Leadership Life in the Spirit, Part 15 from the pulpit of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania by the Reverend Franklyn C. Pottorff August 26, 2018 Luke 22:24-30 24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Acts 6:1-7 Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2 And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, 4 while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word. 5 What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 2
This whole thing is Stephen s fault. I ll tell you that right up front, so that no one needs wonder who the minister was talking about. It all started because the disciples of Jesus were becoming more numerous, and the Greek converts were upset with the Jewish ones because the Greek widows weren t being cared for as well as the other widows. There just wasn t enough labor. So the disciples decided that beyond sharing the Good News, they didn t have the time to wait tables and care for the physical needs of others. So they selected from among the community seven folks who would do just that. Stephen was one of them. A man of good standing, full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit, the text says. But Stephen thought he was called to preach. Everybody always thinks they re called to preach. And in the verses that follow, his mouth got ahead of his brain, and long story short, he ends up getting killed for it. He became the first martyr of the Christian Church. And down through the ages, Stephen s life has been understood as a witness of what it means to lead in the Christian faith. He confessed with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, and died for it. Showing us that we might risk our lives through confession as well. Never mind that he didn t do as he was told. All Stephen had to do was just wait on tables and visit over at Waverly, Beaumont, and Dunwoody, and then come home. That s it. But his death inadvertently set a standard for what leadership looks like in Christian Discipleship: follow Jesus with prophetic and proclamatory boldness, speaking and acting with decisiveness, and then be willing to die if it comes to that. But that wasn t what Stephen was called to do. Which leads me to wonder if our model for leadership might need some rethinking. 3
What is a leader, anyway? How do we define leadership as a gift from God? How do we know when someone has it? How do we exercise it if we think we have it? It s a perilous conversation to have these days, in this strange political climate where talking heads bloviate ad nauseam on cable news; or a derogatory tweet creates confusion, panic, or outrage; or a word like compromise is translated to mean surrender. What does leadership even mean? Looking at Scripture doesn t always soothe our confusion. God uses all kinds of questionable characters to lead. But it should offer some comfort that God does not always call folks who have it all together from the beginning. Presbyterian pastor Steve Eason writes, After all, none of us is born qualified to work with the God of all creation Nonetheless, God chooses to call forth, equip, support, and utilize human leadership as a means of accomplishing divine business. God builds a team. 1 So what does the witness of our history and faith have to say for what qualifies a leader? Beginning in the waters of baptism we are told that to lead is paradoxically to follow. To follow Jesus down into the murky depths of human loss, and pain, and even death. Our initial experience in the life of the church, is to be brought to the font and told that dying with Christ, we will rise to new life in God s covenantal love. And because of that, there is no place we can go, that Jesus himself has not been. Our baptism identifies us as part of the new creation, and marks us as one who can descend into darkness without fear. Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams writes, the new humanity that is created around Jesus is not a humanity that is always going to be 1 Steven P. Eason, Making Disciples, Making Leaders, (Louisville, Ky: Geneva Press, 2004) p.7-8. 4
successful and in control of things, but a humanity that can reach out its hand from the depths of chaos, to be touched by the hand of God. Williams goes on, asking, Where might you expect to find the baptized? One answer is, in the neighborhood of chaos. It means you might expect to find Christian people near to those places where humanity is most at risk, where humanity is most disordered, disfigured and needy. 2 Leading is following, and also trusting; trusting that the depths to which we travel are not devoid of God s presence, and that if we are willing, we might just be able to descend into the heart of God s Spirit, where creation is being refreshed and reformed. Which means leading by following can be hazardous. Williams wonders if we shouldn t offer a health warning before folks get baptized. If you take this step, if you go into these depths, it will be transfiguring, exhilarating, life-giving, and very, very dangerous. 3 Baptism s call is qualifying and costly. I was a chaplain at a trauma 1 children s hospital the first time I baptized anyone. In the middle of the night, I was paged to the NICU. A little baby boy, just a few days old was dying, and I was called upon to offer the sacrament to him, with his parents beside him. His name was Noah, a name rich with significance regarding the deadly and saving power of water. And so I held him, my hands shaking, and from a little vial of sterilized water, I called him a child of the Covenant, and then washed him in the name of the triune God. And then I passed him to his father, who baptized Noah all over again with his own tears. Noah died just an hour later; and baptism or not, I m convinced that Jesus was right there, waiting to welcome him, and weeping alongside his parents, who as the creed would say had descended into hell. 2 Rowan Williams, Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014) p.4. 3 Ibid, p.9. 5
Baptism is dangerous and hope-filled. It s a promise that, as Lutheran Pastor Dr. Mary Hinkle Shore writes, Nothing worse than death, alongside the Crucified One already done can happen to you. 4 To lead is to follow. But leadership is more than a sacrament and entering human suffering. According to Luke s gospel, leadership is also about serving. Which was the whole point of Stephen s initial call to wait tables. Jesus tells the disciples in our first reading this morning, the greatest among you must become the like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves. To lead by serving is to set an example for others to follow. Serving is a way of making yourself less, so that someone else can be more. It is a radically self-less act, and one that gets thrown around a lot in church, but is quite often overlooked. We witness it in Jesus himself, washing the disciples feet, when some of them knew good and well that they should have been washing his. John Wooden, one of the most celebrated coaches in NCAA basketball history with 10 national championships at UCLA, has written several books on what leadership means. He writes in one of them, A leader who preens publicly is no different from a player who calls attention to himself by pounding his chest after making a basket. What are they both saying is, Me, me, me! Listen to a good coach following a win. He praises members of his team as if he hasn t been involved in their success. He accepts blame (at least publicly) for the mistakes made by those under his leadership. 4 Mary Hinkle Shore, Stewardship of Life at its End. In Adam J. Copeland (Ed.), Beyond the Offering Plate: A Holistic Approach to Stewardship, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2017) p. 18. 6
A selfless leader puts the team first Don t draw attention to yourself; don t be like the fellow in church who coughs loudly just before he drops a coin in the offering plate. 5 It might even be argued that acts of service are what made Christianity attractive in the early days. Church historian Diana Butler Bass tells of the ethical imperatives in our faith that made it so compelling to others. She writes, During the second century s great epidemic, known as the Plague of Galen, in which hundreds of thousands of people died in the streets, Christians proved their spiritual mettle by tending to the sick because they did not fear death, Christians stayed behind in plague-ravaged cities while others fled. Their acts of mercy extended to all the suffering regardless of class, tribe, or religion and created the conditions in which others accepted the faith. 6 The ethical behavior of these 2 nd century disciples was so compelling, bearing with those who were suffering, and serving them and their needs, that like the plague that had ravaged them, the faith became contagious. Others wanted whatever it was that these Christians had. To lead is to serve. But perhaps one of the most consequential skills needed in a leader is one that is often overlooked. On our front porch a few weeks back, I asked my wife, Abby, what she thought makes for a good leader. She told me it was listening, that the ability to listen is what distinguished an acceptable leader from a great one. Of course, I didn t hear a word she said, because I was thinking about all the impressive things I d try to say to you all in this sermon. So Abby said it again, even louder this time. I think leaders are people who can listen well. Anyone can talk, Frank, but a leader must know how to listen. 5 John Wooden and Steve Jamison, The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2007) p.142-143. 6 Diana Butler Bass, A People s History of Christianity, (New York: HarperOne, 2009) p. 59-60. 7
As is often the case, she s right, you know. But listening is terribly difficult work. A quick survey of the Gospels doesn t offer many verses that say, And Jesus sat there listening Mark s Gospel, which scholars believe to be the oldest, has Jesus moving and speaking so fast, the only time he apparently slept was when he napped on the boat during the storm. Yet look and see how Jesus modeled his listening. At the wedding in Cana, Jesus mother, Mary, says to him, They have no wine. Haven t you ever heard your momma speak to you like that? They have no wine, Jesus. And he said, What concern is that to you and to me? But you know what he does next, he fills the room with wine, and not the cheap Franzia in a box-kind, but the 1939 Bordeaux kind of wine. He hears the urgency in Mary s voice, and responds with abundance. After the resurrection, Jesus approached two men walking along the road to Emmaus and asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood depressingly still and said, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn t know the things that have happened?" And Jesus asks, what things? He knew how to ask informative questions that allowed him to find out what really mattered to people. He knew to hear for how others shared their own experiences. Jesus listened. The late Southern Presbyterian scholar, Dr. John Leith, wrote, It is worth noting that in the New Testament, hearing takes priority over seeing or feeling or tasting or even thinking. It is the primary way Christian faith is communicated The deepest realities of the human heart are expressed when one self speaks to another, and the realities of another self are best known when one self hears the other. 7 7 John H. Leith, The Reformed Imperative: What the Church Has to Say That No One Else Can Say, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1988) p.29. 8
Listening isn t just about hearing other people; it s about hearing God in other people. Hearing their stories in light of God s story. A leader must know how to listen, to listen for the holiness that permeates the voices of creation in all their groaning, and bantering, and weeping, and rejoicing. To lead is to listen. It seems leadership is hard and faithful work, and I m still convinced Stephen is responsible for all this confusion. But perhaps I should cut him some slack. If to lead is to follow, to serve, and to listen, one could do worse than Stephen. For by his faithful witness, we are pointed to the paradoxical Good News of the cross. And having heard such Good News, how could Stephen keep silent? Amen. 9