Extreme Servanthood

Just a quick poem to finish out the week. Next week, we'll look at the relationship between serving and leadership, so stay tuned! Raging Sea of Love We asked for your love to come in like a raging se a, But what we wanted was a quiet mountain stream. One that we could build our sandcastles beside, With all the world’s decorations, pillars and beams, With the water flowing gently--- not too deep or wide, Just close enough to hear the water trickling down, And far enough from the coast high up on mountain ground, To fool ourselves into thinking it’s the ocean’s roar. We listen with rapt attention to the seamen’s lore, Thinking we know what the great captains know of. What they mean when they talk about the waves they felt, As their eyes looked at the endless water of God’s love, Which caused their flesh to die and their hearts to melt. We congratulate each other; stepping in the stream, Never daring to go too far from the shore to dream, and play the great sea trav...

Self-denial is a foundation attribute of Christ's life and what our Christian life should be, but it is really spoken about or practiced in the church. We deny the importance of self denial--- denying our wants and desires for the sake of someone else--- by our actions. In his book, The Imitation of Christ, Thomas A Kempis give a much better explanation of this then I ever could, so I'll just pass on what he had to say about it. From Thomas a Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ (slightly modernized for increased readability) “Jesus has many lovers of his heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of his cross. He has many desirous of comfort, but few of tribulation. He finds many companions at his table, but few of his abstinence. All desire to rejoice with him, few are willing to endure anything for him, or with him. Many follow Jesus unto the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. Many reverence his miracles, few follow the humiliation of his cross. Many l...

Hey all! Hope you had a great Easter. This week on Extreme Servanthood, we are going to finish up beliefs that get in the way of Christians serving, so stay tuned! I love the Holy Spirit. He is a member of the immortal Godhead, whom I love and serve. He is our Comforter, Counselor, Teacher, and Intercessor. The Holy Spirit is an ever present indwelling reality in the life of a believer, but Scripture gives us lots of examples of times when people had very powerful encounters with the Holy Spirit--- Pentecost, Saul’s conversion, Philip in Samaria. There are times when the Holy Spirit chooses to make his presence known in powerful ways. Depending on your denomination, these power encounters, as some call them, may happen in different ways. It happens a lot during worship. Sometimes the Spirit will touch someone during a sermon. Some churches have altar calls or sharing times when the Spirit can move. Unfortunately, these power encounters are not always so powerful. They often don’t le...

For this Easter season, I would just like to share some reflections on the greatest servant of all: God himself in a short “story” I wrote awhile back on the fictional origins of his name, The Rose of Sharon. Humankind has often speculated what a perfect world would be like. Today it seems it can be nothing more than imagination. For our world is certainly not perfect. Everyday the news carries another account of bloodshed in some far away land--- or on a neighboring street. Our homes themselves are pictures of chaos and sin: fathers deserting their families, mothers rejecting their own children, siblings at each other’s throats, and teenagers leaving for the promises of this world. What a paradise, indeed. But once. Once there was a paradise. A place without evil, without pain, without anger, or bitterness, or hatred. A place where mankind and creation lived in peace together. But above all, a place where God walked. Where He came to see His creation. His masterpiece of perfection. ...

This is another good Christian principal that has become a bloated, unsightly blob, blocking out the sun of Christian service. Enjoyment and relaxation are not just good, but God-given. I believe God laughs at his children’s jokes, especially the dumb ones and the ones He’s heard a thousand times before. He smiles when he sees us run, jump, and play. He cries with us during those tear jerky movies. He listens in during coffee with friends. He treasures the glad squeals on from roller coasters. The Bible (somewhat metaphorically) tells us that he counts and hides our tears in jars. I think he keeps our joys out on display. C.S. Lewis says that the higher something’s capacity for good, that much greater is its capacity for evil. Relaxation and recreation are this way. It doesn’t take much to push them from great gifts to great burdens. Many Christians are burdened down by trying to keep up with their own recreation. In our fear of working too hard, we often don’t work hard enough. We don...

This week I would like to take some time to look at beliefs in the church that hinder the development of a servant’s spirit. I’m sure there are many, but these are the ones that stand out to me. If the twentieth century was the century of the Spirit, I wonder if the twenty-first century will be remembered as the century of the “self.” Selfishness is nothing new, but selfishness in the guise of moderation and empowerment as widely accepted and practiced as it is today is a new twist on an age old sin. Books, sermons, and seminars from multiple denominations and backgrounds now dedicate much of a Christian’s focus to himself or herself. Believing in myself, what’s the Bible have to say about me, how the church can help me attain my goals, my issues that make me behave the way I do, reaching my dreams, making time for myself. The most unholy trinity of me, myself, and I wrapped in “healthy” Christian practice. There is a place for self-reflection and self-care. Jesus pulled away from the ...

In his book In His Steps, Charles Sheldon tells the fictional story of a church congregation who agree to not do anything for a year, without asking “what would Jesus do?” Though the book was written over one hundred years ago, “WWJD?” was revived by youth groups in the nineties, and showed up on tee shirts and bracelets across America. In all the marketing, the question somewhat lost its power. What would Jesus do? Though there are four Gospels full of answers, the most succinct is in Matthew 20:28 “The son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”   That’s the first reason Christians serve others: it’s what Jesus would do. Additionally, it’s what Jesus commands Christians to do. Again, and again, and again, in generalities and specifics, the Bible commands believers to serve. The greatest commandment is to love God and love others as yourself, Christians are to do all “with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Col 3:23), and...

"If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10 People pleasing is a hot commodity in America. Those people who can’t help but smile at you when they see you, not because they are happy to see you, but because they hope it will make you happy. The deciding factor of every decision of a people pleaser’s life is how those around them will perceive it. “If I do this, wear this, say this, give this, then the others will be happy.”   Some people mistake this people pleasing focus with the Biblical “others focus” of servanthood. But they are not the same thing. It’s like mistaking a shell for a snail. To the casual observer, they may seem like the same thing, but if you pick them up and look inside, one has a living breathing organism in it, and the other is empty. People pleasing is actually a devilish form of selfishness.   Take two friends, Jane and Kathy. Kathy is a people pleaser; Jane the person she wants to please.   The style o...

Welcome to Extreme Servanthood day one! I’m so excited to start this blogging journey. Today, I want to look at the foundational question of this blog--- what is servanthood? It’s a word that can conjure up diverse images. Some may think of enslavement or loss of will. Others will think of weakness or people pleasing. Other still think of ministry settings like mission’s trips and church events. I’ve been blessed with two wonderful examples to help me understand servanthood: my parents. They model what it means to be a servant at home, at church, at work, in every situation. They aren’t perfect, but their lives are my definition of servanthood. First, my parents modeled (and expected) servanthood as going above and beyond what is required. Doing your job, cleaning your room, showing up on time are all good things, but not necessarily servanthood. Believers and non-believers alike do these all the time because these are activities that are required of human beings to live in our society...

Welcome to the ultimate Christian call: extreme servanthood! Working with Community Health Educators in Zambia Followers of Christ are called to serve, to serve God and to serve others. There is no third option, purple pill, or nifty last minute compromise to get a believer out of this. Salvation and servanthood are two parts of the same whole. Jesus said, “Whatever you have done for the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me” (Matthew 25). This is a bi-daily blog of reflections and ideas on that vital concept: servanthood. What it is, why we do it, how we do it, and ways we can do it. I’ll start posting Monday, April 10, 2011. You can also follow Extreme Service on Facebook or via email. Just enter you email address to the left to sign up! My name is Kayla Reish, and I am a RN, missionary with Global AIDS Partnership, and servant of God. Join me on the journey! God bless, Kayla