The Fearless Leader

          I am a leader.  You are a leader.  We are all leaders in our own circles of influence.  There are leaders in the marketplace.  There are leaders in Christian institutions.  There are leaders in small groups.  There are leaders in families.

          We read so much about leadership.  Almost everyone wants to be a leader.  

          One positive trend in Leadership literature is servant-leadership -- a concept that is not new, especially to followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

          In the photo above, I am proudly standing with one of the great leaders I personally know -- Kuya Jing David.  I think in every IVCF youth camp in Northern Luzon that I attended he was always the fearless leader in the camp kitchen chopping and cooking early in the morning or after going to the market after breakfast or lunch.  Every year I would see him in this role since I was in college.  It has been more than 13 years ago.  This photo was taken just this summer in another IVCF Northern Luzon retreat/training.

          I learned servant-leadership from the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) through its yearly Leadership-Discipleship Camps when I was still a student.  With IVCF I learned one life-long principle that still keeps me doing what I am doing -- we are called to be servant-leaders.  There is no small role in the building up of the Kingdom of God.  Stacking chairs or cooking for students is not lower in importance as doing an exposition of the Word of God in front of an audience. 

          From my student days up to now, I have seen IVCF graduates consistently coming back and volunteering in IVCF camps as counselors, teachers, trainers, cooks, cleaners, kuyas and ates -- often performing more than two roles at the same time.  I have never seen a hint of pride in the Bible expositor  over the assigned cook in the dirty kitchen.  Everyone performs all their roles alternately and spontaneously with equal joy, zeal and humility.  The plenary speaker of the day, if he/she is an IVCFer, will surely and automatically be seen earlier or later doing his/her share in the kitchen or at the dining table.  It is automatic.  It is natural.  It is not calculated.  It simply is part of the training and part of what they have become.  This is what servant-leadership is about.  This is what Christianity is about.

           I love IVCF for this model.  I love IVCF for the examples that came over and above the lectures.  I love God for showing me fearless leaders -- leaders unafraid to do the often unappreciated tasks with equal joy as when they are performing tasks in front of an audience.

"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." -- Matt. 20:28

          Lord, help me to serve and not be served.  This does not mean denying someone the privilege of serving me.  It means fearlessly taking on the tasks that others fear doing.

          Maraming salamat, fearless leader Kuya Jing at sa inyong lahat na mga kuya at ate at ading na patuloy na nagsisilbi sa Panginoon at sa mga kapatid.