What we're doing is we're realizing that no program is successful without healthy, good, solid people.
So I want to talk about three primary values of organic leadership, because there are these core values where I give the term organic leadership its name.
And organic leadership is, as I said earlier, it's about being organic.
And what I mean is it's a living way.
Organic means working with living matter versus synthetic matter.
So that's in food processing, things like that.
So I'm talking about not the corporate, synthetic style of leadership we see around the world in America and even in the time of Christ, always been there.
I'm talking about organic leadership, which we might call Jesus leadership, the kingdom way of leadership.
But how do we how do we develop a leadership style and a leadership culture that can change people's lives that has longevity to it and brings the kingdom of God from heaven to earth through leaders?
That's what I'm talking about.
So I want to look at this passage in Matthew 10, and this is the same one we looked at earlier, but I'm going to come from a little bit of a different perspective.
And this is Matthew 10, verse 20, when the mother of the sons of Zebedee or the sons of Thunder come to Jesus asking for a position, asking for a position of power and leadership from Jesus.
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from him.
And he said to her, what do you wish?
And she said, Grant, that these two sons of mine may sit one on your right and one on your left in your kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, you do not know what you're asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I'm about to be baptized with?
And they said, we are able.
So he said to them, you will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.
But to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give.
But it is for those to whom it is prepared by my father.
And when the 10 heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.
But Jesus called them to himself and he said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.
So that's what I called earlier in the other broadcast corporate leadership.
So I would call this kind of like American corporate leadership, which is a style of leadership where we lord over.
And you see, even 2000 years ago in the time of Jesus, this would be the way leadership is defined as lording over people.
Jesus said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, corporate leadership, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
Again, corporate leadership.
Yet it shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
So that's what I'm calling kingdom of God, organic leadership.
And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave, organic 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, organic kingdom leadership.
So corporate or inorganic leadership was at that time, still is today, a popular form of lording over others.
And we see it in corporate boardrooms, but we also see it in churches where there's a hierarchy.
So the way to think of sort of corporate leadership is the idea of hierarchy, self-promotion, self-protection.
But that's unnatural to God's kingdom.
Jesus is saying there's a new kind of leadership that I'm orchestrating.
There is a new kind of leadership that I'm bringing to this earth, and that is serving others, loving others, caring about others, being a slave, being a servant to other people.
And then he washed his disciples feet.
So this organic leadership has three primary values that are a part of it that I see from the way Jesus portrays a kingdom of God way of leading others.
And it's really different.
It's countercultural to the type of leadership that we see today.
So let me give you what I think of the three primary values of organic leadership.
The first is organic leadership is all about serving people toward God's purposes.
It's serving people toward God's purposes.
So the primary role of organic leadership.
that is serving others, not serving yourself,
not self-protecting yourself, not self-promotion,
but learning to love and serve others.
So you put yourself, instead of above others,
you're actually putting yourself under others,
and you're caring about their needs.
You're listening to them, you're loving them.
It's the higher road of service.
Can you imagine what would happen if we have leaders
that, first of all, understood that the role of leadership
is being a slave to others and serving others?
Now, don't get me wrong.
I'm not talking about not having a vision,
not being out front sometimes
where you need to be to lead.
I'm not saying that at all.
I'm saying, though, that to have a vision
of loving and serving others
is the first and most important aspect of leadership,
and Jesus did that, and he started a world revolution
that has changed everything in society
because of the way he led.
And so Jesus modeling this kind of leadership
gives us a glimpse into a new kind of leadership
that I think God wants to increasingly bring
in our churches, our organizations,
and even in our families,
and that's first serving people, serving others.
Number two, organic leadership is about caring for people
more than caring for programs.
Organic leadership is more about caring for people
rather than programs,
and what I mean is that in most corporate boardrooms,
most churches, most organizations,
the program is the king,
and people are hired and fired
according to how well they run the programs.
Now, programs are important.
You can't get anything done on any large scale
of any organization without a program.
Programs are important.
I'm saying, though, that the priority
of organic leadership is taking care of the people
and ministering to the people and building up the people
and developing your people
more than developing your programs.
You say, well, Steve, what does that mean
if your people don't feel like coming into work?
It's okay if they don't come into work
and then they don't do their program.
No, I'm talking about a healthy understanding
of organic leadership, and that is what we're doing
is we're realizing that no program is successful
without healthy, good, solid people.
So if we've got unhealthy people,
we're gonna have unhealthy programs.
If we have people that are messing around on the side,
we're gonna have programs that are not gonna move forward.
So organic leadership is not focusing
just on the bottom line of the program
or whatever its particular purpose is.
It's also looking at the people
and asking the question, are we healthy?
Are they growing?
Are they becoming the people that God's created them to be?
Because organic leadership
is about working with living things.
Guess what?
Programs aren't living.
Programs are synthetic.
Programs come and go.
Even at the road here at our church,
we're celebrating 10 years as a church,
and some of the programs that we had three years ago
don't exist anymore, but the people are still here.
Some of the programs we had eight years ago
don't exist anymore,
but a lot of those same people are here
because we take care of our people first.
Programs flow out of people, out of the hearts of people.
You show me a healthy leader,
and I'll show you healthy programs
that come out of that leader.
So taking care of the leader
is the second most important value in organic leadership.
Number three, organic leadership
is about empowering people
and releasing them into God's purposes for their life.
Let me say that again.
Organic leadership is about empowering people
and releasing them into God's purposes for their life.
As an organic leader,
my job is to empower my people
toward God's purposes for their life.
Rather than focus just on the overarching vision
of the church or the overarching vision of the organization,
I'm also looking at my people
and realizing they don't have all that it takes.
I mean, I don't have all that it takes either,
but I have a lot more than most of them do.
So one of my primary values is to empower people,
to equip them, not just care for them,
but also to help them discover their gifts,
help them discover who they are,
and then walk in that
because it was gonna be a day when it's up for me,
you know, and I'm with the Lord and I'm out of here,
and I pray that of all the staff,
I think we have around 30 to 40 staff
here at The Road at Chapel Hills,
most of them very much younger than me.
I would say most of our team is more in their 20s and 30s.
They are gonna carry on the legacy.
of the road and the Kingdom of God revolution that we believe in here.
And so it behooves me to make it one of my primary objectives
as an organic, loving, Kingdom of God leader,
that I'm helping pull up, notice, authenticate,
and develop and release these young leaders.
And it's my responsibility, part of my responsibility,
to help them grow to be the best husbands and wives
and disciples of Christ that they can be.
And that's one of my primary goals in organic leadership.
So organic leadership is about serving people toward God's purposes.
Number two, it's caring for people rather than just caring for programs.
And then number three, it's empowering people to reach their full potential.
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