The Pastor's Corner
August 2026
Servant Leadership
August marks the beginning of a new year for Providence. On August 2 during the worship hour, we will install our church officers for the class of 2029 and give thanks to the officers in the class of 2026. On August 9 during the worship hour, we will ask God’s blessing for students, teachers, and administrators as they begin the new year of learning at our CDC, Sunday school, public/private schools, and colleges. You are invited to bring your bookbags and backpacks as symbols of the new school year.
We are blessed to have talented and capable teachers and administrators at Providence who lead our CDC and church education programs. We are blessed to have members with various gifts and talents who have answered God’s call to lead our congregation as ruling elders and trustees. We are grateful for all of these servant leaders.
The greatest teacher and model for servant leadership is our Lord Jesus. The gospel of Mark presents the life of Jesus in narrative form which allows the reader to put themselves in the story. Mark concentrates on Jesus’ example of servant leadership, power in suffering, and glory in death. He depicts the disciples as typical human beings, like us.
In chapter 8 Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is. Peter declares Jesus is the Messiah. In chapter 9, Mark tells the story of the transfiguration. Jesus brings Peter, James, and John with him up a mountain. What they witness there is unlike anything they had ever seen before. Later when Jesus is trying to tell them about what he will face in Jerusalem, the disciples didn’t understand. They argued among themselves about which was the greatest among them. Jesus tells them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) In chapter 10, Mark tells us that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approach Jesus and ask for places of prominence in the future kingdom they believe Jesus will establish. Again, Jesus has to explain: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45)
So, what does a servant leader look like according to Jesus? In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-40), Jesus gives a description of what servant leadership looks like. (Jesus, also, answers the question about who gets to be on the right and left.)
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:35-36)
None of this should have been new information for the disciples. They knew the scriptures – what we now refer to as the Old Testament.
Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)
We shouldn’t think of these descriptions of a servant leader as a mere checklist. Being a servant leader is less about action and more about attitude and heart. When we commit ourselves to loving God and serving him, putting others first naturally follows.
“You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14, 16)
Grace and peace,
Pastor Teresa