Leading and Serving

Mark 10:35-43

Context
Jesus has been teaching:

• Don't divorce a woman for just any old reason.
• You must be like a little child to enter God's kingdom.
• It's hard for the rich to enter God's kingdom; God's kingdom is for sharing.
• Jesus himself will be condemned, mocked, and put to death.
  

Does this seem like a good time to ask Jesus for power and glory? If you answered "yes," you could be one of the disciples in Mark's gospel!

Listening to the writer
"Sitting at your right hand and left" doesn't simply mean getting to be close to Jesus - culturally, these are positions of power. "The right hand man" still refers to the second in command.

What does Jesus mean by "the cup that I drink" and "the baptism with which I am baptized?" (Look at the verses immediately preceding...)

What does Jesus say was the purpose of his coming?

Listening to God
Some people seek out leadership; others avoid it like the plague. Do you believe God is calling you to be a leader?

Leadership often carries a heavy price (verses 38-40), and ultimately it is God’s to grant. In areas where you lead, do you recognize the price you might have to pay? In areas where you are called to follow, how can you support the leaders in their calling?

Leadership in God’s kingdom is not about “lording it over others” (verses 41-45). Think about a time when you felt a leader was using their authority inappropriately. How can you lovingly challenge inappropriate leadership?

Serving others at Jesus served does not mean bowing down to everyone’s desires. Jesus taught, acted, and served with authority. As a leader, how might you serve with authority? As a follower, where do you have to grow in recognizing the authority of others?

Miscellaneous Meanderings
All of us have experienced the problems that poor leadership can cause. But it's also true that leadership is hard. As I express frustration with government leadership, I wonder - how would I change our broken system? I'm sure there are plenty of hard working, caring, and thoughtful people in the U.S. Congress - but governing presumably hasn't gotten any easier since Mr. Smith went to Washington, and how any work gets done in our mired two-party system is beyond me.

Pray for our leaders, at all levels. And, wherever you lead - amongst friends, in class, in church - God be with you!

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