I Call You Friends

In the worship service I mentioned yesterday (Fairmont, WV), the pastor preached a wonderful message on being a friend of Jesus. He made many good points, and I wanted to share some of them with you. His text was from John 15...

John 15.9-17 (NIV): 9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

1. A servant insists on keeping his life separate from his master, but in love, a friend lays his life open before his friend.
2. A servant has to be watched in order to assure his obedience, but a friend willingly does what is commanded.
3. A servant keeps his distance, but a friend "abides" in relationship.
4. A servant uses the relationship for what he can get out of it, but a friend bears fruit from the relationship.
5. A servant doesn’t know but must be told, but a friend knows his master's business.

The pastor urged us to move from servant mentality into friend mentality with Jesus. That is an exciting prospect, and I urge you to do so. But what I wanted to share with you today has to do with leadership.

As I looked over the differences between being a servant versus being a friend of Jesus, I saw my personal leadership style emerge before me. Many people have told me that a leader can't be a friend to those whom she/he leads. But, I've never quite fully understood that. I have always wanted to be friends with those who work together with me in the kingdom. Only last Sunday did it become clear to me that this was Jesus' preferred model, too.

In today's fast-paced, results-oriented world, this type of leadership is undervalued. I think we need more of it - especially in the church. Re-read the passage from Joohn 15, and look over those five points above. Why are we afraid of them? Why do we think we need to be something different from Jesus?

I admit that I don't know what this means fully, and I would like to "hone" these thoughts. Your comments would be appreciated!

Have a great weekend! I trust you will find yourself among like-minded people in a house of worship. We need that discipline to keep our lives centered!