The word “elder” doesn’t always stir up a case of “warm fuzzies.” In fact, it often causes something more along the lines of “nausea.”

To begin, I grew up an elder’s daughter, meaning my dad sat on the board of elders–and often chaired it–for the majority of my childhood. This made ours a well-known family, and one very much under the microscope. I spent Sundays listening to sermons on grace, followed by Mondays through Saturdays experiencing a significant lack of it. Expectations abound toward those in church leadership, and in some cases rightly so. While I believe those who lead the church should be held to a high standard, I don’t think that standard includes prohibiting them from any semblance of humanity, and certainly not their in-progress children who didn’t choose their position but were born right into that church nursery under a blanket of expectations.

On the other side of my childhood years and as a member in multiple churches over the years, I’ve seen the best and worst of elder and deacon boards. There’s no need to get into the bloody details, but my experience with church leadership has often left me perplexed and aching for what God intended in the beginning. Because what I’ve seen certainly can not be the leadership God designed for his bride.

All this leads me to wonder if our leadership lacking and the secret for its remedy sits in that first verse Paul penned in his letter to the Philippine Church:

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons…”

Paul writes to the church and her leaders, but as the leader over both groups he sets the standard with four simple but strong words: servants of Christ Jesus.

Servants. Not masters, or dictators, or indifferent followers, or naysayers, or heavy-handed rebukers. SERVANTS. Servants of Christ, with him as the authority, the source of love, grace, mercy, wisdom and correction.

Regardless of whether you’re an elder, deacon, women’s ministry leader, Bible study facilitator, or mentor, your first step in leading is by serving, and by remembering Who you serve. Tension will still raise his ugly head from time to time, as long as humans lead humans. But serving is the knife that cuts through the tension and allows grace–the grace of Jesus–to abound.

I used to be a missionary.  I lived on foreign soil, spoke a foreign land, and even became infected by a foreign parasite.  If I happen to mention my previous occupation, people oftentimes gulp, take a step backwards and look at me as if my face will begin glowing like Moses’.  They nervously fumble, looking for dark clouds signaling the outpouring of lightening bolts.  Others stare at me in awe.  Ultra-Christian.  That’s what they think.  They mistakenly believe I had a direct access to God that no other is afforded.

They are wrong.  I love God as much today while my days are spent trying to potty train my son to no avail as I did when I pored myself into youth.  I pray as much as before.  I still read the Bible.  And God still loves me.  Just as much.  Just the way I am.  Even on my native soil.

All too often we get hung up on someone’s position, especially if it pertains to something within the church.  In no way am I trying to disregard the hard work of pastors, elders or missionaries.  Peter Drucker, the late leadership guru, said that being a pastor is one of the four hardest jobs in America.  I personally know some of the hardships of serving overseas.  I hold elders in the utmost respect, who work at their full-time jobs and then diligently help meet the needs within their churches and communities.  They aren’t easy tasks, yet neither is living out Colossians 3:17 while collecting trash, fighting corruption or scrubbing toilets. 

This same leveling of the playing field is seen in the beginning of the letter to the Philippians. 

I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.” Philippians 1:1

All of God’s holy people.  If “holy people” is too overwhelming for you, simply think of it according to The Message’s interpretation: “all the followers of Jesus.” This isn’t intended solely for the church leadership or the ultra-Christian (whatever that faulty notion might mean).  Matthew Henry says it best in his commentary on the whole Bible.  “It is directed to all the saints, one as well as another, even the meanest, the poorest, and those of the least gifts. Christ makes no difference; the rich and the poor meet together in him.” 

Don’t dismiss a single word in the book of Philippians by rationalizing that it was written solely for those higher up in church leadership.  That simply is not true.  I can’t wait to meet here with the rich, poor, mean, ugly, married, single, divorced, mother, janitor, lawyer and everything in between as together we study this incredible book.