tied to what Bruce mentioned earlier. The call of leaders to lead, but to lead well, because I want to say to my brothers who were being set apart today, that's really, I think that bit of wisdom from our people is something we need to really seek, God's blessing, and health, and doing. Let me pray before we read this passage together. Our Father, you are a, you're so gracious in loving to us, you care for people, you care for your church, and we thank you that one of your ways of caring is by speaking to us in your word. Help us to hear you, to hear not only what you've said, written here, but to have the spirit's wisdom to hear in the deep recesses of our hearts and be taught by the one who loved us so much, he gave himself for us. We pray in his name, the name of Jesus. Amen. Now, Paul writes, and he says this, and let me just say this is the conclusion of a sermon series I've been doing that I call Life in the Church, Mystery and Mess, and this text really goes in some ways to the heart, a conclusion of a lot of what we've been thinking about throughout the summer and the Sundays I've been preaching. Paul writes, and he says this, even though you have 10,000 guardians in Christ, the church isn't that big, that's rhetorical just so you know, even though you have 10,000 guardians in Christ, you don't have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you to imitate me. For this reason, I'm sending to you Timothy, my son, who my love, who is faithful in the Lord, he will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. This is the Word of God. As we come to the end of this series, we see here the Apostle Paul after having getting ready to say a lot of very difficult things to a church. Frankly, a church that he began, he writes to them to say a lot of very difficult things and over the last several months we've looked at what a lot of those difficult things are that he says, but he is hopeful as he writes to them. And he's hopeful, frankly, or one sense because he believes that God does raise up leaders. He raises up apostles in that day, he raises up pastors, he raises up elders, he raises up deacons, he raises up others, very important leaders in the church. And here when he begins with this language, even though there are many guardians, he's not denigrating the idea that there are many, many levels of leadership. But he's saying that for the church to be healthy, for the church to fill his desire, the Apostle's desire for what God would do there, he knows that a church needs fathers, needs key leaders, and it needs a certain kind of leader. And of course the mess at current is the truth everywhere, which is those leaders are sinful and flawed and don't always lead as well as they should. And if you're looking at Christianity, if you're looking at Christian church, frankly, that's something you need to understand coming in. Is that on the one hand there's a great mystery. God works in churches of all places. God works. He shows up here. Jesus promised that he's the two or three, gathering my name, and there's a way in which I'm just there. I'll be there. I'll be at work. So churches are on the one hand a place where God says, I really will raise up leaders and through them you will have fathers. You'll have the kind of parenting, the kind of love, the kind of nurture that you need, but on the other hand we realize that fathers drop the ball. And I'm sure every father in the room here knows what I'm talking about. But you need the spiritual father basically is what he's saying. And then when he encourages them, he kind of holds out two dynamics of the kind of leadership, Paul wants to see in the church. And as we said apart these guys today, I think this is the kind of leadership we need to pray that I, the other pastors, the other elders, the deacons would give to the church. You can almost call them synergizing dynamics. There are two sort of sets of two dynamics that I think you can determine for what he just said. The first thing is I think he's saying that the church needs fathers who on the one hand are sources of life and are also sources of example. There's a synergizing dynamic there, fathers who are sources of life and who are also sources of example. Notice what he says there in the second part of that 15th verse. He says, you don't have many fathers, but in Jesus Christ I became your father through the gospel. Notice how he begins and I want to direct this to the new leaders. Notice how he begins with authenticity. What's the dynamic that begins things? Why can he speak to these people? It's because his ministry has resulted. It has been instrumental in people coming to know the life is in Jesus Christ. That is the beginning. When we look at a church and we want to talk about its health, one of the real questions about the fathers and the churches, how many of them have given birth? How many of them actually had been instrumental in bringing forth life? That's how the Apostle Paul begins. I became your father in the gospel. That literally means that there was not a church in current until the Apostle Paul went there. When he went there, God used him to bring forth life. I just want to say this to you here today, particularly if you're new. I want you to know that about our belief about leadership here is that we believe that one of the principal calls of leaders is to be an instrument in people coming to know Jesus Christ. You see this Christianity business really is at the bottom the idea of a relationship that Christ came into the world so that we fight really and truly know life. You know, you've heard that phrase born again or new birth. Well, we believe that that's real. If you know him, your life really will change. One of the first dynamics of leadership needs to be leaders who are seeking to be instruments of life. But not only that, he says, all right, I became your father in Christ Jesus. But notice what he continues to say at verse 16, therefore I urge you to imitate me. The leader's life is characterized by that kind of fruit. That one of the natural dynamics of someone leading you to know Christ is that you continue to look to that person as an example of what Christ is like. So sort of the second synergizing, you know, the dynamic synergizes with being a father with being instrument of life is someone who's an example. He says, follow my example. Think about current for a second. This is a church. It's three years old. We're pretty sure they don't have a building yet. You know, they don't have parking problems in current yet. Brand new little church, troubled church. You got a situation so early in Christian history, there are no written gospels. In fact, the letter they're reading that we're reading right now is one of the very first, you know, copies of New Testament to be written. So they've got that. So where do they learn what it is to mean to be a follower of Christ? If there is this new life, if there is this ability to really experience him in a changed way, in a new way, where do they find it? And one of the primary places Paul goes here, and I think by teaching to continue to say that is sort of the example of leaders. He says, you know, you want to see the way of life in Christ Jesus will watch me. And he'll say later, by the way, I make lots of mistakes. There are lots of ways in which I'm not like Christ Jesus. He calls himself the chief of sinners, but he knows that Christ isn't working him. And so he can say, imitate me in the sense that I live out the life that is in Christ Jesus. And that's his common sense, frankly. You know, if you want to teach about forgiveness, there are certain basic principles and truths, but what really teaches forgiveness more than forgiving somebody. You know, you want to teach people about that a new life in Christ, I mean, you can be patient. But if you want to lead people and teach them a show them, then how do you do it? Well, don't be snappy with them. When they interrupt your talk on patients, don't bite their head off. Show them some patience. Show them forgiveness. Show them patience. Show them care. Show them sensitivity. Those things show them Jesus. That's what he means. I think when we look at Paul to say, how do you lead well? There's nothing that teaches like doing. Now, there's a word I have to say here. This is often abused by religious groups. I'm sure there's got to be somebody here today who's experienced some kind of abuse in a church where people try to say, now, if you're really going to be a Christian, you basically need to look like me. You need to think like me. You need to dress like me. You need to listen to the same music I listen to, keep the same schedule I keep. By all means, discipline your children and do everything the way I do it, and then I mention voting. You know, you've probably had some taste of that, where there's an oppressive cookie cutter saying this that often gets translated into Christian life. That's so called, this has to do with following an example or being discipled. There's a, you know, the Greek myths are so wonderful and there's a great myth about procrusties. How can you forget a name like that? But do you ever hear the myth of procrusties? Procrusties was this guy who was sort of good looking, well put together, sort of football player, ancient Greek sort of guy that everybody wanted to be around. And so he was up front and people wanted to come to him and they're around him. So people would come to procrusties house and he'd be nice and welcoming and bring him in and give him a nice meal. And then when he went to, he had insist on their staying. When they'd stay over in the night, he'd take him to the special bedroom. And this is when, this is when the penny dropped. When you got in the special bedroom, he had sons. They would meet you there. And basically if you were shorter than procrusties, they put you on the bed, strap on some ropes and stretch out. And that was the easy treatment. If you were taller than procrusties, they'd tie you down and saw your limbs off. Why? Well, procrusties whole idea is that people need to basically be like me. And in the church out there, all around, there's a lot of procrusty and spirituality. The idea that if you're really a disciple, you just, you know, we'll all kind of look and act the same. How can that be true? Shouldn't redemption be as infinitely rich as creation? Shouldn't you be able to come into a church and see a diversity of culture and style and personal expression that in some ways excels what is in creation because of God's greater work and redemption? Discipleship is not just a program or a handful of skills that you hand somebody over a brief period of time and they get it down and then they no longer be disciple. This following that the Apostle Paul is talking about is an invitation that is the Christian life that we are called to be people who said examples from one another, but examples as we ourselves are seeking to follow Jesus. If you're not a disciple, you're either not yet a Christian or you are dead and resurrected up in glory and don't know it yet. That's probably not handed. We're all disciples and really the dynamic of discipling leadership, that idea of being an instrument of life, of being an example is one of ongoing Christians with Christians following Jesus and encouraging one another to follow Jesus. I just want to say that about this church. That is the kind of church we want to be. Why are we here? We really want to know what it is to follow Jesus. Do we fall down? Do we fail? Absolutely. That's why we're here and we want to have leaders. We want to have a congregation that seeks to encourage one another and following Him. So, dynamic one. We need fathers. We need leaders who are sources of life and who are just frankly authentic examples. We've got an age where spin is everywhere, isn't it? Do you ever find yourself just no matter where you are just going? You hear the spin. You hear the nice polish. You know what? Churches should not be like that. They should not be like that. I don't want to be that kind of leader. But hey, I read all those church growth books. You know, at some of you may need to just come up and kick me in the sand every day. I'm going to go, stop it. Stop talking that way. You know, speak from your heart. Tell us the truth. We are a community of disciples here. We need to have an authentic sense of helping one another follow Him. Second dynamic, though, is this. He continues, and I think teaches us that the church needs leaders or fathers who both lead and serve. Sources of life, sources of example. That's what we're a community where that thrives. But at the same time, leaders who on the one hand are bold and on the other hand, who are humble. Leaders who lead and who serve. Now that first part, leading is often a great challenge. Paul is sending Timothy to Corinth with this letter to bring leadership to this church. And if you look at the letters he writes to Timothy, which are helping him in his commission to go to churches like Corinth and Ephesus and lead, you see him saying some interesting things. He says to Timothy in 2 Corinthians 4-3, but he is to adhere to sound doctrine, but he warns him that really calling the church to its commission is not going to always be popular. Look at it, 2 Corinthians 4-3. He says, if you really fix yourself on soundness, the core things Jesus has called us to, Timothy, there are going to be a lot of people who just, they don't like that. Now there are plenty of things, you see in those letters, mistakes Timothy makes, mistakes Titus makes, that people rarely rightly don't appreciate. But he's also saying that in the church, someone who really takes a stand for biblical principles is going to experience opposition. I want to say this to you, emerging leaders. That is the call, stand for sound doctrine. There are a lot of people in leadership who go there because they love to be loved. They love to be the guy that they can just hear it in the side, everybody is saying, oh he's so wonderful, he's so great. And they love it, and they'll just wiggle and spin and do everything they can to get people to like them. Why? Because that's why they're here. But the call to lead often means standing for what is sound or for what is biblical even when it's not popular. But that can also get defected, and I'll just be honest with you, this is probably one of the best setting sense of my life. You see I think about boldness, I think about principle, and that just sounds like enough for me right there. Any questions? All right, let's go. And throw it into high gear and don't get in the way. And that is not what the Apostle Paul is saying. Because at the same time, the other synergizing dynamic, and frankly, this is the dynamic where I have to confess, I fail miserably. I need your prayers, I need your forgiveness, and frankly, I'm going to probably continue to need your forgiveness. Because it's a leader who leads, but he's a servant leader. He's a leader who leads, because he cares about people. He cares about people, and the gospel makes him sensitive to people. You know, when Paul talks about Timothy, he says, Timothy, my son whom I love, he calls him here in this text, faithful in the Lord. And in 2 Timothy, the first chapter, he says, you know, Timothy, you are, I remember your tears. He's a sensitive man. Timothy is someone who cares about people. He says, Timothy, I remember your sincere faith. It's sincerity. His tenderness. These are the things the Apostle Paul values in Timothy. He knows that Timothy is there to serve and care for people. Guys, we have got to be leaders who are servant leaders. We lead, yes, but why? So that we may serve this body that Jesus died for, when he served. You know, in this chapter we didn't read it, but if you go back a little earlier, Paul, I think without tuning his own horn, describes his experience of pouring himself out for people. Look at, verse 10, if you have a Bible, or just listen to this, Paul says, we are fools for Christ. And you know, that great expression. And then verse 11, he says, to this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty. We're in rags. We're brutally treated. We're homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we're cursed, we blast. When we're persecuted, we endure it. When we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment, we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. Here's a man who, whether you're talking about hostile outsiders, not gracious outsiders, but hostile outsiders, or the very flock of Christ, the church. His whole vision is a leader to somebody who pours himself out for the love of people. Now why? Why would he say that? And why would we do that? Why would I say pray for me that I might do that? Well, because that's really at the core of the whole Christian faith. You see, that's who Jesus was. Jesus Christ, the one who had all authority, all glory, laid it aside. We read in the gospel of Mark chapter 10 verse 45, Jesus saying, the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. What I like to believe is that the dynamic of taking that into your heart really will change you. Now it's a lifelong process. It is still seriously. There's a lot of ways my DNA is still got to be changed by this gospel message, but I want you to hear it because it's a message of hope. Don't you see? If you believe that Jesus Christ laid aside his crown and came to serve you, that will on the one hand make you bold and humble. It will make you bold because on the one hand it says to you, I matter. I can stand up for anything. Why? Because the son of God himself has come to wash my feet. Jesus Christ came into the world, not for the righteous, but for sinners. He came for people like me to serve and love me. And you know what? He didn't stop serving. The gospel is going out into the world. Churches are here. Why? Because the son of man has given his life on the cross for you so that he might serve you, so that he might love you, so that he might show you really who you are, what you meant to be. But not only that. See, the gospel also makes you humble because when you look at the cross, you realize that my brokenness and my sin necessitated this. The son of man laid down his crown not because he had to, but because of me. It's because of my sin. It's because of my brokenness that this happened and you say it humbles you. And I think the more the gospel gets into our hearts, the more on the one hand we become bold, where we will freely say to others and say to one another, you need to know what Jesus calls us to. But the thing that drives us is the humility that we know why. It's because of me. I'm no different than anybody else. I'm no better than anybody else. It's all a reality because the sun serves. And that dynamic is what is here that turn me into a servant. You know, I was in New York City for a number of years and every Christmas Eve, there was a man who was really sort of the spiritual leader of the city. John Cardinal of Connor, who would give the big Christmas Eve Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral. And everybody who was anybody in New York would be there at the cathedral. Several television stations would broadcast it and almost everybody else watched it because it was such a New York show. And the Cardinal, sort of at the apex of the service when things were just really heating up and they're panning and showing the mayor and the governor and everybody there. The camera was all panning on the cardinal who just died this year. But it was always stunning because at that moment, the Cardinal would always do the same thing every year. He would say, I have failed to serve you well. And he would then begin a litany of ways he had failed the city, ways he had failed the diocese. And it wasn't even scripted or manipulative. You could tell, it was a man from his heart saying, you know, I'm sorry, pray for me. Why is there a way in which I and other leaders are saying, you know, we have not done as well as we would like. We have not served you as well as we would like pray for us, but know our hearts and our hearts are exactly that. We want to be like Jesus. We want to be bold. We want to be humble. We want to serve you so that this life will celebrate really pulses through our church. I think it's fascinating that the Apostle Paul can write this church in current, which he's got enemies. There are people in that church who absolutely hate him. A lot of the letter talks about this and he himself doesn't even go to current. He sends Timothy. We read him about Timothy in the Bible. Do you know what you read? He's timid. He's shy. Probably as you read through the lines, he probably has ulcers. He internalizes his anxiety. He's always trying to do things about his stomach. So this little timid, anxious guy, Paul is just sending him in. Why? Because Jesus Christ came to seek and to serve, he is absolutely competent that God is always at work in his church. He sends Timothy with confidence that the gospel changes everything. And it always changes everything and it never stops. There's no place in faith for cynicism. There's always that renewing dynamic because Jesus is always serving. Jesus is always working. Jesus is always loving. You know, I just finished a book by Stephen Covey. You may have read some of his habits books and other things like that. Sort of a time management principle guru. But I was reading one of his books, you know, took all of about five minutes. And I read this book and he had an illustration there that it was just so powerful to me. He was talking about what happens when being a servant really gets hold of an organization. In this case, he's talking about businesses and that sort of thing. And he talked about how the day he was writing this book, he was staying in a hotel. And he said, you know, I called, he said, I got there, kind of late. And I got and I picked up the phone and I said, I called down and I said, you know, his room service over, I'm starving. And they said, well, actually, our room service does stop at nine o'clock. But can I get you something, Mr. Covey? And he said, well, no, I mean, if it's, oh, no, no, sir, we, we really are here to serve you. Can I get you something? And he thought, wow, this guy's, you know, working for a tip. Okay, I have a baloney sandwich. He thought, well, that's great. So the next morning he gets up and he looks a little brochure. He sees that the exercise room doesn't open till 7 a.m. But he's going to be somewhere at 7 30. So he calls and he says, you know, what time does your exercise room open? And the guy says, well, it opens at 7 a.m. But would you like to exercise earlier? I'd be happy to let you know. Well, he went on about his experience at this place. And the fact that everywhere he turned, everyone he met did the same thing. And he said, why? And he said, I was clear that the vision of being servants had run through them. Pray for me. Pray for your leaders. Pray for these guys we're about to set apart. But pray that that is what happens here more and more. Has it happened in the past? Yes. Is it happening now? Yes. But that's the great thing about having Jesus as your example. As you can always say, yes, but continue to pray. The love of cavalry, the love of the cross, the love of the gospel, would so characterize your leaders. That there is no place you could turn in this place. There is no staff person who will snap at you. There is no person who won't return your phone calls. There is no lay leader who will not go out of their way to say hello to you if they don't know you. To that kind of servant, Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you for love that we never just get down that we never just get and can dispose of because we think we understand it. We thank you that you're always showing us our sin. You're always showing us the degree to which we still don't yet grasp how greatly we're allowed. Would you make this church? Would you just make it radiate with that kind of love for people? Do that in my heart. Where it's cold, warm, where it's hard edge, make it soft. Do that in our leaders. Do that in these men who are about to set apart our prayer of Father. Is that the love and spirit of service of Jesus would fill us and that it would not just fill us, but that it would go and it would electrify the city. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.