Read Matthew 20:26-28.

With the teaching in today’s passage, which is also recorded in Mark 10:43–45 and Luke 22:26-27, Jesus forever redefined the concept of a leader. As we typically find, God has a very different definition than the world.

As Christ-followers, one of the most amazing sights we can ever behold is watching a man’s heart radically changed by Jesus Christ. And certainly, it is the most incredible thing that can ever happen to us. Especially in our current culture, it is safe to say that a man changing at all in any way is a rare event. But when the love and grace of Christ collides with a desperate, broken man, then and only then does true transformation take place.

The Bible is one continuous story of men and women who had an encounter with the living God that changed everything. As salvation occurs and sanctification—the journey of being molded into the image of Jesus—starts, the very next step God offers is the opportunity to become a leader for Him. With the past in the rearview mirror, the future is an invitation to become a part of His legacy.

For our purposes, let’s define a leader as someone who goes before the crowd to blaze trails, forge new paths, and discover uncharted territory. But if we call someone a leader, that must also mean someone is following.

Years ago, a good friend told me, “If you think you’re a leader but look behind you and no one is following, then guess what? You’re not a leader. But if you don’t believe you’re a leader, yet you look behind you and people are following, then guess what? You’re a leader!” So, leadership is not so much about the perception of the person out front as it is about the perspective of those following.

Jesus can take broken men, in any generation, that the world ignores and overlooks and create a leader. Scripture is filled with such stories. When God’s power lands on a heart, everything changes. The men who He chose were not some race of super-heroes, but broken just like you and me. Today, God can still work on, in, and through a man to change the world one heart at a time.

Regardless of where you may already be a leader, where might God be calling you to become a servant-leader?