Mark 9:35–First is Last, Leader is Servant

Mark 9:35–"And He sat down and called the twelve.  And He said to them, 'If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.'"

This text has come to represent the very essence of service and leadership in Christianity.  In this simple but direct statement, Jesus is indicating that the sort of leadership in His Church will be significantly different than how leadership is done in the world.  There would seem to be a priority placed on the humility of the leaders of the Church.  In other words, the most important thing is not how well or effectively a leader leads; it is the leader's humility and willingness to serve.  In other words, humility should be the determining feature of a Christian leader, nothing else.

We would do well to make this the very meaning and measure of leadership in our own life.