So in case you didn’t know, I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek! I have a very short attention span, and I can barely sit through anything that takes longer than 10 minutes… But I’ll sit through 50 minutes of Simon Sinek’s talks. I find him amazing, fascinating, inspiring, and brilliant! This morning, I came across this youtube regarding the title of his latest book. It’s a must see-and it’s only 4 minutes!!!
I absolutely love what he talks about here because this is also biblical leadership. When I first started ministry, I was trained under an amazing man of God. He truly led by example. We would have monthly church beautification Saturdays (that I actually dreaded because I’m not a physical labor person)… but my senior pastor taught us that we needed to be there before everyone else arrived, and we already needed to be cleaning rather than just waiting and sitting around. As much as I hated these monthly ritual, I always looked to my pastor with awe. He would show up in his sweats, and he was on his knees gardening at the back of the church. When I was in seminary in LA and commuted by plane to SF to church, he and his wife gave me the keys to the church mini-van and his home so I would never ben stranded anywhere. He said I was always welcome. I could raid their fridge whenever I was hungry. I knew that this was a man who was willing to lay his life down for any of his staff and congregation members.
So it came as a shock when few years later, I had a pastor who told me that congregation members shouldn’t see me in my “street clothes” or they shouldn’t see me working and living like the rest of them. My new pastor told me something that was completely opposite of what I had been taught by my first senior pastor. Over a decade later, I’m always surprised to hear of leaders that demand or feel entitled to the royal treatment. Aren’t leader suppose to serve? That’s what I had been taught…
When I came across Simon Sinek’s “Leaders Eat Last,” I just burst with excitement and emotions: “YEAH!!! That’s what leaders are!!!” He even goes on to say “you’re either a leader or you’re not!” WOW!!! Marines eat last… Moms eat last… How about us church leaders? We live in a society/culture where many church leaders are often revered and put on pedestals. People often serve me first because I carry the title “pastor” (which I really dislike by the way… I’ve never been fond of titles)… but perhaps we should take note from the marines and moms and learn to eat last!
gloria s. lee 