The best phrase for much of leadership today
is it's all about me.
It's about my bottom line, it's about my security,
it's about my company, and it's about my success.
It's based largely in greed, manipulation, and control.
So Jesus was talking about the ways of leadership
and the ways of the kingdom of God
when the mother of the sons of Zebedee,
the sons of thunder, came to him
and began asking him a question about their position,
a power that they could have on the thrones next to Jesus.
And here's how it goes.
It was in Matthew 10, verse 20.
And it says,
for the sons of Zebedee,
and here's how it goes.
It was in Matthew 10, verse 20.
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons
came to him with her sons.
So they're right next to their mom,
kneeling down and asking something of Jesus.
He said to her, what do you wish?
And she said, grant that these two sons of mine
may sit one on your right hand
and the other on the left in your kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said,
you do not know what you ask.
Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink
and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with?
Now, she doesn't even know what he's talking about
at this point.
This is before, obviously, the crucifixion.
But she said, or they said to him,
we're able, we're ready to go.
We can do whatever you can do, Jesus.
So he said to them, you will indeed drink my cup.
And what he meant by that
was the suffering that he would go through
and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with.
But to sit on my right hand and on my left
is not mine to give,
but it is for those whom it is prepared by my father.
Now, this next part is operable to what I'm talking about
as far as organic leadership.
And when the 10 heard it,
they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.
Of course they were,
because it was obvious that they were so ambitious.
But Jesus called them to himself
and he said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them.
That's what I'm calling corporate leadership.
Yet it shall not be so among you,
but whoever desires to become great among you,
let him be your servant.
That's what I'm calling kingdom of God leadership
or organic leadership.
And whoever desires to be first among you,
let him be your slave.
Again, organic leadership or kingdom leadership.
Just as the son of man did not come to be served,
but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.
Again, organic kingdom leadership.
Let me start with corporate.
So corporate leadership,
probably the most popular form of leadership,
especially in America,
and definitely was a big part of the time of Christ
among the Jews and the Gentiles among the Romans
that involves lording over or having authority over people.
So it is leadership that certainly guides people,
nothing wrong with that.
But in the case of Jesus,
he's talking about exercising authority over people.
So I would say this kind of leadership is based in hierarchy,
based in self-promotion.
Self-promotion is based in pride
and self-protection based in fear.
The best phrase for much of leadership today
is it's all about me.
It's about my bottom line.
It's about my security.
It's about my company and it's about my success.
It's based largely in greed, manipulation and control.
I'm challenging this to say it is unnatural
to God's kingdom plan,
God's natural way of treating people.
This is by far the most popular form of leadership today
and even in Christ's day.
That's why he used it as an example
to contrast his leadership
from the systems of Israel and Rome.
In contrast, Jesus gives a new way,
a living way, a healthy way, a kingdom of God way
of what I'm calling organic leadership.
This organic leadership of Jesus
is summed up in one word, service.
So this used to be the type of leadership
that we had in America.
We call our politicians,
what do we call them?
Public servants for a reason,
because historically this was the purpose
of leadership in America to serve the people.
And there was a time in history
when politicians were serving the best interest of others.
One of the best known speeches in world history
and perhaps one of the greatest statements for democracy
was given by Abraham Lincoln in the.
Gettysburg Address on November 19th, 1863.
Let me just take a section of this.
He says this,
that this nation under God
shall have a new birth of freedom
and that that government of the people,
by the people, for the people
shall not perish from the earth.
So organic leadership,
kingdom of God leadership is of the people,
by the people, for the people,
for God's glory.
So when I speak of organic leadership,
I'm saying organic leadership is about serving people,
serving people for God's purposes.
Organic leadership is about caring for people,
for God's purposes and for God's glory.
Organic leadership is about empowering others
and releasing them into God's purposes for their life.
Jesus is saying that organic leadership is about serving,
serving the lives of others.
Historians would say that Jesus
was the greatest leader of all time.
He definitely built a movement
that has impacted the world like no other.
So verse 28 is the key verse.
Jesus says, the son of man did not come to be served.
You see, in our conditions today,
leadership is about serving that leader
or serving that corporate interest of that company.
Jesus says just the opposite.
I did not come to be served.
Now, why did he say that?
He said it because the gathering of hundreds
and even thousands of people that were following him
would define his leadership
as them gathering around him to serve him.
And what Jesus is saying is the son of man
did not come to be served, but to serve.
And then even to give his life a ransom for many.
This is the opposite of the earthly leadership
that we see today, especially in our politicians.
It's not the kind of leadership that we're looking for
in something within us.
I mean, when I look at the presidential candidates
that are running, when I look at stuff happening
here in Colorado in the political realm,
it's so difficult, it's so hard to find leaders
who actually have any kind of character,
any kind of good character at all.
And the reason is, is because the type of leadership
that's in the political realm, at least,
is built on popularity,
and popularity is not built on character.
When we see people who are popular,
many times they don't have character
because they've compromised their character to be popular.
So if a leader is focused in on his character,
sometimes he's not as popular as he could be,
but a leader focuses on his popularity
often doesn't have the character that he needs to have.
And so I'm talking about organic leadership.
So what I'm gonna show you now is a graph
and with two columns.
And I just thought this might be the best way
to explain the difference between corporate leadership
and kingdom of God leadership,
or inorganic leadership and organic leadership.
So under the corporate leadership column,
I would say that corporate leadership
is based in a power position.
So it's often based in who's got the power,
who in the hierarchy is at the top.
But organic leadership is based in a servant posture.
Corporate leadership based in a power position,
organic leadership based in a servant posture.
So Jesus was the greatest leader of all time
because he was a servant.
We look at him from the perspective
of one who gave his life a ransom for many.
Corporate leadership is focused on success
and the profits of a company.
Organic leadership is focused on serving
and blessing God and his people.
Culture of the organization
is based in a bottom line of success.
It's operational and it's competitive.
A culture under organic leadership
is a culture of the kingdom of God,
which is built on faith, hope, and love.
The ethics of the corporate leadership model
is man's viewpoint of what's right at the time.
The ethics of organic leadership
are built on the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.
Corporate leadership recruits people
for the bottom line of success.
Organic leadership recruits people to equip and develop.
The character of the leaders
in the corporate leadership model is situational.
In other words, it's not based on principle.
It's usually based on popularity
and what will give them the greatest success.
But under organic leadership,
Character of the leader is being more and more like Christ.
Corporate leadership is about a career.
Organic leadership is about a calling.
Corporate leadership is about a salary.
Organic leadership is about service.
Corporate leadership is competency-based
and accomplishments.
And organic leadership is competency-based in character.
So as you see this diagram,
I hope it helps you understand the contrast
to what I think Jesus is saying in Matthew 10.
I came to show you a new leadership model.
I came to show you a new way to reach people,
to touch people, and to empower people and to impact people.
Not everything, by the way,
on the characteristics of the column
that you see on the left
of the corporate leadership model is bad.
Not all of it's bad at all.
I mean, some of it's just based in practical wisdom
to move the ball down the field, so to speak.
I'm using it not as black and white,
but more to understand the purpose of organic leadership
from a form of contrast.
So I hope that's helpful to you.
And we'll look further into the details
of organic leadership in our next message.