your behalf (See Colossians 2:13-15; 3:1-4).
So often, we as leaders, try to use ministry to
fix the broken pieces in our souls instead of
allowing Jesus Himself to be our Healer. All
that is true about Jesus is now true about us
because we are in Him and He is in us. We lead
from affirmation, not for affirmation.
you will be a slave to all. For even the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his lifer as a ransom for many.
Matthew 10:42-25 CSB
According to Jesus, a great leader is a servant.
Leader, simply love and serve people.
Second, remember that Jesus is great, so you
do not have to be. Leaders often buy into the
secular mantra of trying to become great. This
often leads to comparison, jealously, feelings
of inadequacy, ego, and insecurity. It’s pure
idolatry. On the night that Jesus was handed
over to be crucified, His Jewish disciples were
fighting to see who be the greatest among
them, and Jesus said,
You know that those who are regarded as rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in
high positions act as tyrants over them. But it
is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever
wants to become great among you will be your
servant, and whoever wants to be first among
Leader, bless people, don’t use people.
Leader, give grace to those you serve the way
Jesus graced you.
Third, remember, the work of the triune God
in you is more important than the work of God
through you. You can’t give away what you do
not possess. Let God the Spirit form you into
the image of Jesus for the glory of God. A most
wonderful gift you can give your family and
congregation is your holiness.
Let’s make holiness great again.
Dr. Derwin L. Gray is the founding and lead Pastor of Transformation
Church (TC), a multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped
community in Indian Land, South Carolina, located just south of
Charlotte, North Carolina. Derwin is husband to Vicki and papa to
Presley and Jeremiah. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University,
Southern Evangelical Seminary (M.Div. with a concentration in
Apologetics), Northern Seminary (Doctor of Ministry in New Testament
in Context) and he has been awarded an honorary doctorate from
Southern Evangelical Seminary. He is the author of Hero: Unleashing
God’s Power in a Man’s Heart (2010), Limitless Life: You Are More Than
Your Past When God Holds Your Future (2013), Crazy Grace for Crazy
Times Bible Study (2015), and The High-Definition Leader: Building
Multiethnic Churches in a Multiethnic World (2015).
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