Revivals Across Time

REVIVALS ACROSS

BY NICHOLE CRISS

Every few years or so, there seems to be turnover in buzzwords, slang, and catchphrases laced with nuances of pop culture. Of course, it’s the cool kids who immediately know the appropriate way to incorporate the updated vocab into their conversations, memes, and DMs, while everyone else secretly googles the meaning of the current trending Twitter hashtag to be in the know.

Not so long ago, the concept of servant leadership—a term used by Robert Greenleaf in his book Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness—became the topic of the cool kids in christian leadership. While Greenleaf’s book wasn’t written for christian ministry, but rather corporate America, his methods and technique for leadership through service were latched onto by churches and leadership teams. Ironically, given that the subtitle promised personal power and greatness, Greenleaf’s concept of servant leadership replaced a biblical theology of service and, therefore, became the epitome of Christian leadership.

Greenleaf briefly used Jesus as a case study on servant leadership, but the premise of his characterization of Jesus was not rooted in the biblical truth that Jesus was God, but rather simply based on Jesus’ acts of service to his disciples as it pertained to the procurement of power and greatness. Let’s be honest: Jesus’ parables probably wouldn’t have gone viral on Twitter—the nuance wouldn’t have been

Formulas teach transactional faith: We do this, and God will do that.

quite right for the Pharisees. On the other hand, that little scene of him turning over the tables in the temple would have given TikTok some new original audio.

Despite Greenleaf’s apparent lack of biblical theology of Jesus; his presumption that Jesus was, in fact, a servant leader was true. Jesus was a servant. Jesus was a leader. The dichotomy of servant leadership lies in the purpose of servant leadership itself: what is the objective of service and what should the outcome be of leadership?

The truth is that Jesus didn’t exchange his sovereign, heavenly throne to be an example of servant leadership. In fact, as was prophesied in Isaiah 53, Jesus did not come to Earth in order to possess power or gain greatness based on his acts of servitude toward his closest friends; Jesus came to Earth in order to redeem the broken relationship between humanity and God. Jesus’ continual example of service to his disciples was a demonstration of humility, friendship, and, ultimately, love— not an illustration on how to slyly procure power and grasp greatness.

Following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven, the disciples led the early church and the first Christians in the first revival the world had ever known. They followed in Jesus’ footsteps and led others to the good news of the gospel not to gain power, recognition, or notoriety, but simply to share the message of salvation from sin. The disciples preached a gospel of hope and love, redemption and purpose—yes, a gospel of revival that brought restoration to the relationship between God and man.

Jesus had illustrated true leadership to his disciples by washing their feet in John 13, and further called his disciples to manifest that same leadership to others in John 15:12-17. As a reflection of the love they possessed in abiding in Christ, the disciples were able to further the gospel of Christ all throughout the book of Acts as they preached to Jews and Gentiles alike. The disciples’ acceptance of the call of Christ to serve others in leadership that was representative of Jesus’ own act of loving service perpetuated the spread of the gospel across the ancient Roman Empire, and ultimately into the centuries that followed.

History is full of Christian leaders who served in such a way that led others to wide-spread revival during their lifetimes. George Whitefield, an itinerant preacher and evangelist of the eighteenth century from Great Britain, preached to thousands of people simultaneously— without the aid of technology or even the most basic AV systems. He eventually traveled to North America and preached a series of revivals that became part of the Great Awakening. D.L. Moody, a nineteencentury preacher, is said to have had charisma that would have taken him far if he had chosen a career outside of religious service. Moody, who was an advocate for social work, had an encounter with God in New York City that prompted him to preach the gospel in order to change the world. C.S. Lewis, possibly one of the most renowned Christian authors of all time, continues to influence those who learn from his wise writings, thereby advancing the gospel through revival.

The advancement of revival through the past two-thousand years was a result of leadership and teams working together in accordance with Jesus’ precedent of servant leadership. Jesus and his disciples are representative of the first leadership team: Jesus, as the leader, represented the Father to the disciples (John 14:9); as his team, represented Jesus to those around them. Through representing Jesus, the disciples were representing the gospel and perpetuating revival that would enable all people—regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status —to become the people of God, as the apostle Paul declared in Galatians 3. As the church of the twenty-first century, we are called to the same protocols of discipleship that Jesus had commanded to his original twelve disciples—that is, to serve others in love and friendship for the purpose of sharing the gospel to those who do not believe in the message of salvation of Christ. The objective of service done by

As the people of God, we have authority that comes with abiding in Christ, which transcends any type of earthly power.

the people of God should always be established in the love of God according to John 15:12-17, and the outcome of leading teams within our churches should always be for the sake of spreading the gospel of Christ according to Matthew 28:19.

Were Whitefield, Moody, and Lewis perfect examples of servant leadership? Certainly not, but neither were the disciples—I seem to remember a story of a certain Simon Peter who, at one point, even denied that he knew Jesus. We’re humans, incapable of perfection; yet this is where God’s grace becomes so poignant in our own lives, and we should strive to lead our worship teams and those around us to the gospel in order for them to experience the goodness of God’s grace.

Perhaps we should consider replacing a pursuit of social media influence and community notoriety with a pursuit of discipleship that promotes revival by virtue of living out the gospel of Christ. Perhaps we should be cognizant in our use of current buzzwords, slang, and catchphrases to be sure that we are living a life that is representative of true servant leadership and not an impostrous illusion of it. Perhaps we should focus our time and energy in leading our teams in the pursuit of revival, that brings with it restoration that is more beautiful than a curated social media feed.

Christian leadership has never been about achieving a certain sense of authority or status within society. As the people of God, we have authority that comes with abiding in Christ, which transcends any type of earthly power. Furthermore, our status as the people of God— although a privilege—isn’t meant to grant us Twitter fame or Instagram popularity. Christian leadership should never be about gaining personal power, but should always be about serving others in a way that transcends the nuances of culture shifts in order to point the world to revival for the sake of the gospel.

BY NICHOLE CRISS

Nichole is the worship band director at New Life Tabernacle in Massillon, Ohio, is a doctoral candidate at The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. Outside of worship ministry, Nichole is the founder and director of The Piano Studio, where she teaches students to combine classical music technique with functional music skills. For a glimpse into her life, check out her personal blog: www.nicholecriss.co