God Leads

I want to write a book.  Don’t know when I’ll have time to do that, but it would be a response to all the literature that is now so prolific on the subject of leadership.  Every week I get an email newsletter with leadership tips.  I regularly get invitations to participate in leadership summits, conferences, and workshops; all guaranteed to strengthen my leadership skills.  I can use all the help I can get.

But it is a curious thing.  The Bible reserves the term “lead,” almost exclusively as a description for the activity of God.  Psalm 5:8 is an example:  “Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness.”  While we often say that Moses led the people out of Egypt, in the memory of the people of Israel it was the Lord who led the people with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, and Moses is remembered not so much as Israel’s leader but as God’s servant.

God leads.  The people serve.  Some church workshops have picked up on that servant language and provide instruction on “servant leadership.”  Oh, well, maybe that’s a shift in the right direction.

I think I can illustrate this kind of servant leadership in the life of Charles Eurey.  When my father got his first appointment as a pastor after returning to North Carolina from 18 years of missionary service in Brazil, he was sent to Rhyne Heights United Methodist Church in Lincolnton.  Our neighbor, two doors down from the parsonage, was Charles Eurey.  Charles was a strong voice in that small membership church, and he also was a regular attender at our annual conference at Lake Junaluska.   Mr. Eurey is a man of strong convictions and was never reluctant about expressing his opinions from the floor. 

My father recalls trying to convince the folks at Rhyne Heights that they should build an outdoor combination tennis and basketball court for the young people of the community as a way of reaching out.  Charles Eurey was opposed to the idea and voiced his opinion at the Administrative Board meeting.  However, when the vote was taken, the motion to build a recreational area was approved.  After the vote, Charles pulled out his check book and was the first to write a check to support what the church had decided.  Though his preference had been defeated, he accepted the will of the church, in deed and word.  He submitted to servanthood.

That sort of God-led service is what is being asked of us all who claim to be disciples of Christ.  If God is leading us, we can do no less than to follow.  Perhaps the world would pay more attention to Christians if we led a little less, and followed a little more.