Why Laying Down Power is More Powerful

Has God called you to bring about change? Likely you responded to God’s call and a need when you decided to go to the mission field. I did! My heart burned with a passion to take the gospel to the places where it had not yet been heard. Wanting to see the unreached reached, and the lost saved, motivated me to leave behind comfort and family. This is not wrong. The problem is this. It often means we end up going to save rather than serve. We (perhaps unintentionally) fall into the role of teacher rather than learner in our new location.

This position of power is upheld by our assumed status in society. As a guest in the culture, (particularly if we are from a wealthier nation), we are treated with great respect. We haven’t necessarily earned this. Don’t misinterpret superficial respect as the equivalent of discipleship influence.

Power- Assumed or Surrendered?

As missionaries, we are put in positions of power simply because of our skin color, education or financial status. How we use this greatly affects those around us. It impacts the discipleship models they will learn through observation. Jesus laid down His power and became dependent on others. In so doing, He taught us how a servant leader leads.

Generosity Can Be Dangerous

He was a phenomenal businessman. God had given him a natural gift. An entrepreneur, I watched this national leader move from a poor missionary to a man who owned many valuable properties. I never doubted his commitment to the cause of reaching the unreached. It was his approach to leadership that bothered me.

The wealthier he became, the more those who depended on him for finances seemed to come under his leadership and influence. Very “generous”, he didn’t ask them to raise their own finances but supported them out of his growing income. On the surface, this seemed good, but in other ways, I saw those he provided for had no ability to disagree with him. His generosity and patronage had strings attached.

It sounds strange to say that generosity can control, but how do you disagree with someone who has bought you property to build a house? Or paid for your wedding?

I was concerned about the leadership model he practiced and promoted. It seemed to be that of a kind and loving dictator. He made all the decisions that really mattered and held all the power in his hands.

Servant Leadership in Authoritarian/Hierarchical Cultures

Many cultures we work in practice authoritarian leadership styles. They are hierarchical by nature. There is nothing “wrong” with that. In some ways this is a part of the culture, something we must understand and respect. But is it really the style of leadership Jesus taught and modeled for us?

How do you live out Jesus style leadership in hierarchical and authoritarian cultures? Where must we be extra careful about the power we are given as we disciple the nations?

“He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

Philippians 2:7 NIV

How He Could Have Come

Jesus could have come as a kind and generous King. He could have come to earth, exercising His power, authority, sovereignty, majesty and all He possessed as the Creator of the Universe. He could have come and solved the world’s problems with His great wisdom. The second coming would not have been necessary. Instead of coming as a baby, why not come straight away as a King and establish the new heaven and earth? Why not avoid the cross all together?

Surely God could have forced every knee to bow to Him from the beginning!

How He Came

1. Born a Baby.

Jesus came in humility and dependence. He chose to be born as a baby. He was absolutely without power. He willingly laid down His authority and made Himself needy. He relied on human parents to care for Him, feed Him, bathe Him, and teach Him.

Do we enter new places or cultures with the same humility?

2. A Simple Lifestyle

He chose a simple lifestyle as a carpenter. Jesus had few material possessions, no land, and no property. He said to those who wanted to follow him that “the Son of Man has no place to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). There was no promise of financial gain for those who accepted His leadership in their lives. Though He easily could have provided a lavish lifestyle for His disciples, He led differently.

Do we choose to live simply among those we serve?

3. Humble Servanthood

The Lord shocked His disciples on the night of the Passover. He took a towel and washed their feet. Their Lord, Savior, and King, in such a humble role of service, not of power. This He said was to be a model for them for how they were to serve one another.

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

John 13:14-15 ESV.

4. The Kingdom Within Them

Jesus disciples saw this. There was always an underlying question. They kept waiting for the physical manifestation of the Kingdom. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” they asked after His resurrection (Acts 1:6). Instead of political power, Jesus spoke to them about the power of the Holy Spirit who would come upon them.

What Does This Mean for Us as Missionaries and Leaders?

Simply because of our skin color, education, or financial status, we enter many places with quite a lot of power. Even if we don’t have money, the fact that we have traveled and are aware of the greater world in itself is a kind of power. Often, we do have more than those we are working among. It is so easy to use this to exert influence. We must be extremely careful.

We don’t want to have servants, we want to be servants.

We don’t want people to follow us because we are powerful and can help them. We want them to become powerful to make their own choices.

Our generosity must be with no strings attached. Exercise caution in how and when you give. Be careful not to make people dependent upon you financially, emotionally or spiritually. Your job is to make them powerful, not to gather followers who rely on you and are loyal to you because you’ve taken good care of them. That was not what Jesus did.

How will you use your power?