What are our motivations for serving and leading? Upon what is hope founded? Do we strive for a prize? Or is there something greater than our own efforts and personal reward?
After 40 years of leading God's people in the desert, it may seem harsh that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. The final scene in Deuteronomy makes it clear that glory does not belong to the one who serves, but to the One who provides. The Lord provides hope through His promise for the next generation that they would hear and be faithful to His Word which itself bears the fruit of promise. Read the full episode transcript here.
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The shepherd and flock imagery used in Scripture create a rich paradigm to consider servant leadership. Leadership isn't about gaining success on the backs of those you serve, but bending your back to serve those entrusted to your care. Dn. Henok Elias, host of the Tewahido Bible Study podcast, opens Ezekiel 34 where leaders are criticized for growing wealthy, fat, and clothed, on the backs of those they are supposed to shepherd.
Read the full episode transcript here. 
What would our work loads look like if we put as much time actually doing the work as we do creating excuses for avoiding the work at hand? More importantly, what would our communities look like if we actually put as much time doing the Lord's work as we do creating excuses in sin?
The calling of Moses provides insight into this common human inclination to argue, make excuses, and wrangle out of responsibility to the work the Lord provides. When Moses provides a litany of excuses, the Lord provides the plan, the mouth, and the words, eliminating all excuses. As Fr. Timothy Lowe suggests, the question is whether to submit, and the rest is details, trusting in the Lord's provision. Read the full episode transcript here. 
When the Lord commissions Moses to bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt, Moses questions, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" We learn it's not about, "who am I?" but it's about the One who sends Moses. "I AM WHO I AM" is the God who acts as the Father to His people.
When faced with a difficult task, leaders may ask that question even today, "Who am I?" Does the question come from a sense of fear? excuse and avoidance? false humility? perhaps genuine humility? The motives can be analyzed, but at the end of the day, it's not about "who am I." The servant of the Lord can avoid an ontological crisis by serving the Lord's instruction. Read the full episode transcript here. 
Simon Peter, in obedience to the Master's instruction, cast his net into the deep. One might think he'd won the lottery with so much fish that it broke the fishermen's nets and began to sink their boats! Instead, Simon Peter acknowledges his own sinfulness and falls at the knees of Jesus.
Fr. Timothy Lowe reminds us that only the mercy of the Lord, in light of our own sinfulness, lays the foundation for a good beginning. Whatever education and expertise we think we bring to our life's calling, we are challenged by Simon Peter who was willing to leave everything - his boat, nets, and fish - to follow his Lord. But it's only a beginning. And a good beginning doesn't make a hero. After baptism, there's more to the story. Read the full episode transcript here. 
Whom do you seek to please? Whom do you fear? A powerful leader seeking to please himself, King Herod desired to kill John the Baptist for referring to God's law above Herod. Fearing the people, Herod at first refrained from killing John because the people considered him a prophet. Seeking to please his unlawful wife's daughter and his dinner guests, Herod finally ordered John's head on a platter. Herod's reference points were whimsical, multiple, and self-serving.
Fr. Timothy Lowe shares the story of Herod and John the Baptist, reminding us that our reference points matter. We are called to refer to One Lord, serving and fearing only Him. Read the full episode transcript here. 
Leaders would rather lead change and preach repentance and mercy. But what happens when time has run out?
Standing in the Lord's presence, the prophet Isaiah cries, "Woe is me! I am undone!" and charged with a confounding message of coming judgment and destruction. Fr. Timothy Lowe, in a study of Isaiah 6, suggests it's time to sober up in the midst of utter devastation. Our only hope is in the seed of the Lord that might sprout from the burned and fallen stump. Read the full episode transcript here. 
Leaders make sacrifices everyday, putting aside their interests for the sake of serving others. Fr. Jeremy Davis, author of Welcoming Gifts: Sacrifice in the Bible and Christian Life suggests that the fullness of sacrifice isn't realized in loss and suffering, but in joy, hospitality, and faithful relationship. Christ demonstrates how to move beyond mere symbolic gestures of sacrifice and embrace the sacrificial life in faithful obedience to God and love to humankind.
Read the full episode transcript here. 
We may think the Canaanite woman offers a leadership example of persistence and humility, content with the crumbs that fall from the Master's table. But the lesson is far beyond successful negotiation.
As an outsider, the Canaanite is like a dog compared to those who feast at the Master's table within the religious community. Jesus honors her great faith which stands in stark contrast against the disciples and religious leaders who reflect such little faith throughout Matthew's Gospel. The challenge presented even today is whether those who presume to feast at the Master's table are willing to offer even just a crumb to those in need. Read the full episode transcript here. 
What motivates your leadership? The Apostle Peter understands the temptations of compulsion, greed, and domination, as he exhorts his fellow elders to shepherd the flock entrusted to their care.
Fr. Ian Pac-Urar explores the example we find in the Apostle Peter. Even by identifying himself as a "fellow elder" in his first epistle, the Apostle Peter demonstrates what it means to serve the flock, not by lording over them, but by submitting to the example set by Christ. Read the full episode transcript here. |
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