A nineteenth century preacher, Dwight L. Moody once said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.” As wise as this is, it is merely a commentary on a statement of Jesus. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” (Mark 10:43-45)
These words by Jesus are not some cheap words born out of philosophy, but rather a principle that He lived by. Jesus affirms this by concluding with these words, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10:45).
If you were to ask 100 preachers what the greatest need in the church today is, the answers might vary, but every answer would be rooted in leadership. No church outgrows its leaders. No church with great leaders can be mediocre. Great leaders bring greatness to themselves and others. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” Leadership is about serving others. We can also add, no family outgrows its leaders. No family with great leaders can be mediocre. Great leaders bring greatness to themselves and to their family.
Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, became a wealthy man by living this principle. He was a high school dropout whose formal education included a G.E.D. He explained his life this way, ““I got my M.B.A. long before my G.E.D. At Wendy’s M.B.A. does not mean Master of Business Administration. It means Mop Bucket Attitude.” To the world, Dave was the leader of Wendy’s. To Dave, Dave was the head of the mop bucket brigade.
This was the way Jesus did leadership. On the last night he would spend with his disciples, he sat around the table with them. As they sat there, Jesus did a most surprising thing. “He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (John 13:4-5).
Jesus washed the feet of Peter, Andrew, James, John, and the others at the table – including Judas. They were shocked, but Jesus knew the secret. If you want to be great, you have to serve.
The church, your family, your workplace all need more people with a MBA – mop bucket attitude. Leaders with that kind of MBA are people who are not here to be served, but are here to serve others. These are true leaders.
Lonnie Davis
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