The Role of Church Leaders: John 13
A year or so ago I attended a celebration at Lambeth Palace. Besides the archbishop, there were many other bishops present and guests from all around the world. All there to honour a frail 90 year old gentleman who had them all in awe. Kenneth Cragg is the leading scholar in the world today on Islam and Christian mission in the Arab world. He has written 30 books, all of them classics using a typewriter. His words are so distilled you have to read each sentence several times to have any hope of understanding its meaning. After the Archbishop and various Bishops had expressed their appreciation, Kenneth spoke with humility and erudition about his love of the Lord Jesus Christ. He summed up his long life, his academic studies, his contribution to our understanding of Islam and interfaith relations in one sentence - “Confronted by the love of Christ, we have no choice.” I like that because it sums up why we are here, I hope: Confronted by the love of Christ we have no choice. No choice but to serve the one who in loving service gave his life to set us free. Serve the one who in loving service forgave our sins, who in loving service gave us eternal life. The apostle Paul explains it like this, “For Christ’s love compels us.” (2 Corinthians 5:14) For Christ’s love compels us. That is why we serve and that is why we are here.
On the night that he was betrayed, Jesus, “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). Then, “when he had finished washing their feet [all 24], he put on his clothes and returned to his place. Do you understand what I have done for you? He asked them” (John 13:12). Do you understand what Christ has done for you? Lets look at these verses in a little more detail for Jesus has provided us with a model.
1. The Mandate for Loving Service
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. (John 13:12-14)
If we call Jesus our teacher and Lord we have no choice. Loving service is no longer an option. The only question is where and how. Our roles may differ because our calling, our gifting, our maturity may be different. The PCC is made up of clergy and laity, or to use biblical terms, and there are several that are interchangeable, overseers, elders or pastors and deacons (see 1 Timothy 3:1, 8). Now I don’t want to get into a discussion today on how far clergy or the PCC map on to the roles of the elder or deacon. I want to emphasize that before identifying our distinct roles and responsibilities, we share in the same mandate to serve one another - by washing one another’s feet, by bathing one another’s wounds,
by forgiving one another’s sins, by relieving one another’s fears, by encouraging one another’s faith. The mandate for loving service.
2. The Model for Loving Service
“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” (John 13:15-16)
Jesus is our example. Our supreme example. A Christian not engaged in practical acts of loving service on a regular basis is saying in effect that they consider themselves greater than Jesus. If sacrificial service is beneath you, then so is Jesus. Jesus has given us the benchmark for loving service and it can only be done by stripping off the outer garment of our pride and getting on our knees. You know the weekly task that used to challenge me the most? Until we had apprentices, my delight early on Tuesday mornings was to wheel the rubbish bins from behind the church a hundred metres to the entrance of our drive way on Callow Hill so that the refuse collectors could take away our garbage… then hauling them back later in the day. And every week my carnal nature would tempt me to think to myself, why am I doing this? Why me? And every week I thanked Jesus that he had called me to serve as a servant and I thank him for this weekly opportunity to demonstrate it.
The mandate of loving service. The model of loving service.
3. The Motive of Loving Service
“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17). The purpose of loving service is to bring a blessing. A blessing to others as well as to ourselves. If we are ever to touch the people around us in any lasting, transfiguring way, it will only be by sharing the humble, sacrificial love with which Jesus loves us. This is how we will create a revolution in Virginia Water. For as we serve one another, as Christ has served us, our lives are transformed and the power of Christ is revealed. The full extent of loving service = servanthood. The primary purpose of loving service = salvation. The ultimate proof of loving service = submission. As you came here this morning, who washed your feet? Did you notice anyone washing your feet? How many times have your feet, or the feet of those you love, been washed already this morning? Or will be washed before you leave? Watch out tomorrow morning. Several people will serve you as you enter the building. One or more of the ushers… the flower team… gardening team… admin team, operations team, the cleaning team… the leader of the service… the readers who prepare to read God’s word… the intercessor who will pray… the crèche looking after your baby, Chipmunks your pre-school toddlers, the Sunday Club leaders your children, the youth leaders, your teenagers, the PA team, the musicians, the treasurers who will count the collection after the service, the refreshments team,
the prayer team, the wardens who will check the windows and lock up after you have long gone. These are just some of the people who wash your feet on Sundays morning. They are wearing their towel around their necks - it says “here to serve”. And they are. What about you? We would like to encourage everyone on the PCC, if you do not do so already, to wear your lanyard every Sunday. Not just when your name appears on the rotas but informally, every Sunday, where most needed. Perhaps to ask the Wardens or Lesley, “is there anything I can do to serve?” Then before and after the service be proactive looking for members of the church family to serve. Visitors to be welcomed, the hurting to be prayed with, the joyful to be celebrated with. Someone once asked Corrie ten Boom if she had a hard time serving and staying humble. This was what she said: "When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments on the road and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it even entered the head of that donkey that any of it was for him?" She smiled and went on, "If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory, I give Him all the praise and all the honour." All the praise and all the honour. Will you accept the invitation to pour your passion into service, into serving the Lord Jesus? Into serving the members of his growing family that identify with Christ Church. Into serving those he is calling from our community?
The Primary Roles of the Clergy
Pastors are called to be servants and shepherds among the people to whom they are sent. With their bishop and fellow-ministers, they are to proclaim the word of the Lord. They are to be messengers, watchmen and stewards of the Lord; they are to teach and to admonish, to feed and provide for his family, to search for his children in the wilderness of this world’s temptations, and to guide them through its confusions, that they may be saved through Christ for ever. Formed by the Word, they are to call their hearers to repentance and to declare in Christ’s name the absolution and forgiveness of their sins.
With all God’s people they are to tell the story of God’s love. They are to baptize new disciples in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and to walk with them in the way of Christ, nurturing them in the faith. They are to unfold the scriptures, to preach the word in season and out of season, and to declare the mighty acts of God.
They are to preside at the Lord’s table and lead his people in worship, offering with them a spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. They are to bless the people in God’s name.
They are to resist evil, support the weak, defend the poor, and intercede for all in need. They are to minister to the sick and prepare the dying for their death. Guided by the Spirit, they are to discern and foster the gifts of all God’s people, that the whole Church may be built up in unity and faith.
The Primary Roles of the Church Council
Primarily the function of the P.C.C. is to promote by example the whole mission of the Church - evangelistic, pastoral, social and ecumenical, by taking responsibility for the decision making process, and planning the wise use of her spiritual, physical and financial resources. It also meets to consider matters concerning the wider Church of England or any other matters of moral or social interest.
In relation to the Deanery, Diocesan and General Synod of the Church of England, the P.C.C. meets to discuss and put into effect any provision made by these Synods, and to give advice to them on any matter referred to the Council.
Members of the P.C.C. share in the pastoral responsibility of the Church Family with the Clergy. They are both representatives of the Church and examples to it, depending not on human resources but on the Lord for their strength and wisdom. Therefore it is important that they keep in touch with the congregation, and bring to P.C.C. meetings an awareness of other's views and feelings.
Qualifications for Overseers and Deacons 1 Timothy 3:1-12
“Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 3:1-12)
Paul does not give a job description of the pastor but instead describes the character of one who would serve in this office. The list of qualities is not intended to be exhaustive but pictures a person of mature Christian character, one whose faith has had tangible impact on his behavior (unlike Paul's opponents)
