Special Look at the New Biblical Eldership: Part 4

In anticipation of the upcoming release of the completely updated and expanded edition of Biblical Eldership, we have been sharing excerpts from the book on the blog. Today we are sharing part four of this series, with another sneak peek from the book that we hope you enjoy. (See the first excerpt here, the second here, and the third here.)

In the upper room, after Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, he gave them a new commandment:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34, 35; also 15:12).

You simply cannot understand Christian living, evangelism, church life, or Christian leadership without thinking deeply about the “new commandment.” Jesus did not simply say “love one another.” They already knew that. He said something far more profound: Love one another “just as I have loved you.” Jesus sets his own example of selfless, self–sacrificing love upon the cross as the new standard of love.

Benjamin B. Warfield most succinctly expresses this new love principle when he writes, “Self–sacrificing love is thus made the essence of the Christian life.”

The disciples were now to love one another with the same selfless, self–sacrificing love Jesus displayed for them. They were to be willing to die for one another (1 John 3:16). Without this kind of love, they would inevitably split into twelve denominations—the Peter denomination, the James denomination, the Philip denomination, etc. Without divine love they would not act in humility, wash one another’s feet, or serve tables. They would fight among themselves for “first” place, for thrones and purple robes, and for lofty titles, just as worldly leaders did then and still do today.

There is no way that a Christian leadership team can work together effectively or survive without God’s love flowing through each of its members toward one another. Love is the secret ingredient in all successful team efforts. The reason is obvious. Love “is not arrogant. . . . It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable . . . bears all things . . . endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4–7). Thus the Scripture says, “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:14).

The Strong-Man Model of Leadership vs. the Christlike Servant Model

Wherever you travel in the world, you will encounter the strong–man style of leadership. The strong–man model is the self–oriented style of leadership that concentrates power in one person and rejects genuine transparency and accountability. This style of leadership is concerned with wielding power, gaining wealth, and promoting oneself. It seeks to control, dominate, and manipulate. It is dictatorial and authoritarian. It outright rejects any concept of shared leadership.

Strong men want loyal subordinates, not colleagues. They may claim to serve people, but their claims are empty and self–serving.

The Diotrephes Syndrome

The New Testament example of the church strong man is Diotrephes. Diotrephes is the classic, autocratic church leader, the narcissistic pastor who builds the church around himself. He represents all those who abuse their pastoral authority. The aged apostle John described him this way:

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I [John] come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. (3 John 9–10)

Diotrephes thought so highly of himself that he even criticized and refused to listen to the apostle John. Diotrephes did not agree that “the leader” is to be “as one who serves,” nor could he assert with Paul that he was “serving the Lord with all humility” (Acts 20:19; cf. Luke 22:26). Diotrephes was a contradiction to the gentle and humble leadership style that Jesus taught and lived.

What the People Want

Unfortunately, we have to admit that a strong, autocratic style of leadership is often outwardly successful and popular. Many people want to follow a strong–man leader, a Diotrephes–like figure, a man they deem anointed by God with power to rule. They want the tough–minded, singular leadership style of the world.

This was certainly true of the Corinthian believers. Paul didn’t fit their Greco–Roman concept of the strong–man leader, thus the Corinthians became easy prey for the so–called “super apostles” who misled and abused them (2 Cor. 11:19–21). To some of the Corinthians, Paul seemed weak and unimpressive, certainly not great or first in status. They may have thought, as some do today, that the concept of  servant–leader” is a contradiction of terms and not really a practical, workable leadership concept.

Summary of the Servant–Leadership Model

To be clear, servant leadership does not eliminate strong, competent leadership or formal church offices. To those who have the spiritual gift of leading, Paul says lead “with zeal” (Rom. 12:8).

Jesus did not deny the need for positions of leadership, the exercise of human authority, the pursuit of greatness, or excellence in pastoral leadership. It was Jesus who equipped and trained his disciples for future leadership, teaching, and evangelism. In preparing his disciples for leadership, Jesus taught them a new set of principles for evaluating leadership, relationships, greatness, and life together in the believing community. This new teaching is what we call today “servant leadership.”

The Jesus leadership style means leading others, not lording it over them (2 Cor. 1:24). It is an others–oriented style of leadership, where the leader humbly serves the people—even the most insignificant ones—expecting nothing in return. It is marked by a willingness to suffer for the good of others, even to the point of being willing to die for others. It is denying self and sacrificing self for others; it is leading by example; it is washing the feet of others; it is loving as Christ loved; it is promoting and advancing the gifting of others. It is treating one another equally as brothers and sisters, not as lords with servants.

Servant leadership ultimately means imitating Jesus and directing people to him and not to oneself. As Paul so eloquently states this principle: “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants [lit. slaves] for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5).

Looking Ahead

As we proceed through the chapters ahead, keep in mind what we have learned from Jesus about Christian leadership and relationships in the church. Jesus’s teachings explain many of the unique features of New Testament ecclesiology and the leadership structure established by the apostles. Biblical eldership is based on the rock–solid foundation of Jesus’s teaching on humility, servanthood, brotherly equality, and Christlike love.