God has used some recent events and speaking opportunities to press me into taking a fresh look at this incredibly important subject
(courageous, biblical,
servant
-leadership).
As stated, probably my most requested teaching topic is on leadership, or more specifically,
servant-leadership
and the fact that there is so little of it taking place at the top in our God-ordained but hurting profession (and in general).
Let me start by making two foundational statements:
(1) Every police officer (and yes, every genuine born again Christian) is called to be a SERVANT-leader.
(2) If God has granted you rank or a position of authority, your
job is to serve and protect those who serve and protect!
That's right -- we have a Divine mandate (marching orders) from God Himself (our ultimate "Chief" and the ultimate SERVANT-leader) to lead from a biblical, servant's perspective.
While the word "leader" only appears six times in the Bible (KJV), "servant" is mentioned 900 times! Moreover, our Savior and Lord, while most assuredly being a SERVANT-warrior, also provides us with our template for being the
servant-leaders
He has called us to be. In fact, Jesus spent much time addressing this issue with His disciples. Accordingly, we're going to break down the concept of "boss vs. leader" (the image I've shared here) and then take a look at five main points on biblical servant-leadership geared towards law enforcement.
BOSS vs. LEADER
Let's begin by addressing the difference between a
"boss"
and a genuine
leader.
Sadly, most of those who have supervisory authority both in law enforcement and the civilian sector are what I would define as a "boss." As a noun, t
he Oxford Dictionary defines a
boss
as “a person who is in charge of a worker or organization.” But as verb, I find this striking: "someone who gives orders in domineering manner; to boss."
A boss, through his/her position of power, tells their subordinates what to do and expects them to act accordingly. A boss gives orders and supervises people with the supposed goal of making sure the people he or she is in charge of will do the job as ordered.
Sadly and even tragically, it is the bosses in our profession who have the power to make our lives a living nightmare and who are one of the main causal factors contributing to suicide,
PTSi
(again, "i" for "injury" rather than "disorder") and otherwise pushing officers out of our profession (again, it is not so much what we see on the street that negatively impacts most of us).
In contrast, the Oxford Dictionary defines a
leader
(noun) as, “a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or a country." The verb "to lead" is defined as an act to “show someone or something the way to a destination by going in front of or beside them." Unlike a boss, a leader is thought to be someone who
serves
as an adviser to those under his/her CARE and protection, and who doesn’t just bark orders but actually
leads (serves) from the front.
So what does that look like from biblical perspective? The message from God's Word, the Bible, is clear:
a Christian leader should be a
SERVANT-leader
and NEVER a "boss." On this, Jesus taught
"The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves
." --
Luke 22:25-26
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” --
Mark 10:42-45
Again, God's call for us to be servant-leaders applies to
ALL
who have been placed in a position of "leadership" -- including those in law enforcement. Jesus taught that genuine servant-leaders
wash others' feet
(John 13:1-17),
while at other times they rebuke
(
Matthew 16:23
),
and even discipline
(
Matthew 18:15-20
)
but always from a position of
agape love.
With this foundation in mind, consider the following points adapted from Jon Bloom's excellent study on this issue:
FIVE MARKS OF A SERVANT-LEADER
God, through His Word (the Bible -- the greatest leadership "policy and procedure manual" of all time), instructs us to exercise due diligence in discerning someone's fitness to lead (see, for instance,
1 Timothy 3:1-13
). What traits do we look for in a leader that suggest their fundamental orientation is Christlike servanthood? This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are
five fundamental "marks"
(indicators)
of a
servant-leader:
1. A servant leader seeks the glory of his Chief (his King)
:
Jesus said,
"The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood"
(John 7:18).
A Christlike leader is a
bondservant
of Christ
(Ephesians 6:6),
and demonstrates over time that Christ -- not public approval, position, or financial security -- has his primary loyalty.
2. A servant leader sacrificially seeks the highest joy of those he serves:
Jesus said,
"Whoever would be great among you must be your servant . . . even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for man
y
"
(Matthew 20:26, 28).
Whatever his temperament, gift mix, capacities, or sphere of influence, he will make necessary sacrifices in order to pursue people's
"progress and joy in the faith"
which results in the greater glory of God
(Philippians 1:25; 2:9-11).
3. A servant leader will forgo his rights rather than obscure the truth:
Paul said it this way: "
I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them
"
(1 Corinthians 9:19).
What did this mean for him? It meant sometimes he abstained from certain foods and drinks, or refused financial support from those he served, or worked with his own hands to provide for himself, or went hungry, or dressed poorly, or was beaten, or was homeless, or endured disrespect inside and outside the church
(1 Corinthians 4:11-13; 9:4-7).
This all took place before he was martyred (executed for his faith). Paul's servant bar may have been set extraordinarily high, but all servant-leaders will yield their rights if they believe more will be won to Christ as a result.
4. A servant-leader is not preoccupied with personal visibility and recognition:
Like John the Baptist, a servant leader sees himself as a
"friend of the Bridegroom"
(John 3:29),
and is not preoccupied with the visibility of his own role. He doesn't view those with less visible roles as less significant, nor does he covet more visible roles as more significant
(1 Corinthians 12:12-26).
He seeks to steward the role he's received as best he can, and gladly leaves the role assignments to God
(John 3:27).
5. A servant leader anticipates and graciously accepts the time to step aside:
All leaders serve only for a season (as I enter the twilight of my police career, I am all-too-aware of this). Some seasons are long, some short; some are abundant, some lean; some are recorded and recalled, but most are not. But all seasons end. When John the Baptist recognized the ending of his season, he said,
"Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease"
(John 3:29-30).
Sometimes a leader is the first to recognize his season's end, sometimes others recognize it first, and sometimes God lets a season end unjustly for purposes a leader can't understand at the time (for example, the average tenure for a police chief in the U.S. is about three years, and, often because of bad leadership, many officers see their careers ended or negatively impacted through no fault of their own). But a servant-leader graciously yields his role for the good of
the
(Christ's)
cause
, because his identity and trust are not in his calling or "the badge" but rather in Christ -- a most difficult concept to be sure for most of us serving in our God-ordained calling of law enforcement.
As I continue to preach and teach around the country, it remains tragically clear that we remain desperate for
biblical servant-leadership.
This is why I continue to press Christians to prayerfully seek positions of authority as the Lord directs and to then lead as biblical, Christ-like
servants
(to wit, asking God for opportunities to lead biblically so as to
serve and protect those who serve and protect
and be used of God as a tool to
FIX
what ails us).
Clearly, our "dirty little secret" as a God-ordained
(Romans 13:1-4)
profession in terms of stress and stress injury (not "disorder") is not so much what we deal with on "the street" as it is about the fallout from poor leadership (bosses, wolves) from
within
our ranks. The solution, therefore, is to
replace
the "bosses" (legally, of course -- LOL) with genuine
servant-leaders
who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit pursuant to surrendering their lives to Christ as Lord and Savior! In the end, He alone is the "Cure" for all that ails us. Secondly, we must PRAY for those currently in positions of authority -- that they would yield to Christ and then allow Him to transform them from bosses to the
servant-leaders
He has called us all to be.
Finally, understand again that
one does not need to hold rank in order to be a genuine servant-leader!
But given our sinful nature, HOW then can we be the servant-leaders God has called us to be?
Folks, it is all but impossible unless we are first radically
born again
in Christ (a Christian as only God can define the term) and then begin serving and leading under the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit!
So does that describe you? Can you even begin to imagine the difference we can make (or more correctly, God can make through us) in our marriages, families, departments, communities, our country and even the world when we are serving and leading as Spirit-led, born again servant-leaders?
So again I ask: do you truly know Christ as Lord and Savior? Have you yielded to His Kingship and leadership over your life? If not (or you're not sure), please consider the links under the
Know God?
section below or just shoot me an
email
(here to serve).
MC
____________________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you hold to an utterly false hope that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "
good
" cop or "good" person (the "I'm good" mess)? That you can be "good" enough without God? That mere "belief" (as described in last week's study --
Even the Demons "Believe")
is enough to "save" you? That you "deserve" heaven because of your so-called "good" service? Take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly adult ministry included,
"Repent and believe in the Good News,
" --
Mark 1:15.
To
repent
is a "180" -- a complete,
radical
change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (
pisteuo
in the original Greek) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and
surrender
your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to on a combat jump (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(3) This same concept of "
believe
" (the saving kind) is further revealed in
John 3:1-21
where Jesus says, "
... you must be born again
." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must
" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"): this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian
? [hint -- there is no other kind]).
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message that also comes to us from
Travis Yates
:
Cops and Salvation
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also an important part in dealing with the issues that can lead to suicide and sin in general. Click on,
Now what?
MC
