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New Covenant Leaders

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973,1978,1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc.™ www.xulonpress.com. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Emphasis within Scripture quotations is the author's own.

ISBN 978-0-9905752-9-0

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 | WASHING FEET

CHAPTER 2 | KEEPING IT REAL

CHAPTER 3 | HOLY HUGGING

CHAPTER 4 | NOT UNDER COVER

CONCLUSION

PRAYER

ENDNOTES

INTRODUCTION

Over the last two decades, many in the Church have begun to understand Ephesians 4:11-13 in a new light:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Emerging teaching on these verses has done a lot to restore the five-fold ministry—of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers—to the body of Christ. According to what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4, these five-fold ministers exist to equip the body of Christ. This has been the primary message of those who teach on the five-fold ministry, and I completely agree.

What I'd like to add to this is an examination of what it really means to be an equipper (a leader) in the Church. Jesus told us leading in the Church looks different than it does in the world. The question is, how? In what ways does it look different?

If we ask ourselves, practically speaking, what it looks like to be an equipper, what images come to our minds? Do they involve fame and power or the opportunity to serve? Too often, I believe we in the Church have viewed leadership as more akin to stardom than servanthood. Yet the reality of the role of an equipper—someone who trains others and leads them into maturity—inherently contains the idea of service. Like a good parent, a leader equips his or her followers through service, safety, and affection.

These are the marks of the New Covenant Leaders which are emerging in the body of Christ. They do not use their authority to monopolize power and create (often unknowingly) an atmosphere of rules and fear. That is the world's way of leading. Instead, their leadership looks a lot like the way Jesus leads:

1. They exhibit servant-based authority.

2. They create environments where people can be vulnerable and transparent.

3. They are affectionate and warm.

In short, they bring healthy family life to church and truly equip disciples instead of indoctrinating followers. In the three chapters of this short book, I will examine each of these Jesus-style leadership methods in detail. M

ENDNOTES

CHAPTER 1

1. Alessandro Speciale, “Vatican defends Pope Francis' washing of women's feet,” Religion News Service (March 29, 2013); www.religionnews.com.

2. Harriet Alexander, “Pope washes feet of young Muslim woman prisoner in unprecedented twist on Maundy Thursday,” The Telegraph (March 28, 2013); www.telegraph.co.uk.

3. On this subject of control and freedom, I am deeply indebted to Danny Silk and his teachings on healthy relationships, especially in his books, Loving Our Kids on Purpose and Culture of Honor.

CHAPTER 2

1. I give full credit and thanks to my fellow author Danny Silk, especially for his life changing teachings regarding the Garden of Eden and our personal freedoms and choices. For more about this topic I would recommend his book: Loving Our Kids on Purpose (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2008)

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WASHING FEET

On Thursday, March 28, 2013, the newly appointed Pope Francis made a bold leadership move. It was Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, and tradition dictated he should hold a foot washing ceremony in memory of Jesus' act of servitude at the Last Supper. The Pope did just that, only he changed it up. Instead of washing the feet of twelve priests during a mass held at Rome's St. John Lateran Basilica—as his predecessors had done for centuries—Pope Francis decided to hold his Maundy Thursday mass at a nearby youth prison. There, he washed the feet of twelve young prisoners, including two women.¹

This decision endeared him among many but also shocked and offended a great number of traditionalist Catholics. Why did he do it? We can find some explanation in his words during a mass at St. Peter's Basilica earlier that week. He said, “We need to go out to the outskirts where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters.”² In other words, as Jesus said, we need to serve the “least of these” (Matt. 25:40).

I find Pope Francis' actions a compelling example of the type of servant leadership Jesus called His followers to when He walked the earth. Like Jesus, the Pope bent down to serve—not just other leaders, but delinquents and nonbelievers, too. When he washed and kissed their feet, he used his authority to honor, not control.

Compare this to the actions of Jesus' disciples, in their early years, as they vied and connived in an attempt to gain power. The power-seeking undercurrents among the twelve surfaced when James and John, the sons of Zebedee, brought their mother to Jesus with a special request. She said to Him, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom” (Matt. 20:21). It was a classic attempt at political maneuvering, but Jesus would have none of it.

To the two brothers, who were standing with their mother, hoping to be promised positions of power in Jesus' coming reign, He said, “You don't know what you are asking....Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” (Matt. 20:22).

Even in the face of this response from Jesus, these two were not short on confidence. “We can,” they boasted (Matt. 20:22). And Jesus promised to hold them to it. Still, He said, He could not promise them any such positions of authority in His coming Kingdom. He said:

You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father (Matthew 20:23).

Not surprisingly, the other ten disciples responded in anger when they discovered the brothers' scheme. To avoid an all-out brawl, Jesus called a family meeting. It was time for Leadership 101. He said:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:25-28).

In response to their jockeying for position, Jesus told them they were acting just like all the power-hungry leaders in the world, and He drew a line in the sand, saying, “Not so with you.” This is not how His disciples act.

It's important, here, to recognize what Jesus was saying no