We were created to live lives of influence. The call to leadership is, in fact, one of God’s calls to humanity.

In the book of Genesis, we are told that God made man in “His own image”, which means that there is an imprint of the Creator within all of us (Genesis 1:27-28).

To “be fruitful and multiply” was the call to family. To “fill the earth and subdue it” was the call to leadership, to influence the world for the better.

Yet, this call to leadership has so often been misunderstood, misused and abused. Too many leaders have taken our role to rule as a calling to lordship, not a calling to servanthood.

Leadership done God’s way

Jesus makes it clear from the beginning – from the pages of Genesis 1 to accounts in the New Testament – that leadership is His idea, and it looks quite different from how the world has painted it to be.

In verse 25 of Matthew 20:20-28, Jesus says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.”

His following four words differentiate true leadership from the world’s definition: “Not so with you.”

Jesus taught His disciples that there are false leadership ideas to unlearn, and there are truths to replace them with. Discovering this gives us a blueprint for how to change the world.

Today, you may be desiring to bring a positive change to the culture of your workplace, or to be a positive presence in your family and school – but you feel a sense of limitation in your leadership.

Maybe you feel constrained to lead because you are thinking, “How can I lead when I don’t have the title to do it?”

I believe God is calling us to lead today. Not from a place of dominance, but from a place of influence.

Not a position, but a posture

In Matthew 20:20-28, brothers James and John are documented asking for leadership positions.

Their mother, Salome, boldly asks that the two highest positions of authority in the kingdom be given to her sons. (Side note: there is historical evidence that the Asian Tiger Mum has always existed!)

To which Jesus responds in verse 22: “You don’t know what you are asking.”

Leadership is less about rank and more about the posture of the heart. It’s less about power over and more about power under. It’s less about ladder-climbing over others and more about ladder-carrying for others.

Leaders who lead from a posture of serving, not a position of lording, are always given more influence.

When asked by His disciples, who were jostling for power, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1), Jesus responds by placing a child among them.

He continues in Matthew 18:3-4: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Leadership is not a position to gain, but a posture of giving. From the simple, undefended posture of a child, we can learn something about the difference between pride and humility.

Pride desires to be seen as not just good, but better than others. Humility sees the good, and desires to better others. Pride takes; humility gives. Pride asks, “what can I gain?” while humility asks, “what can I give?”

Today, you can lead with influence when you start with a posture of humility, not a position of authority.

Not about rights, but about responsibilities

Jesus says that whoever wants to become great must first be a servant, and whoever wants to be first, must first be a slave (Matthew 20:26-27).

The Greek word for ‘servant’ used here is the same that we use for ‘deacons’: a person who ministers care for, and promotes the welfare of others, instead of themselves.

If life was a series of trade-offs, what you look at decides what you sacrifice for. And leaders should always give their attention to responsibilities, not rights.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be aware of our rights, or keep quiet if there is abuse. Jesus wasn’t talking about forced slavery either. He was talking about a very different kind of servanthood – voluntary servitude. Servanthood came from a place of freedom to serve, not oppression.

Today, that freedom to give, to get beyond our self-preservation and concern, is available to us.

In Matthew 20, as the disciples jostle for their rights, Jesus turns their attention to their responsibilities. In the upside-down kingdom of heaven, the way up is down!

Some wonder if the idea of servant-leadership would work in a competitive, dog-eat-dog world. Can taking responsibility really improve things?

Psychologists believe the answer is yes – great leaders have the ability to take responsibility for what is already in their hands and to make great the little that is given to them.

They have what they call a strong “internal locus of control” – that is, the degree to which you believe that you have influence over the outcome of the events of your life because you are given responsibility over them, as opposed to blaming the external forces around you that you can’t control.

You may ask: “But what if my boss isn’t bought into the positive influence I want to bring? How can I lead when I’m not in charge?”

Influence and authority are two different things, according to Jesus. You may be in a position of authority, but you may not always be in a position of influence.

So, if you’re not in a position of power, keep in mind that leadership begins long before the title is given and continues long after it is taken away. Don’t wait till you have the title to lead; lead yourself today and start taking responsibility for what you have now.

Not through principles, but through a Person

So leadership is not a position, but a posture. And it’s not a posture of rights, but of responsibility. Great leaders are servant-hearted and responsibility-oriented.

But Jesus goes one further as He deconstructs leadership for us.

Great leadership doesn’t come through principles, it comes through a Person.

In verse 28 of Matthew 20, He says: “… the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

If Jesus was just a great role model, all we would have is a set of principles on how to live out our calling to leadership.

The good news is that Jesus wasn’t just a role model. He became a ransom for us.

The good news is that Jesus took the cup of our suffering to save us, so that He could do in us what we can’t do for ourselves.

The good news is this comes through knowing a Person, not principles.

At the start of the Gospel of Matthew, we see the coming of Christ into the world, as the wise men from the East ask, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” The wise men found their Promised King in the dirt of a manger, among the animals.

Later, as Jesus makes his entrance to Jerusalem, He enters as a king on a donkey, fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy.

Then, at the cross of Calvary, as Jesus is hung for the sins of the world, a sign is put up over His head, declaring Him as king of the Jews (Matthew 27:37).

What king is this – He who was born in a dirty manger, who announced His kingdom on a lowly donkey, and who died on a rugged cross?

This is the king of an upside-down kingdom. Whose victory over death means we have been cleansed by the Fall.

Today, Christ – our true King and leader – invites us to join Him, to use our influence to change the world. He bids us to step up and lead up.

This article first appeared in Alpha Asia Pacific, and is republished with permission.

Alpha is an effective form of evangelism when done by and through the local church. By focusing on the essentials of the Christian faith, it opens the door for Alpha to be used in almost any context so that everyone has the opportunity to see their friends’ lives transformed by the gospel. Churches are now able to run the Alpha sessions online through various video conferencing platforms. To find out more, go to https://asiapacific.alpha.org/.