Service and Danger from "The Cross of Christ"

I am almost finished with my reading of John Stott's, The Cross of Christ. Here are some notable quotes from my reading today from chapter 11.

As I reflect upon returning to fulltime church work this quote was huge for me today:

Leadership and lordship are two distinct concepts. The symbol of an authentically Christian leader is not the purple robe of an emperor, but the coarse apron of a slave; not a throne of ivory and gold, but a basin of water for the washing of feet.

Do our churches reflect a top-down style of leadership that reflects the world, or do we provide a counter cultural style of leadership in our churches that points to the greatness of humble service that our Savior modeled? I fear it is all too often the former.

Here was another crushing one:

The spirit of James and John lingers on, especially in us who have been cushioned by affluence. It is true that inflation and unemployment have brought to many a new experience of insecurity. Yet we still regard security as our birthright and 'safety first' as a prudent motto. Where is the spirit of adventrue, the sense of the uncalculating solidarity with the underprivileged? Where are the Christians who are prepared to put service before security, compassion before comfort, hardship before ease? Thousands of pioneer Christian tasks are waiting to be done, which challenge our complacency, and which call for risk. Insistence on security is imcompatible with the way of the cross. What daring adventures the incarnation and the atonement were! What a breach of convention and decorum that Almighty God should renouce his privileges in order to take human flesh and bear human sin! Jesus had no security except in his Father. so to follow Jesus is always to accept at least a measure of uncertainity, danger and rejection for his sake.