What Does It Mean to Have the Mind of Christ? (Philippians 2:1-13)

When to Lead, When to Follow

This week, while I was scrolling online, I came across a leadership article in Forbes magazine. The title caught my eye: "When to Lead, When to Follow, and When to Get Out of the Way."

It first told the story of a CEO in California who blocked time on his schedule several times a week for board meetings. These were not the kind of board meetings you probably have in mind. This was a standing meeting with his surfboard. The more he scheduled these meetings and bragged about them to his staff, the more morale in the office changed, and not for the better.

How a leader leads matters. The article said, "Leadership can become misaligned when the freedom that comes from being in charge begins to overshadow the responsibility that accompanies it." It encouraged leaders to serve the teams they lead, staying engaged with the work so they stay in tune with what is really happening in the organization.

The author also named what she called crown qualities of a good leader: community building, authenticity, personal growth as a priority, trust and intuition, and service. The more we cultivate those qualities, the better leaders we become. There is a trickle-down effect to leadership. When a leader decides to step up, to follow the lead of others, or to get out of the way altogether, those choices deeply affect how an organization understands its mission and whether people choose to follow.

A Letter Written From Prison

This caught my eye because I was reading our passage again and again in preparation for this sermon, and it struck me that it was written by a leader who didn't just talk the talk, but walked the walk.

Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from a Roman prison. The Philippians had sent him goods and financial aid to care for him while he was locked up, and he sent this letter in return: a thank-you note and an encouragement to his dear friends.

Philippi was the first Jesus community Paul started in Eastern Europe. It was a Roman colony in ancient Macedonia, full of retired soldiers and well known for its patriotic nationalism. Proclaiming Jesus as the one true king, in a place like that, led to real struggles for the new believers, because what they proclaimed about Jesus was in direct conflict with what their community believed.

This letter is unusual. Instead of developing one thought all the way through, it is a series of short reflections that revolve around the passage we just heard, especially the part called the Jesus hymn: the recitation of how Jesus lived, how he died, and how he was raised.

Paul first writes about being imprisoned. He thanks them for remembering him, and then he says that his imprisonment is actually doing good, because people are hearing the gospel and responding. So he has decided he is okay with whatever happens. If he dies, he will be with Jesus. If he is released, he will go back out and spread the good news. Either way, he is with Jesus. For people being persecuted for their faith, hearing that from their leader moved them in their own following of Jesus.

The Mind of Christ

Then Paul encourages the Philippians to take on the same mindset he had, the mind of Christ: "If there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, make my joy complete. Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus."

This is one of those passages we should write down and keep with us, to read again and again so we don't forget what our mission is.

Last night I was at the 10-year anniversary celebration for Bricks to Bread, one of our mission partners and one of our very first Dough winners. They work with women in Costa Rica, and now Panama, building brick ovens that sustain life in the community in many ways: starting a business, caring for families through that business, and providing fresh and healthy food. I saw Nancy, the founder, gave her a hug and asked how she was. She said, "Not great. There's a lot happening right now and I'm pretty exhausted. But here's what I've been doing." Out of her back pocket she pulled a scripture passage. Every time she needs a reminder of what she is supposed to be doing, and of the truth that God will take care of her, she pulls it out.

How do we keep these things in front of us, so we stay focused on how to follow Jesus?

The Jesus Hymn

Paul doesn't stop there. He goes on to talk about Jesus: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

That is the heart of the Jesus hymn. It is called a hymn because the early church sang or recited it to begin worship together. It is a recitation of how Jesus chose to lead. Jesus could have led any way he wanted. He could have floated down from the sky. He could have built a palace on a hill and had people come to him. He could have issued decrees and told us what to do, which honestly might have been helpful.

Instead, he took on the form of a servant, not just a servant but a slave. He humbled himself and became obedient to the Father, even when the Father asked him to die on a cross.

Paul isn't retelling the Jesus story just because it is beautiful. He means to enliven the community of faith and give us a pattern to live by. When we get serious about following Jesus, this is the Jesus we follow: the one who intentionally makes himself vulnerable, who could have come as a king and chose to come as a slave, who desired to serve others and not rule over them. We follow the one who shows us how hard it can be when God asks us to go all the way, and who trusts that new life can come even there.

Leading Like Jesus

This is what authentic leadership looks like, and it is the real life we are invited to live into fully. It is the way of Jesus and the pattern we are called to follow.

The last line of that article said, "Leadership is not about having a title. Leadership is about knowing when to lead, knowing when to follow, and knowing when to get out of the way."

When Jesus led, he led as a humble servant. When Jesus followed, he followed the God he trusted completely as his Father, even to his own death. And after his resurrection, he told the disciples it was best that he get out of the way, send his Spirit to be with them, and let them take on the good work of telling others the good news, building vibrant faith communities, and loving and serving wherever they go. This is the God we follow.

Hear the last part of the passage one more time: "Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name given to Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." May it be so. Amen.

Closing Prayer

God, may it be so. May we follow and lead in the way that you followed and led. May we keep passages like this before us, reminding ourselves regularly that this is who you call us to be and become. Enliven our community to be united in one mind and one spirit as we seek to follow you and to serve this world you love so much, and that we love too. In Jesus' name, amen.