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Rajkumar Yonjon , Leadership is the most discussed issue and has been the topic of most seminars and meetings and yet least understood. In my Christian career of over 21 years and as a church leader for 8 years, I have been taught about the servant leadership and is the least practiced topic I have ever noticed. But I will be practically wrong if I apply this to all as I have seen many great personnel who have practiced the servant leadership and I still see them practicing. To fully understand this, it is better to understand two classes of leadership in our churches. Make sure that this is not what I assume, but what we are really dealing with. First class of leaders are the founder members who had been in leadership of the church for so many years that they hardly remember how they started their first days of ministry, unless in some functions like opening ceremonies, graduation and seminars. Second class of leaders are emerging leaders who have started their ministry for not so long and is actually expected of servant leadership. As the time goes on, their ministry flourishes by the grace of Lord and their efforts and within no amount of time, unnoticed , the ones who started in a zero has already become a hero. Now the servant leadership doesn’t imply to them, not expected from them, they are far beyond the reach of ordinary attendees in the church. They are already expecting servant leadership from the junior ones. The so called first class leaders become so occupied that they even don’t know the members. They are so busy in attending the meetings and seminars, planning and training that they actually are far beyond how they started their ministry and God had blessed them when they were there and how happy they really were there. They have so many good reasons to act like first class leaders and to not to expect a servant leadership from them, as it seems to be the work of second class leaders. What we can expect is the command, instruction and challenges in the form of sermons. There’s no wrong in doing these things, it’s actually necessary but the point is that what they have become and what will we become one day if we become so obsessed by what we are practicing and is expected of practicing. If you find what I say is wrong then, either I’m taught wrongly about the servant leadership by my first class leaders or I’m too foolish to misunderstand the kind of leadership and to expect it from all.
I was always amazed by the parable of Jesus in Luke 15:8-10 about the lost coin. A woman had ten coins of which she lost one. When the coin was lost, she searched the coin so desperately that when it was found she shares the joy with her neighbors. The interesting part of the parable is that the coin is inside the room but lost. She doesn’t let it go, checks every corner with a lamp and finally she succeeds and there’s a big smile on her face. And I’m pretty sure she will do the same if other gets lost too. Back in 2006, I was in a crisis, a crisis of love, encouragement and to say, a spiritual father and mother. A depression stroke me so hard that I nearly broke. Not a single situation seemed in my favor. I was in a sponsored hostel preparing for the medical study when my mom and dad, jobless and sick, where left to the single rented room with almost no food for two meals a day. To see my all 3 sisters’ family desperate, marriage problem, kids untamed, pressure to go abroad as a labor leaving all the dreams that I fought for, was pretty hard to face. I was lost, I was in the church, in the choir team and in almost all the programs that youths gather but I was lost. There was no taste or flavor in gatherings, meetings and fellowships. There were so many leaders above me to say that I had problem and they assure me of prayers. But I was in desperate need of spiritual father/mother who would actually sit behind me when I cry, to hold on when I fail and to catch my hands when I fall. In reality, I was in desperate need of person in whom I needed to see Christ. My need was fulfilled when I met Manoj Pradhananga and his wife Anjila Shrestha, the hostel warden for the time. They were with me when I fell, listened to me than to teach me, supported me than to instruct me. I experienced the love of Christ through them, learned what it means to serve to needy, In fact I saw Christ in them. Those two wonderful loving people added a meaning and a value to my life and that’s what Jesus did when He came to this earth, to give the meaning of life and to add the value in it. I believe this is a kind of leadership that Jesus taught us and wants us to practice.
People come to church for so many reason. Some may need financial help, prayers, reasons to develop, shape themselves spiritually, listen to God. But you never know when they are lost within. They come to church, attend the programs, participate in functions, help groups, but inside they are lost and in desperate need of figure who can listen them, encourage and demonstrate the characters of Jesus not by words but by action. My life was changed after I met them, Manoj Pradhanaga and his wife Anjila Shrestha. Nobody saw what they did to me, nobody appreciated them for what they did to me. But I got the meaning and value of life because of what they did. I saw a spiritual father/mother in crowd of leaders. It is a job of every leaders and believers to make sure that, before the coin gets lost in a corner and is forgotten for all time or even gets out in dustbin, it is found. True leaders finds the lost ones and adds the value to it before it’s too late. There may be many who are lost inside your church or in your group.
Many times we are taught and used with a practice of producing leaders who serve but as Neil Cole says, we actually need servants who leads, who touches the life, adds the value to individual and makes them grow stronger within. We need a father/mother who will not abandon us, but will search until we are found, love and care for until we see Jesus revealed in them. No matter where we serve, what position we serve, the number of meetings and seminars we attend, number of people whom we instruct and suggest, at last it is a relationship, that lasts forever, a relation that Jesus made Himself first. Servant leadership in my conclusion is the relationship with God and His people where God alone is the head and everybody else is equal and leads with God’s character, touches the individual and desperately seeks to find the lost one. I was once lost and is found now, somebody did it for me. And I believe, there was a great rejoice in heaven the day I was found. Now while we are talking about the leadership, there’s a desperate need of a spiritual fathers and mothers in our churches than the leadership that we are used to believe in. We need those spiritual fathers and mothers who cares for individual life and soul, those who believe in making individual strong and superior. The time will come to say enough with the leaders who are busy attending 5 meetings a day but angry to wife and children when back to home, reads Bible only when they have to preach or share, prays only in the gatherings and meetings but never alone, do not hesitate to criticize and expect excellence of same kind from all and too dumb to hear crying heart. There’s a desperate need of spiritual fathers and mothers in the crowd of leaders. Is the church in Nepal investing in finding and preparing those fathers and mothers? Do we really believe in relationship bonded by blood of Christ? Do we really value the individual soul, differences and gifts? Do we have mothers in church who will teach young ladies remain celibate until marriage, submit to God and husband and make a good home? Do we have fathers in church who demonstrate the character of Jesus and be the head of family and train the kids in the way they should walk? Do we have those spiritual fathers and mothers who will not give up making relationship that mends the broken heart?
-Rajkumar Yonjon, Bidur-09, Colony, Trishuli, Nuwakot
rajkumar.yonjon25@gmail.com, 9841162696
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