All About the People

This paper is more straightforward than some of the others because the point is obvious.  But there are some nuances that are worth understanding.  Hence the scriptural content will be relatively high.

I want to start with Matthew 23.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] [b]

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[c]”

I am not sure there’s a scarier passage in all the Bible if you’re a leader.  Jesus rarely if every condemns a sinner.  But see how He goes after the leaders?  Hold that thought.  Here’s another scripture.  This is from Luke 22:

25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28

It is worth looking at these scriptures side by side because they are mirrors of the same point.  In Luke 22, Jesus makes it clear that the role of a leader is to serve the people he leads.  He rebukes the Pharisees harshly because they do exactly the opposite – they use their position for reputation and personal gain, following the law but ignoring its heart.  The overall point – Jesus cares about the people before anything else.  It’s all about the people.

Here's a thought experiment to help cement this.  Do you think God could complete a task by willing it to be done, faster than you could do it yourself?  Assuming you’ve answered yes, why does He have you do tasks then?  It’s clearly not about the task itself.  The answer is that it’s about the people and the relationships created, as well as refining you to me more effective.  Refinement is critical to your journey.  Look at these scriptures side by side.

See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
    I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. (Isa 48:10)

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8).

Both scriptures talk about the process of improvement, through refinement.  This is critical to our walk together as believers, and the point of being given things to do is to walk through challenges and difficulties to be refined in a way that makes us effective. 

As a servant leader, you obviously have this challenge for yourself, but in addition you have the added challenge of walking through this with your people, to help them emerge as effective and mature believers. 

It gets better…this is Romans 12.  We dealt with this in more detail in Foundation 7, but it’s worth making the point now for completeness:

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  (Rom 12:3-8)

Note that “we have different gifts”.  Part of your job in being responsible for others is to help them develop and flourish in their gifts.  Many people don’t understand their gifts and need help drawing them out.  This is one for the next Foundation.

But now it gets a little worse…this is Luke 13:6-8).

6 Then he [Jesus] told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

This is an important concept and is a key difference between Kingdom and charity.  Kingdom requires that we produce fruit.  Charity doesn’t.  So as a leader, if you’re not getting anywhere with your people, you are wasting your time and you need to chop the tree down.  Think Jesus didn’t do this?

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  (John 6: 53-66).

You think Jesus downsizing his ministry came as a surprise?  “oh shucks, I didn’t see that coming” isn’t in the Bible.  Or that the CFO of Jesus’s ministry came to Him and said “Lord, the numbers aren’t looking too good, we’ve got to take some cost out”.  Nope.  Jesus knew exactly what He was doing – chopping down the trees that weren’t producing fruit.  You need to follow His example. 

 Summary

I appreciate this has been something of a heavy scripture piece, but the messages are easy conceptually, if sometimes difficult to apply:

-              It’s all about the people for the Lord – and particularly as a leader that you serve them.  Why does this matter?  Because if you are focused on tasks more than people, then you’ve missed it. 

-              You’re job is to walk with people through their refinement as well as your own.  You need to help them improve.

-              You need to help them access, and flourish in their gifting.  That’s one for next time.  But one of the best things you can do for people is to help them flourish in this way.

-              They in turn need to be productive.  If they aren’t, unfortunately you may need to let them go. 

There is so much more to say on this subject, but the reason I’ve kept it tight is that, where people struggle, it is usually on the first point above.  Think about whether your balance between getting tasks done and people is in the right place.  Are you thinking carefully enough about the people the Lord has given you?

Let me leave you with a parting thought.  One thing more than anything else scares me.  At some point I’ll be stood before the Lord and He’ll say “explain to me what you did with My people and why?”  It makes me think deliberately about the people He’s given me and whether I have a good enough answer.  Have I honored them the way He has honored me?  I don’t want to stand in front of Him without a considered, diligent answer.   

 All About the People

This paper is more straightforward than some of the others because the point is obvious.  But there are some nuances that are worth understanding.  Hence the scriptural content will be relatively high.

I want to start with Matthew 23.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] [b]

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[c]”

I am not sure there’s a scarier passage in all the Bible if you’re a leader.  Jesus rarely if every condemns a sinner.  But see how He goes after the leaders?  Hold that thought.  Here’s another scripture.  This is from Luke 22:

25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28

It is worth looking at these scriptures side by side because they are mirrors of the same point.  In Luke 22, Jesus makes it clear that the role of a leader is to serve the people he leads.  He rebukes the Pharisees harshly because they do exactly the opposite – they use their position for reputation and personal gain, following the law but ignoring its heart.  The overall point – Jesus cares about the people before anything else.  It’s all about the people.

Here's a thought experiment to help cement this.  Do you think God could complete a task by willing it to be done, faster than you could do it yourself?  Assuming you’ve answered yes, why does He have you do tasks then?  It’s clearly not about the task itself.  The answer is that it’s about the people and the relationships created, as well as refining you to me more effective.  Refinement is critical to your journey.  Look at these scriptures side by side.

See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
    I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. (Isa 48:10)

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8).

Both scriptures talk about the process of improvement, through refinement.  This is critical to our walk together as believers, and the point of being given things to do is to walk through challenges and difficulties to be refined in a way that makes us effective. 

As a servant leader, you obviously have this challenge for yourself, but in addition you have the added challenge of walking through this with your people, to help them emerge as effective and mature believers. 

It gets better…this is Romans 12.  We dealt with this in more detail in Foundation 7, but it’s worth making the point now for completeness:

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  (Rom 12:3-8)

 Note that “we have different gifts”.  Part of your job in being responsible for others is to help them develop and flourish in their gifts.  Many people don’t understand their gifts and need help drawing them out.  This is one for the next Foundation.

But now it gets a little worse…this is Luke 13:6-8).

6 Then he [Jesus] told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

This is an important concept and is a key difference between Kingdom and charity.  Kingdom requires that we produce fruit.  Charity doesn’t.  So as a leader, if you’re not getting anywhere with your people, you are wasting your time and you need to chop the tree down.  Think Jesus didn’t do this?

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  (John 6: 53-66).

You think Jesus downsizing his ministry came as a surprise?  “oh shucks, I didn’t see that coming” isn’t in the Bible.  Or that the CFO of Jesus’s ministry came to Him and said “Lord, the numbers aren’t looking too good, we’ve got to take some cost out”.  Nope.  Jesus knew exactly what He was doing – chopping down the trees that weren’t producing fruit.  You need to follow His example. 

Summary

I appreciate this has been something of a heavy scripture piece, but the messages are easy conceptually, if sometimes difficult to apply:

-              It’s all about the people for the Lord – and particularly as a leader that you serve them.  Why does this matter?  Because if you are focused on tasks more than people, then you’ve missed it. 

-              You’re job is to walk with people through their refinement as well as your own.  You need to help them improve.

-              You need to help them access, and flourish in their gifting.  That’s one for next time.  But one of the best things you can do for people is to help them flourish in this way.

-              They in turn need to be productive.  If they aren’t, unfortunately you may need to let them go. 

There is so much more to say on this subject, but the reason I’ve kept it tight is that, where people struggle, it is usually on the first point above.  Think about whether your balance between getting tasks done and people is in the right place.  Are you thinking carefully enough about the people the Lord has given you?

Let me leave you with a parting thought.  One thing more than anything else scares me.  At some point I’ll be stood before the Lord and He’ll say “explain to me what you did with My people and why?”  It makes me think deliberately about the people He’s given me and whether I have a good enough answer.  Have I honored them the way He has honored me?  I don’t want to stand in front of Him without a considered, diligent answer.