Leadership and Love
Most people would not put those two words together. Many times, our concept of leadership shapes around larger than life personalities. Tough, focused, driven people bent on a task and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. Yes, we need people to help us get there, but it seems this can be equated to a vital resource like a solid web platform or a functioning office space. How many times do the people we serve with often feel more like a piece of furniture than a beloved member of a team or family?
On this day, this Maunday Thursday, we are reminded by another expression of leadership that is mission focused as well, and yet the way people are treated is countercultural to what we espouse in leadership. Jesus gave his disciples a new command, a new mandate, which was to love.
A leader who washes feet taking on the lowest form of a servant. A leader who sees potential betrayal and is not deflected by it. A leader who recognizes a denial and an abandonment forthcoming and yet remains focused and tender to those who stay close with him.
I ponder and reflect on how this comes to pass knowing how I feel when the task seems so great, the mission so large, and sometimes feeling overwhelmingly alone; when you have great people around you and not sure really what to do with them.
Jesus does some things, though that I believe help us see how he remains rooted and grounded as he leads:
Love First: His mission and tasks were under girded by a deep love. It was a love first with God, the Father. That love overflowed into the love he expressed with his disciples and would be most evident in his love for all of humanity even when we did not recognize or understand it.
It calls me to also love first. My first attentiveness is with God, my Father. I am a living being to him and he wants me to be with him first before I do anything. That attentiveness with him deepens my love for others and lets me see people as he sees people.
Serve Anyway: My serving is not contingent upon what others do or do not do for me. Why? Because my serving is still the expression for love of God and love of people even if they do not understand or agree with me. Jesus still washed the feet tenderly of the betrayer, the denier, and the rest who would run away and flee from being arrested. His service is not contingent on how people will respond. It flows from a deeper place of love and commitment to a greater purpose. This reveals an authenticity that can cut through the difficult situations as leaders.
Serving feels good for the most part. We get a certain sense of deep satisfaction when we help others. There is a scientific reason for this and I also believe God designed us this way. He created the brain chemicals that result in the pleasant feeling we get when we help others. Knowing our service was meaningful positions us for the next opportunities. It is when we do not feel appreciated, when we are misunderstood, or when the service is hidden and unnoticed that we wrestle with the notion to “serve anywayâ€. This discipline protects us from self-centeredness, narcissism, and again focuses us on a greater purpose of why we serve.
Pray Always: Praying always completes our circle because it comes back to the Father. I recognize this leadership model may not fit with a person who does not believe in God. Understandable. However, the strength Jesus drew to love first and serve always was based upon the relational connection he had with God, the Father. This was the source of understanding the mission and purpose for being on earth which was to become The sacrifice to atone for all the sins of humanity past, present, and future and pave the way for an eternal relationship and connection with God. Posturing in prayer was how Jesus maintained that strength to love first and serve anyway.
Prayer is difficult. It can seem overwhelming on the one hand and boring on the other. We can watch hours of mindless television, podcasts, YouTube, etc. but struggle to find 10-15 minutes to pray. Irony for sure. I treat prayer like eating. It is something I must do to sustain. Being the structured person that I am, the morning and the evening are framed by intentional prayer. But, the time itself may not feel structured. It is more like being prayerful or conversational with God versus scripted prayers, although that happens sometimes as well. It reflects conversations with God in my car as I see and notice certain things. It is a person coming to mind that I then ask God to touch, heal, or be present with in the way he know best. But, that is how I sense “pray always”. Paul said it best with pray without ceasing. For sure.
As you think about leading I would encourage you to focus on loving first. The people always come before the mission. Serve anyway for it will allow you to serve authentically and in a way that guards our self- interests. Finally, pray always. Our guidance is from the Lord and our mission is his. This helps us stay rested and grounded in the lifelong task we have for the day.
May God bless you on this Maunday Thursday as you reflect upon Jesus’ time in the Upper Room with his disciples as he washes their feet and eats the Passover meal with them and Judas’ impending betrayal. When he gives them and us a new mandate to love.
Grace and peace,
lisa
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