"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. …I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master… Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13:14-17 NIV).
When we are looking for leaders at WCC we talk about the importance of them going through a "time of testing." One of the tests that we use is the test of sacrificial service. Will the person do whatever it takes or will there be certain tasks they consider too menial? If they won't stoop to serve, then we don't think they are ready to be lifted up to lead.
In Jesus' school of leadership, He modeled and taught His disciples to wash one another's feet. He taught them that in order to be leaders, they must first be servants. But He also taught them that there was a particular blessing for those who stooped to serve.
I believe there is a Christian habit or discipline here that Christ wants us to practice. It seems to me that there is something about sacrificial service that not only qualifies us for leadership and results in blessing, but it also causes us to grow up in our salvation, becoming more like Jesus.
I think we have to look for ways to offer sacrificial service. Is it working in the nursery, changing diapers? Is it serving on the WCC RoadCrew, setting up and tearing down on Sundays? Is it giving out bulletins or offering a greeting? Is it volunteering at the Wesley Shelter or Hope Station?
Or maybe it's like this church in Atlanta that I recently heard about… They really take sacrificial service seriously. They believe in washing soles to save souls.
Check out this video…
WOW!!!! AWESOME!