Quote of the Day

I know many of you out there I doing the Black Friday shopping.  Luckily there is nothing we need to buy this Black Friday so I get to sleep in. Since I’m not out and about I think I’m going to catch up on some reading.  Here’s a quote from C.S. Lewis to inspire us all.

Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realize it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less of a self, is in prison.

What an amazing thought by C.S. Lewis.  He’s basically saying that when we don’t read we limit ourselves and suffocate ourselves.  One of my goals over the next couple of days is to catch up on some reading.  Who’s going to join me?

Being a Servant: It Starts From the Top

This is part 3 of the Being a Servant series:

We all know that being a servant is one of the key elements of what it means to be a Christian.  We know that we are to serve those around us.  We know that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.  It’s part of the Christian’s DNA.  It’s who we are called to be.  One of the greatest challenges of Christian leaders is how do we teach servant-hood?

Sermons, lesson plans, illustrations, video clips will always fall short on teaching what it means to be a servant.  Christianity and one of the key traits of Christianity, servant-hood must be caught and not taught.  C.S. Lewis calls this process The Good Infection. Others will never completely understand what servant-hood unless they see it and experience with their own two eyes.

The sales world knows hows this principle.  That’s why when you go shopping you can touch the merchandise.  Try it on to see if it fits.  Electronics are on display so you can personally see how all the features work on every gadget they are selling.  Most stores even offer a 30-90 return policy so you can even “sample” the merchandise in your own home.  The sales world knows you need to see it to believe it.

Christians leaders are called to do the same thing.  We must demonstrate what it means to be a servant by our actions.  A paraphrase of James 1:22 applied to Christians leaders might go something like this: Do not just merely preach servant-hood.  Be one! The Church and the unbelieving world doesn’t need more teaching, it needs a demonstration.  It needs to see servant-hood lived out in the flesh.

Jesus knew his disciples needed to see his servant-hood lived out.  His teaching was not enough, he had to physically show them what it meant to be a servant.  John 13:3-15 tells of how Jesus displayed what it mean to be a servant.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Jesus set the example for his disciples and we are called to do the same.  We are called to serve in the lowly of positions, like washing feet.  Stinky, nasty, dirty feet.  And by getting on our hands and knees and doing the dirty nasty things that nobody else wants to do, at that very moment that’s when we teach what it means to be a servant.  It happens from the top down.  When leaders, teachers and those at the top serve, other get it.  If this was method was good enough for Jesus to use to teach the disciples it’s good enough for us to use today.

Related Articles

Being a Servant: The Example of Jesus

Being a Servant: From Toilets to Servants

Being a Servant: It’s Not About YOU!

What books are you reading?

I always finding it interesting to hear what other Christians are reading.  Some of the best books I’ve found are those recommended by other friends.  Here’s the list of books I’m currently reading and the books I hope to read in the next month.  Post what you’re reading in the comments section.  Thanks!

Books I’m Currently Reading

Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This is my carpool line book.  I’m been working at it a couple of chapters a week for the last couple of months.  One of the things I like about this book his Bonhoeffer’s value and importance of Christ as Lord of all.  I hope to finish sometime next week.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

About 4 years ago I read Tipping Point and absolutely loved it!  Tipping Point has forever changed the way I communicate the gospel and how I try to market things at church.  Word of mouth is king.   Gladwell uses storytelling, logic, and statistics to really bring to life the principles he writes about it.  Even though I’m half way through the book, I have already changed how I view the world by Outliers. 

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

 As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the Wednesday night studies at Crosspoint is reading through Mere Christianity together.  There’s a reason that Christianity Today listed Mere Christianity as #1 on the Books of the Century list.  It’s my 3rd time through the book and I’m loving it just as much as the first!

Books I Hope to Read in the Next Month

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis