Being Made Nothing

Roger Helland had an interesting article at Dtour called Nothing Leadership.

[He] made himself nothing. (Philippians 2:7)

I have been exploring some thoughts leadership. My opinion is that most existing leaders in our church systems are not willing to be made nothing. Their lives and careers are centered on position. Their vested interest is too high.

Until one has set down the title, the position, and the automatic elevation that goes with it, I don't think it is possible to approach ministry as someone who has been made nothing. Who's willing to go there? I haven't seen models of nothing leadership, but perhaps they would be unseen and unnoticed.

What would your ministry look like if no one knew you were the "leader"?
What ministry would you be involved in if you weren't getting paid?
Where is the leadership that hasn't been assumed or created by one's own efforts? - meaning, "I have decided that I will be a leader, therefore, I went to school, pursued ministry, started a network, etc."

When you no longer have a platform where you are known as the leader, serving takes on a whole new look and motivation.

We cannot see far enough ahead to know what this kind of servanthood will look like. We know that we don't want to recreate the kind of ministry we left. It's likely that the expressions of our service will be unique to each of us.