And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:42-45 - ESV)

Think about the implications of what Jesus is saying these verses. What he is describing is servant leadership. And are we seeing true servant leadership among the churches today? When you think of your church leaders, does the scripture come to mind in a good way?

In our society, there is a thirst for power, fame and fortune and people strive for leadership positions in the world for those three things. People want money, they want to rule over others and they want people to know who they are. Not everybody is like this but we sure are given lots of stimulation to be about those things. But when it comes to Biblical leadership in the churches, we are not called to be like the world but we are to have a different attitude about what a leader is.

According to the Bible, to be great means to serve. And from Moses to Jesus to the apostles, what we see in their leadership isn’t a hands off, overlord approach but an approach in which they serve others. This means that those who would seek to be leaders within the churches need to have the attitude that they are to be the greatest servants in the churches. The Christian leaders are to be the biggest example to others of what it means to serve.  Consider what Jesus did for His disciples right before the Last Supper.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
(John 13:3-15 - ESV)

This should blow us away that Jesus (God in the flesh) is down on the floor washing His disciple’s feet. And let’s not forget that He gave up His human life for all of mankind on the cross before He came back to life three days later. Shall we also consider the countless miracles He did and the fact that He put His life on the line by telling people the truth so that they knew the means to obtain salvation? Now in doing this, do we read of any place in the Bible where He required a salary or payment for what He did? Did He seek to exploit people, take advantage of them or overburden them? No, he didn’t.

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, is sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
(1 Timothy 3:1-7 - ESV)

As we continue, please note that Christian leadership is indeed Biblical. But what we will be exploring is whether the division between a clergy and laity is actually a Biblical idea. Even though Christian leaders should be respected and honored as they follow Christ, this does not mean that they are not accountable to the rest of the believers. Many times within the churches, we are taught that believers must be accountable to their leaders but not vice versa. This is unbiblical and the reason why many people support the unbiblical practice of clergy/laity is because they either don’t know any better or because they don’t want to be full participants within the body of Christ.

For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
(Ephesians 5:23 - ESV)

Churches lacking proper checks and balances are doomed to exploitation, corruption and deception. The Head of the church is Jesus Christ and there is only one Head that we are all accountable to. When we forget this, then we open up ourselves to go the way of our flesh and elevate ourselves above our brothers and sisters. Whether you are an elder or not, Jesus Christ is your Head. And there is only one Head. If we truly want to know how to regard one another in the churches, we must remember this fact.

They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant.
(Matthew 23:5-11 - ESV)

Really consider the words of Jesus here. When reading through the Bible, we never see any of the Biblical characters referred to as Pastor Paul or Apostle John or Rabbi Mike or Father Peter. Are there differing roles in the body of Christ? Indeed they are. But we must realize that we are still all on the same plane when it comes to the accountability that we have towards God. So where does this leave the Catholic church when it refers to its pope by the blasphemous name “Holy Father?” Where does this leave others who add titles to their names to elevate themselves above other believers? These things are not found in the scriptures.

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
(Luke 22:24-27 - ESV)

In many of the church leadership models today, the leaders elevate themselves to lordship status. What they says goes, regardless of whether they are following the Bible or not. But Jesus teaches against this type of attitude as we see in the scriptures above. He does not care for church leaders who dominate brothers and sisters as lords, rather than having the attitude of humble shepherds that are helping to guide fellow believers. Are your pastors more like hirelings that Jesus speaks about in John 10 or are they true overseers and pastors?

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