Ministry

On Father’s Day, I had a very special experience.

My seventeen-year-old daughter is learning how to drive, and when we went to see my own parents on Father’s Day, she had the opportunity to drive the immediate family to Clare to visit them.

We went the back way to avoid traffic, not realising that it would take us through a range of dirt roads through the Clare Valley, bringing back fond memories of my own dad teaching me to drive on dirt roads in and around my home town of Murray Bridge. 

As such, I was able to both teach my daughter some driving skills, and reflect on a special memory for me.

One of the great joys of life is passing on to the next generation what is special for us. But more important yet is the call to create something special for them, something they will hold on to and cherish for the rest of their lives. 

Every good parent wants the best for their child, which requires knowing them, being present with them, encouraging them on their path (not the path we necessarily may want for them), and seeking to be a blessing in their lives.

This is a disposition we can adopt in every sphere of life: school leaders toward the staff they serve, teachers toward the students in their classes, parents with their children, Year 12s toward Year 7s, and each and every one of us toward one another.

This way of being is often known as servanthood, the desire to make things better for others, each and every moment of each and every day. It is a way of being, of living in the world, where we are motivated out of loving concern for others, where we aren’t seeking personal glory, and we are willing to pay the price to help other people succeed.

This way of being is excellent, in that it displays most clearly the excellence of Jesus, who said “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

May you serve with excellence, not just in what you do, but by what is in your heart also.

Chris Mann

College Pastor

Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ (Matthew 20:25-28)