‘‘You know that those who are regarded as 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’’ Mark 10:42-43

The movement of greatness has dominated the sector of personal development this decade and the church of Christ was no exception. While for some believers that movement offers a good opportunity to the church to become more productive to the community, other believers reject it as for them it tends to encourage many audiences to spend less time on spiritual realities. I was pessimistic about the teaching on leadership in church until I found the teaching of our Lord in Mark 10.

The teaching of our Lord on the subject is quite different. In fact, Jesus challenged our view on leadership by demonstrating that leadership is not about domination; nor is it about manipulation or money; for him, leadership is just about SERVING.

The day I read that passage in the Bible, I scanned through the life of some great men God used in the Bible to test the consistency of the hypothesis of service starting from Jesus.

It did not escape your attention that Jesus never focused on greatness, money or success; He was rather interested in serving people with passion by healing the sick (Mark 1, Luke 17), giving food to the hungry (Matthew 14:15-21), defending the weak (John 8:1-11). It is by performing those actions that he revealed the kingdom of his father to the world and thus became the most significant character in history.

On his part, Moses, who had grown up in a great palace, decided one day to leave that luxury to go and release God’s chosen people. The Bible states nowhere that Moses was eager to become leader over God’s people but it does mention he was willing to serve the people of God by defending them, showing them the way, protecting them and providing them with food, water, etc.

Of all that God might have found interesting in David, it is my opinion that his inclination to service was key. Indeed at a young age, David was dedicating quality time taking care of his father’s sheep; he was providing protection to them against predators. I guess that from God’s perspective, if someone can protect a sheep, surely, he can defend and protect citizens of a nation. David had a service-oriented heart. May the Lord give us hearts of servants!