I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. (1 Tim. 1:12)
Expanded Passage: 1 Timothy 1:12-14
Temple Gairdner has been called “the apostle of Arabic Christianity,” and with good reason. He left England in 1898 to tackle one of the most difficult assignments—a mission to Muslims.
Sent to Cairo by the Church Missionary Society, Gairdner focused on Egypt’s educated classes and brought the gospel to them in innovative and imaginative ways. He was a pioneer, and others are still building on his foundation.
Although few may have noticed it at the time, the key to his success was apparent in his very first public prayer. His words were brief and directly to the point: “O God, you know that I do not want anything else but to serve you and [others], always, all my life.”
We hear a lot about leadership in the church today, and we should. Leaders are critically important. But leadership in the New Testament is always expressed through servanthood. Paul was an apostle—he says so in the greeting of this letter—and that leadership was expressed through faithful service to God and others. After all, the root word for “minister” in the New Testament literally means “to wait on tables.” Can you picture it? A servant, carrying a towel, bending low to work at menial tasks in service around a table at mealtime . . . perhaps for a party of twelve? It sounds vaguely familiar.
Seek to serve God and others in ways both menial and innovative.
Bob Black is a third-generation Wesleyan minister and professor emeritus of religion at Southern Wesleyan University (SC).
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
