leadership as Stewardship
Throughout this year’s journey we have returned repeatedly to stewardship.
Leadership is another stewardship.
Influence is entrusted.
Authority is entrusted.
Responsibility is entrusted.
Nothing ultimately belongs to us.
The leader therefore asks:
“How can I use what has been entrusted to me for the good of others?”
That question changes everything.
Serving Without Seeking Recognition
One of the quiet challenges of servant leadership is anonymity.
Much faithful leadership goes unnoticed.
Encouraging someone privately.
Making difficult decisions quietly.
Protecting others from unnecessary burdens.
Creating opportunities for others to succeed.
These actions rarely attract applause.
Yet they often produce the healthiest communities.
Servant leadership is more interested in fruit than recognition.
Leadership That Multiplies Others
Poor leadership creates dependency.
Healthy leadership develops people.
It equips.
Encourages.
Delegates.
Teaches.
Celebrates the success of others.
The goal is not to become indispensable.
The goal is to prepare others to flourish.
This is how Jesus led.
He spent three years preparing ordinary people to continue his mission after he returned to the Father.
The Temptation of Position
Position can become dangerous when it becomes identity.
If leadership defines who we are, losing influence feels like losing ourselves.
Jesus anchors identity elsewhere.
Our value is not found in our position.
It is found in belonging to God.
This frees leaders to serve without constantly protecting status.
Servant Leadership in Everyday Life
Most people will never lead large organisations.
Many will never stand on public platforms.
But everyone leads somewhere.
Parents lead families.
Teachers lead classrooms.
Developers influence teams.
Church members shape congregations.
Friends influence one another.
Servant leadership belongs in every one of these places.
A Different Kind of Influence
As this month’s theme explores power and responsibility, Jesus offers perhaps the clearest principle of all:
Power is safest in the hands of those who are willing to kneel.
Influence is healthiest when exercised through service.
Authority becomes beautiful when shaped by humility.
The Invitation
Who has God entrusted to your care?
Where has he given you influence?
How might you use that influence not to elevate yourself, but to strengthen someone else?
These questions are not reserved for pastors or executives.
They belong to every follower of Christ.
Because Christian leadership is never primarily about climbing higher.
It is about stooping lower.
And in that surprising movement—
we discover the kind of greatness that lasts.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright © Crossway.
