Good morning! I hope your week is awesome!
In my new book, The Humility Factor, I talk about how Jesus modeled humble intelligence for His followers, and I believe it is critical for the health of today’s churches that pastors follow His example. Last week I gave you a little taste of the first of the seven attributes of humble intelligence, compassion. This week, let’s look at the second one, sacrificial service.
Sacrificial Service
The second sign to look for in a potential lead pastor is sacrificial service, which can be simply described as the willingness to do something for others which will require a personal sacrifice of some kind. It might be the sacrifice of time, money, position, recognition, comfort, or something else, any of which lessens one’s own status or condition of life. Many authors have written scores of books and articles on the subject of sacrifice and service. Many have a convicting, though unintentional, tone that causes the reader to step back and take stock of one’s life and priorities.
Modern writer Christena Cleveland makes such a statement when she writes, “If you don’t have to give up power, then it’s not really servant leadership.” Her point is that when there is no change in the power difference between the leader and the follower, calling oneself a servant leader isn’t truly accurate. One must actually sacrifice something in service to the other, just as Jesus did when He gave up His power to command all of heaven to come to His aid and allowed the power to be in the hands of those He came to serve.
Picking up the towel of Jesus is not easy. It requires a total sacrifice of what most leaders are led to believe leaders are. Sacrificial service is the antithesis of power, prestige, ambition, and personal gain, but it is a critical piece of the humility factor. In the weeks to come, I’ll continue to share more from the book about humble intelligence. I really hope it will make you want to read the whole book! I also hope you’ll take a moment to make a comment and share it with others.
I also want to invite you to join the launch team for the book, which, upon your agreement to help me spread the word, will give you an advance digital copy, a special discount on a signed copy after the release, and some unique perks of being one of the first to receive your copy of The Humility Factor. I promise it will be worth it. If you are interested in receiving the information about joining the launch team, please send me an email at [email protected] and say,“Yes, I want to know more!” and I will send you the information about what it means to be on the team. Once you agree, I will send you your digital copy. Please make sure to identify yourself and send your response on the email address from which you want to receive the information.
Thanks for taking the time to read this message. Please take a moment to view this week’s video as well. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCblJfSNVQU.
DJP (That’s Dr. John Plastow)