Working in a supermarket these days means to embrace mayhem.
Most days that I work, I work a ten hour day and I leave completely overwhelmed. For someone my age, the work itself is physically and mentally challenging enough...
...but to realize I am risking COVID 19 infection for myself and,...
...more concerningly, risking exposing Evie, whose immune system is seriously compromised, the work is so exhausting that it is essentially debilitating.
Yet, the experience is also magnificent in many ways.
About a week and a half ago, on a day that was scheduled to only be a seven hour day, management asked me to come in two hours early. I actually showed up earlier than that.
The moment I walked through the door, I entered bedlam.
It was before 8:00 a.m., and there were long lines of frantic, agitated customers at every cash register. There was a long line at the Customer Service desk where even the manager of the store's snack bar was working to address the overflow of customers and to quell the potential riot. (Customers get testy at times like that, and anything is possible.)
The manager of Customer Service saw me walk in and asked me to grab a cash register drawer so I could run another register to help address the overflow. And, I did that.
When I walked to the front with my drawer, the first thing I noticed was one of the OWNERS of the store, helping out by bagging for one of the overwhelmed cashiers.
She stood by that bagger stand and bagged groceries for one customer after another for hours, until the full crew of baggers arrived to work their schedule.
Leadership? HA.
SERVANTHOOD!
The people who own the store may or may not be world-class business people.
But, what they are, without doubt, are people who believe in Jesus who DO Jesus-following in a way that fits the teachings and example of Jesus...
...who Himself came, not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Linda, the owner who bagged groceries until no additional baggers were needed?
She understands, because she does...she walks...the servant walk...the JESUS walk.
And, amazingly, we who saw her serve, are now more inclined to follow.
In serving, she set an example that encourages followership.
As I live, I believe, more and more, that this leadership fad that institutional church hierarchs are chasing after is self-serving foolishness and that it will, of necessity, come to nothing.
I read the latest eNews. I read Lance's claim,
"we're being required to use adaptive leadership..."
...and, in the same moment, I wanted to scream and to cry.
Read the Gospels and show me the verses on adaptive leadership!
What the Kingdom of God needs is for its people to heed the foundational teaching of Jesus that to be the greatest in the Kingdom is to be slave of all, and to live Paul's Philippians 2 mandate that your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, but made Himself nothing,...
...by taking the very nature of a servant.
Lance's program to practice adaptive leadership will fail. It must fail.
There's nothing of Jesus in it. The whole idea is of this world.
The church is losing the opportunity of this moment by trying to be the best church it can be and missing the opportunity to pursue the Kingdom.
What an opportunity our high holders of institutional authority in the CGGC have to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21)!
But, what Lance is doing, according to his own word, is practicing adaptive leadership. He's still hoping to lead, without any followership.
We all need to serve so passionately that we begin a fracas in our fight to see who can become slave of all.
What a tragedy in this lost opportunity.
God have mercy.
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