Paul Kruger Quotes

In other words, Jesus knows that the default position for those in authority is to domineer and squash those they lead. Then comes the punch line: “But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all” (vv. 43–44, emphasis mine). Jesus’s ministry model is paradoxical. You don’t lead by demanding your rights but by giving them up. For the bully pastor, the first will be first. But for the godly pastor, the first shall be last. As Paul Tripp put it, “Jesus reminds the disciples that they haven’t been called to lordship but to servanthood.”40

In desperation, the Indians sought an interview with the President of the Transvaal, the crusty and dogmatic old general, Paul Kruger. Kruger came out to meet them with a Bible in hand. The Indians set out their grievances. The Christian warrior, consulting his Book, answered that they were descendants of Esau and Ishmael, and hence bound by God to slavery. Kruger and his Bible went back to their house, while the Indians retreated, bewildered.24 The Indians now approached the British to intervene. An agreement signed in London in 1884 guaranteed the rights of Her Majesty’s subjects to trade and live where they pleased in the South African Republic.

From Jesus to Paul to Peter, we see several important contrasts laid out regarding what a Christian leader ought to be: • Not lording it over but being a servant (Mark 10:43–44) • Not a bully but gentle (1 Tim. 3:3; cf. Titus 1:7) • Not for shameful gain but serving eagerly (1 Peter 5:2) • Not domineering but setting an example (1 Peter 5:3) • Not quarrelsome but kind (2 Tim. 2:24) Seeing all these traits laid out together, we are faced with an inescapable and rather sobering conclusion: many churches have been looking for the wrong kind of leaders. One might even say the forbidden traits in this list are precisely the traits some churches tolerate in their leaders. Instead, we should look for pastors who are humble, kind, gentle servants.