I read a book a while ago that was given to me by one of my favorite red heads called ‘The Irresistible Revolution’ by Shane Claiborne (worth the read if you ever got a chance). In it he talks about his time spent with Mother Teresa. What he said that really stood out to me, was how when they would get shipments of second hand shoes in, she would go through the pile first and make sure that she found the worst pair of shoes there and take them for herself, as a result she had quite “knobbled and deformed feet”. Mother Teresa was a natural leader, inspired millions of people around the world both people with and without a faith, and she left a legacy behind that will not be forgotten in our lifetime. Yet, she never let anyone who followed her be less off then she was.

 

After having over a month to think about this blog, and after all the amazing stories and examples we heard of what it means to be a servant leader this past Sunday; even after having some of the most incredible men and women to look up to over the years I find myself thinking about how I could be a servant leader… and just coming up short. I have always just made peace with the fact that I was never going to be one of those naturally kind, thoughtful and giving people.

 

I remember having a conversation with a teenager; let’s call him Jack, about Christianity 2 years ago. Jack was intelligent, had a fairly good knowledge of the Bible and was always up for a debate. Jack didn’t believe in a literal God but had a faith in humanity instead. He would always come back to the verse 1 John 4:8 “God is Love” and that humanity was inherently good and loving

 

At some point during our conversation Jack made the comment “but Mark, if you weren’t a Christian you would still be a good person because you are genuinely a good person”. I remember just saying I’m not. I’m actually quite cold, quick-tempered, self-centered and I hold grudges. However, when I became a Christian, those parts of me faded away and I became passionate because God was passionate about me. I then went on to explain to Jack that I still struggle with some of those things and how I still find it very difficult to think of others before myself.

 

You see for me I will never naturally be that kind of person but I really want to be. We are called to serve each other as Jesus served his Disciples. I want nobly feet. I know it will take me a while before I mean that literally rather then metaphorically. However, I want to work at it because of the Love I have been shown by Christ.

 

So when you find yourself questioning what should be done in a situation

(I’m going for 10 Christian points here) ask – ‘What Would Jesus Do?’