Quote on Keith Giles

Keith Giles:

You know that you are a servant when someone treats you like one and you’re not offended.

Keith, how about changing the word ‘servant’ to ‘leader.’

Keith: You mean, “You know that you are a leader when someone treats you like one and you’re not offended”? I’m not sure that works in quite the same way.

On leadership I’d say, “You know you’re a leader when you turn around and there are people following you.”

I’d also say that Jesus and the NT seem to be more interested in “Followership” while we seem to be more obsessed with “Leadership”.

Even when Paul refers to leadership he says, “Follow me as I follow Christ”. Leadership (in the Church) is rooted in following Christ.

I mean that. We should be offended when people trying to call us ‘a leader’ when we are not really. Because we are servants. Paul and the apostles are ‘bondservants’ and we are ‘leaders?’ I don’t think so. Jesus said that we go and make ‘followers’ and if we call ourselves ‘leaders’ then who made us?

Yes, Jesus and NT is ‘only’ interested in ‘followership.’ And seemed to ‘deny’ or ‘eradicate’ or ‘eliminate’ leadership. In His Kingdom, there is only ONE Leader, one Head and that is Christ. Not many heads or else His Kingdom becomes a monster.

NT definition of leadership is one who says, “Follow Me.” And none other than Jesus who said that. Following Paul is following Christ. Paul set his life as worthy of following and that is through following Christ and not ‘following’ Paul. For he himself said that “there are some among you here who will draw disciples for themselves” and ‘One says, “I follow Paul, the other say, “I follow Christ.”

We should be offended when someone calls us a leader, that means there are disciples are following our lead, following behind our backs. The question of leadership is not how many are behind you but how many you’re behind. We keep pushing people to follow Christ and not us. Like John the Baptist, he ‘disciples for awhile’ and soon enough when Jesus came his own disciple “followed Him!”

We lead, we use our leadership skills ‘outside’ His Kingdom. We lead souls to Christ. But in His Kingdom, we get the privileged of ‘serving The King’ and ‘one another.’ We are ‘brothers amongst brothers,’ ‘not so among you’ when it comes to leadership. We are called to ‘serve one another’ not ‘lead one another.’

Biggest reason is ‘spirit-led.’ A disciple is being led by the spirit. This is the ‘biggest’ shift in making disciples that I wrote that includes other 10 SHIFTS. There is the leading of the Holy Spirit in each of us so we don’t need other people to lead us. We are led by the spirit for ourselves, not led to lead our brethren – he can be spirit led like us. Our job is to help him how to have fellowship with God not tell him what to do or else he will be led by you.

We have the Holy Spirit but we are not the Holy Spirit, and so we cannot teach the WHOLE truth, only a part of it. Teach then but don’t try telling him ‘exactly’ what to do. Teach him to obey the commandments but don’t teach him HOW to obey. That belongs to the Holy Spirit. Teach him to love, to forgive, to be kind, but how? Ask him, “What do you think the Holy Spirit tels you to do in your situation?” This is his situation anyway, not ours. We have our own situation, that’s ours to hear from God, not others. I can hear God for my situation, you can hear for your situation. I may hear God for your situation but you have to confirm it [that’s serving you through my gift] or else I didn’t hear anything at all.

In God’s Kingdom, He leads by His Spirit in us. Outside His kingdom, we lead souls. We better know where to use our leadership skills or else there is mess all around. Nothing creates more problems in church than leadership. All problems in church revolves around it – none wants to serve, someone wants to lead! It’s not leadership crises that creates division in His Body, it’s servant-hood crises!

All writings about ‘leadership’ with a bunch of quotable Scriptures of it’s characteristics and attitude: servant-leader [can’t find that word in the Bible], humble, loving, name it. Sorry, they are not ‘leadership attributes’ but ‘servant-hood.’ If we equate them as ‘leadership’ that’s when we mix up two person: servant-leader. Who is he really, a servant or a leader? Or a 50% of both? This is against what Jesus says, “not so among you for you are all brothers.” I always say it here, “Try leading your own brother and you be a mess.”

But when one is led by the Spirit, he or she can’t miss!