So Americans are losing faith in "religious leaders".
I'm not.
I mean, sure, if "religious leaders" means office-holders at religious organizations who love being experts or "sought-after speakers" or CEO/visionaries or who build churches around their own personal awesomeness, well then, okay, you've got me. Just being honest: I have lost some faith in that kind of leadership.
But not leadership, Jesus-style. No, for those people, those servant-hearted men and women whose names you may never see on a book at a Christian Bookstore (TM), I thank God. I've not lost faith in them. They've shown me how God is at work, and the way He works is shocking: He raises the humble, the weak, the unlikely. He says "THIS is how you lead", and then He washes the feet of a motley bunch of liars, betrayers, and sinners with no earthly status whatsoever.
That's what Jesus called "authority". It's upside-down style.
So -- and I know I'll sound like the beer commercial, but: Here's to you, Jesus-style leaders. I may not know who you are, by name. Not here. Not yet. Good thing God knows who you are, though, and He doesn't need you to be on a stage, or under lights, and He doesn't need to read your book, to know you.
In my little list below, "Leaderman" will likely accomplish some impressive things, and earn some applause. But -- speaking for myself, at this point of my life? I can't get enough of the other kind. So here's to you, servant leaders.
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Servant Leader: Has something to say
LeaderMan: Wants a platform on which to say something
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LeaderMan: You almost feel you know his family, because he's your Leader
Servant Leader: You allow him to influence you, because you know his family
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LeaderMan: Wants you to know he's a Leader
Servant Leader: You're not sure *he* knows he's a leader
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LeaderMan: Loves the idea of the Gospel, and the idea of The Church
Servant Leader: Loves God and the actual individual people God brings across his path
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LeaderMan: A great speaker, but self-described as, "Not really a people person."
Servant Leader: Makes himself a people person
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LeaderMan: Helps you find where God is leading you in his organization
Servant Leader: Helps you find where God is leading you
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LeaderMan: Gets together with you to talk about his vision
Servant Leader: Just gets together with you
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LeaderMan: Resents "sheep stealing"
Servant Leader: Doesn't get the "stealing" part, since he doesn't own anyone to begin with
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LeaderMan: Wants the right people on the bus
Servant Leader: Wants to find the right bus for you, and sit next to you on it
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Servant Leader: Shows you his whole heart
LeaderMan: Shows you a flow chart
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LeaderMan: A visionary who knows what the future looks like
Servant Leader: Knows what your kitchen looks like
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LeaderMan: Everybody must be excellent!
Servant Leader: Excellent at welcoming everybody, even the inept
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LeaderMan: Talks about confronting one another in love
Servant Leader: Actually confronts you in love
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LeaderMan: Impressed by success and successful people
Servant Leader: Impressed by faithfulness
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LeaderMan: Invests time in you, if you are "key people"
Servant Leader: Wastes time with you
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LeaderMan: Reveals sins of his past
Servant Leader: Reveals sins of his present
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LeaderMan: Gives you things to do
Servant Leader: Gives you freedom
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LeaderMan: Leads because of official position
Servant Leader: Leads in spite of position
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LeaderMan: Deep down, threatened by other Leaders
Servant Leader: Has nothing to lose