A Servant Paradigm

My Dear Friends,

                                                                                                                     

What these writings represent is sadly a paradigm shift in how we follow Christ. It is sad because there should not be such a change involved. Jesus positioned His heart to be a servant. If in our hearts we position ourselves as servants, we make ourselves available to God’s will, as did Jesus. God is all about expressing perfect love. His perfect expression of love is what makes God holy. Love is all about making, building, and maintaining relationships in truth and grace. When we become a servant to the Father’s will as Jesus did, we become a servant of his love. Being a servant to the Father is positionally the very best place to be if we are to grow in love. These two statements by Jesus encourage us to be about the great work of being a servant: 

 

Book of Mark Chapter 10

42Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.

43"But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;

44and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

45"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

Book of John Chapter 15

12"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

13"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

14"You are My friends if you do what I command you.

15"No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

It is apparent in many of the New Testament books that the apostles Peter (2Peter 1:1), John (Revelation 1:1), and Paul (Rom 1:1) took the calling to be a servant to heart. They were servants first with their individual callings as apostles secondary to their position as a servant. James (James 1:1) and Jude (Jude 1:1) were both leaders in the church who also called themselves servants. In the book of Revelation there are many passages that speak of those who follow Christ as His servants. Within the first century New Testament church the common paradigm was a servant church. This was their shared identity in Christ. Each of the believers had a different role, but first and foremost was their common bond as servants under one Lord.

 By the fourth century, when the church started to become a political power under Constantine, the servant church had already begun to erode. By the eleventh century the church under successive leadership had laid claim of direct authority over civil governments. The church decided to become master of the world and not a servant to it. Since that time, with the exception of a few bright lights, the vision of a servant church has never really recovered. Though the Christian church has fought several important doctrinal wars since that time, it is the servant’s heart that has since lain arrested.

 We must resuscitate this vision and move believers toward servant-centric discipleship if we are going to build a church that will represent Christ to the world. For instance, what if married couples decided that marriage was about being a servant to their partner and not about being served? If stated in another way, what if couples understood that marriage is much more about giving to their partner and far less about what they are getting from their partner? I know there would be far less divorce because each partner would be servant to the other (look at Ephesians 5:22-33).

This is just one example of how a servant centric approach to the gospel aligns us with God’s will and word toward us. Here are several more examples why being servant-centric works:

 

When we serve, we do not follow our own selfish way, so we are less likely to sin. In this way, serving is a natural antibiotic to sin. Jesus did what the Father said. Jesus did not sin because He served the Father. Serving the Father prevents us from serving ourselves.

 

When we serve, we are more likely to be communal. The servant of God will reflect the Father’s character of perfect love and willingness to be relational.

 

When we serve we will likely be more humble. God gives grace to the humble.

 

When we serve our faith will grow because of its sacrificial nature. Sacrifice is the furnace of faith.

 

When we serve we are reminded that we are not our own and that we have been bought by Christ.

 

A servant is inherently mission minded.

 

In heaven we will all serve one another; being a servant is eschatological. It is the future model being lived now.

 

Being a servant confronts the very American attitude of entitlement. Entitlement is (in my opinion) the cultural sin of our nation. Entitlement (akin to works) is diametrically opposed to grace (free gift). Entitlement quenches gratitude because it thinks it deserves what it is getting. Gratitude on the other hand nurtures humility.

 Fostering a culture of servanthood requires ground level work. A culture is a whole of its parts. It is more than language and acts of service. It is also story and song and creative arts all together making a unique expression of community. As the cultural expression becomes clearer, fuller, and reinforced it becomes more compelling.

 If we build a church founded on being a servant, we build an inherently flexible expression of Christ that is better suited to change. When the world’s culture changes, a servant need not change what they are. The servant need only change how or what they serve.

 Lastly, we need to remember that this teaching should be servant-centric and not service-centric. The first is relational and the latter is about works. We are building disciples not services. Being a servant is not about building self, but building up a community of love under Christ. That is the foremost aim and accomplishment of being His servant.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

DF Cutler