Vol. V, Iss. 2 - February 2007
The latest from Student Leadership University

Christianity and Culture: What does it mean to be Great?
 

I Kicked Greatness to the Curb
This year marks my tenth in ministry and during that time I have personally sought and encouraged others openly to seek to do great things for the glory of God.  I admit that for ten years I did not think too highly of those who did not share this persuasion.  My reasoning was that if someone didn’t want to do something big, he or she lacked vision and passion.  After studying great men and women of God throughout history and coming in contact with a few in my own journey, I am now convinced I may have been wrong for this simple reason; greatness and great sacrifice so many times go hand in hand.  I am now more convinced than ever that a call to greatness may fall short of the mark but instead a call to serve would be a more Christ like way to go.

Possibly the most significant text in demonstrating what a servant looks like is the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.  It is in this text that we learn that true leadership begins with being a true servant.  The key to having more opportunities to use the talents that God has given us is found in whether or not we are true or untrue, faithful or unfaithful servants.  The talents in this text represent both abilities and opportunities to use those gifts.  The faithful or true servants understood several things that are key to being a leader:

1. Servant leaders understand their identity:  The central idea of this text is that if you are something then you will do something.  If one understands their identity then a natural next step is to allow that identity to motivate action.  Being and doing are intrinsically bound together for the believer.

2. Servant leaders understand and love their Master:  This text teaches us that those who love and understand their master are not motivated by fear of punishment but rather live captivated by the goodness of His grace.

3. Servant leaders understand success: the success of a leader is not based on how much his life produces but rather how obedient his is.  This text teaches that obedience leads to favor with God (verses 21, 23).  Paul uses the phrase “obedience to the faith” to describe his ministry in Romans 1:5 and then again in Romans 16:26.  I have always found it interesting that he bookends the most doctrinally significant book in the Bible with this phrase.  Maybe he is communicating that you can know all this stuff but that knowledge alone will still only lead to outer darkness without believing and obedience.  The servants knew the master was going to return and all that mattered is they are found faithful. 

4. Servant leaders live with a sense of urgency because of the Master’s imminent return: Because He is coming again and because the true servants loved their master, there was a sense of urgency to be a capturer of the moments of life because this moment right here and now may be the last.  They did not live concerned with what God hadn’t given them but were rather captivated by the gifts and opportunities that were given.

When we think of becoming "great" or doing "great" things, we think of becoming successful, rolling in the big bucks, driving fancy cars, and having a great job with a fancy home. Many of our conceptions of what "great" means involves notions of our own accomplishments and accolades. Of course, leaders should strive to accomplish great things and to be as successful as possible. But what does it take to truly be great? What distinguishes a great leader from a good leader?

Dr. Cornel West reminds us that a successful life and one that is considered great "consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it." So often, we get caught up in the world's selfish standards of personal greatness, that we often lose sight of God's notion of greatness. In the world, we are tempted to climb on top of and over others, and to do anything we can to secure our position as #1. God's standards, however, are different, and they express a complete reversal of the world's standards of greatness. In fact, God's standards list the first as the last, and the last as the first. The "greatest' in the kingdom of heaven aren't the ones who have it all together - the ones with the degrees, the ones who have the most friends, the ones who know how to make money, the ones who have the highest salary, or the ones who know how to do everything just right. The "greatest" are children - those who can't tie their shoes, who have a naive humility and curiosity about the world around them, who admit that they don't know, who cannot accomplish great feats of personal power, who are weak and are still growing. The greatest aren't the people who have attained high status and can demand that others serve them; instead, the greatest are the people who serve others selflessly and don't care about their titles, being recognized, their position, or how others might view them.

In the kingdom of God, it is not the one who dresses in a fancy suit and makes a reservation at the most expensive restaurant in town that is considered great; it is the one who serves on the streets and cares for "the least of these," giving to those who have none, inviting the homeless in, befriending those who have no friends, devoting time and energy to serve their fellow humanity, whether it be in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, or with neglected children and embattled communities in Darfur. I am reminded of a quote by one of the greatest to ever have lived, Mother Teresa. She said, "Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted, according to the graces we have received, and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work." Mother Teresa serves as an example to us all, as a great woman who sacrificed personal comforts to help and love other people, one person at a time. Greatness is not status in the world's eyes; it is status in God's eyes. What are you doing before God to become great?

When I was in the eighth grade, my youth minister approached me about attending a program called Student Leadership University. He told me that it was a program designed to train you to be a leader, but also be a lot of fun and take you all over the world. Well, of course this sounded like an incredible opportunity, so I told my parents about it and they were all for it. We saved up the money and the summer of my eighth grade year I attended Student Leadership University 101 in Orlando. I really had no idea what I was in for, but I was eager to learn whatever I could, and to make the most of the training that I was receiving. I can remember very clearly in one of the sessions that Dr. Jay challenged us to write down our five year goals. This was the first time anyone had ever told me about goal setting, or how important it was to have your future planned out. Just having finished middle school, I had not given much thought at all to my future. I decided that the goals I would set for myself would be to maintain good grades and be in the top of my class all through high school.

The following year when I attended SLU 201, Dr. Jay challenged us to do the same thing. He asked us to write out our five goals. I still did not really know what I wanted to do with my life, so I wrote out the same goals of making good grades, but I began to pray for God to give me a vision and tell me what He wanted me to do for my career. That year, God gave me a passion for Spanish. I began to get really good at learning the language - we would learn something in class, and I would go home and practice what we learned. I enjoyed learning Spanish, and could not wait to learn more. My teacher even came to me and asked me what had given me such a passion for the language and learning to speak it, and I told her how I had prayed for God to show me the career path I would take.

In my eleventh grade year, I won a superior award for Spanish 3 from the Foreign Language Association of Georgia. I also won a competition to go on the Washington Youth Leadership Tour to Washington D.C. sponsored by the local E.M.C. Two students from every school are elected to interview, and I was one of the two sent from my school. SLU really did give me a huge advantage over the thirty other students who interviewed, and I ended up winning the competition and the trip to Washington, D.C.! I also got the opportunity to go on my first oversees mission trip to Lima, Peru that year. I really saw God work in our group during that trip and in the people that we were ministering to. I knew then, more than ever, that this was what God had for me.

I finished my SLU journey this past summer when I attended SLU 401. I am now a senior at Sherwood Christian Academy, currently ranked third in my class, and I am planning to attend Valdosta State University as a freshman this upcoming year. When I graduate from college, I plan to work as a Spanish translator. It is mind-blowing to me just to see the opportunities that God has put in my life through SLU, and the advantages it has given me. SLU really did teach me how to be a leader and see farther down the road than other students around me. I am very grateful and cannot wait to see what God has in store for me in the future!

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