This is a guest post from Brian Proffit
I had an enlightening experience this morning. A customer called and I answered, “Good morning, this is Brian, can I help you?”
There was a slight pause and then the caller said, “Brian? Brian Proffit?”
“That’s me, how can I help you?”
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting you to answer the phone.”
No, most business owners do have levels of interference before you can reach them on the phone. And to some extent that makes sense, because their time is needed on other things. I’m not always the one who answers the phone. But if we don’t spend some time dealing directly with those we’re trying to lead or serve, we can quickly develop an “ivory tower” attitude with feelings of entitlement at the same time we’re losing touch with what’s really happening.
In this case, I learned of a peculiarity in Preaching Unleashed’s membership management system that caused some confusion. There was a work-around, and nobody had mentioned it to me. But why did our customers have to experience enough trouble to call and then use the work-around?
And how many potential customers might have decided it wasn’t worth the trouble? I’ll never know, but it’s a haunting thought. Especially because once I heard about it, it was a very easy thing to fix! But we can’t fix what we don’t know about—or were too busy being “the boss” to discover.
I think there was more than one message Jesus was sending when He washed the disciples’ feet. Of course He was talking about humility, and the importance of never getting too caught up in your own importance. But I think there’s another lesson for leaders there: don’t lose sight of what others have to deal with. Be willing to put yourself in their shoes—literally.
I worked for a company that always portrayed the organization chart in inverted form, with the chief leadership at the bottom of the pyramid rather than the top. They regularly proclaimed that it was a demonstration of their attitude that the leadership was there to support the workers and help them succeed.
That was a great sentiment…written by people in large offices who were never seen by the cubicle moles. Their decisions frequently demonstrated their isolation from the reality that the people faced. Jesus was effectively saying, “Don’t claim humility and then refuse to get your hands dirty.”
How did Jesus heal lepers? He looked at these people who everyone else wouldn’t touch, and He reached out to them. He didn’t hire someone to touch them; he touched them. The Lord of the universe wasn’t so full of Himself that He couldn’t be bothered with the lowest of the low.
How likely are you to respond to a pastor’s call for more evangelism if there’s no evidence that he or she is talking with the unsaved? How likely are you to respond to a boss’s call for better customer service if he or she isn’t willing to talk to a customer?
So what does that tell you about what kind of leader you need to be?
Bio: 
Brian Proffit brings experience as pastor, writer, and publisher to his role as chief visionary of BP Resources, director of Preaching Unleashed, and author of the Insights on the Journey blog.
