Stop Waiting to Be Someone ImportantIf only someone with real money and real power would sort this out. It is a fair thought, and it always lets us off.
About this episodeThe night before the cross, Jesus takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel round His waist and starts washing twelve pairs of feet. In that culture it was the lowest job in the house, given to Gentile slaves because it was considered too degrading even for Jewish ones. This week Mike Harris takes us through John 13, and the question he keeps returning to is not whether we should serve, but where the ability to do it comes from.
Timestamps* 00:00 Welcome and superhero chat * 04:44 Notices, the new website and Alpha * 07:47 John 13 read in full * 09:31 Why washing feet was the lowest job in the house * 11:53 The Joseph parallel in Genesis * 14:04 Jesus knew, and He knelt anyway * 15:01 Knowing who you are * 16:15 Knowing where you have come from * 17:42 Knowing where you are heading * 18:27 If only Elon Musk would sort it out * 19:17 Heaven is roaring you on * 20:48 The priest and the running shoes * 24:11 Conversation Street begins * 28:30 What counts as washing feet today * 30:38 Why serving can feel like a chore * 34:37 Jesus explains how to be great * 39:11 Blessing people others have written off * 42:15 Forgiving when it costs you * 46:31 The stranger who said have a good day * 48:53 Remembering who is actually asking * 54:12 Brownies and the little things * 56:53 August, membership and September * 60:30 Closing and Live Lounge
Key points from Mike's talkThe lowest job in the house
Foot washing was not just very unpleasant, it was also demeaning. A Jewish master would not ask a Jewish slave to do it, because it was considered too degrading for them. The job went to Gentile slaves. Jesus deliberately put Himself in that role, and He did it on the evening before the crucifixion, knowing exactly where the next day was going.
The Joseph parallel
There is an interesting parallel to this in Genesis. Joseph's steward brings water so his eleven brothers can wash their feet, and only then does Joseph reveal who he is. Centuries later Jesus washes twelve pairs of feet before the cross reveals who He is. Same shape, one difference. Joseph sent his steward. Jesus picked up the basin Himself.
Serving comes from security, not towards it
John 13:3 sits immediately before Jesus gets up from the table. He knew the Father had put all things under His power, He knew where He had come from, and He knew where He was going. He knelt anyway. Jesus was not serving in order to become somebody. He served because He already knew who He was.
Which gives three things to know.
The consequence is the freedom underneath the whole talk. Once you know who you are, you are not competing for attention or affirmation any more, because you already have both.
Heaven is roaring you on
Mike admitted joining the "if only Elon Musk used all that money and reach" conversation, and being persuaded by it. But then we see it from God's point of view.
"Heaven looks down at you with all of the power and all of the authority and all of the possibilities that you have within you, and is roaring you on to serve and to influence those that are around you."
God's world is an arena, and you have a huge role, an indispensable role to play in it. (Dallas Willard)
You are not a supporting role. You are not a role that gets covered if you do not show up. You are indispensable.
The running shoes
A Catholic priest saved for months and finally bought one very good pair of running trainers. Days later a man knocked at his door with no shoes, no shared language and clear need. The priest brought out every pair he owned, and the only ones that fitted were the new trainers. He gave them away. That night he dreamt of Jesus wearing them, and retelling the story later he could barely speak for crying. The thought he woke with was that he could have fobbed the man off with any old pair and missed the chance to give his King the best he had.
The Bible passageJohn 13:1-17 - The evening before the Passover festival. Knowing the Father had put all things under His power, Jesus gets up from the meal, takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel round His waist and washes the disciples' feet. Afterwards He asks whether they understand what He has done, and tells them that since their Lord and Teacher has washed their feet, they should wash one another's. "I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done for you."
Other verses referenced John 13:3 - Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. * Romans 8:38-39 - Nothing can separate us from the love of God. * Ephesians 2:10 - We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Brought in by Alicia in the comments. * Romans 8:28 - God works all things for the good of those who love Him. Mike's caution here is that the good is good by His standard, not necessarily ours. * Philippians 2 - Jesus did not consider equality with God something to cling to, but humbled Himself and became a servant, obedient even to death. * 1 Corinthians 12:22-23 - The parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable, and the ones we think less honourable we treat with special honour. Also from Alicia. * Luke 10:25-37* - The Good Samaritan, referenced back to Ade Birkby's talk the previous week.
Quotes from the talk
"When you recognise who you are, you don't now have to compete for attention. You don't have to compete for affirmation. You have that already." - Mike Harris
"Heaven looks down at you with all of the power and all of the authority and all of the possibilities that you have within you, and is roaring you on." - Mike Harris
"Maybe it is time to get up and kneel down." - Mike Harris
Conversation Street highlightsWhat in our society is the washing of people's feet that we could do for others?
Ellis put this in the comments and it shaped the rest of the evening.
Mike suggested that the first thing to do is to bless people who have been written off as toxic, being the person willing to risk their own reputation to show them something of Jesus' love. The second is to praise people out loud, which he thinks is a lost art, and which usually lifts someone else at your own expense. He also added a third thing. Forgiveness. He noticed that the only version of it social media talks about is the one where you personally benefit.
Dan suggested being the first to make the tea, without the mental scoreboard of whose turn it is. He also talked about the cancel-culture reflex that stops us affirming anything good in someone whose record is not clean.
Matt's angle was to stop hunting for a category. There is usually a group of people you already care about, whether that is people who are homeless (he mentioned Green Pastures, run by Andrew and his dad Pastor Pete), or people working in the NHS, or somewhere else. Talk to anyone in that world for five minutes and they will tell you the four biggest problems in it.
Why serving can feel like a chore
Nobody has ever asked for more chores. Take the bins out and it is a chore. Serve my wife and somehow it is not, and the difference is not the task.
Mike's answer was about who is asking, though. A menial job stays menial if you think you are doing it for your boss. If these are good works prepared in advance, the person asking you to put the chair away or say hello to someone is the Creator of the universe.
"We mess it up all the time, and we don't do it, and we create a thousand reasons why we shouldn't." - Mike Harris
Serving someone you do not particularly like
Mike was open that this comes up for him. His way through is not to manufacture the feeling. He knows he loves God, so he serves for God, and in his experience the emotions follow rather than lead.
It does not have to be a big gesture
Dan brought a podcast conversation between Simon Guillebaud, who has been on What's The Story, and a woman called Mary. Homeless, after a horrendous upbringing, she was out with her dog on what she had decided would be her last walk. A stranger passed and said "have a good day". She never saw him again, and it turned her life around.
Alicia's story came from the other end of the scale. She has been learning to make her sister's brownies. A small thing, except the kitchen triggers her claustrophobia, so it costs her something. And it means a great deal to her sister, who knows exactly what it costs.
Jesus explains how to be great
In a lot of church culture, wanting to be great has been treated as suspect. Jesus does not do that. Asked who would be greatest in the kingdom, He answers plainly, and the answer is to be the servant of all. Leadership turns inside out. It stops being about who serves you.
Jesus put Himself under the tax system, a human body, temptation, bad rules, a hostile occupation and a group of disciples who kept getting it wrong, with the power to end all of it in a second. Then He submitted to death. The next day He would be crucified, and He still washed their feet.
Coming up No live services in August. The team takes August as a sabbatical, but non-live streams still go out every week on YouTube and the comments stay open. * Back live in September with church membership launching, small groups running differently, and more in-person meetups around the UK, north and south. * Alpha starts 9 September. Registration is open now at crowd.church. It is an introduction to Christianity, and most people who do it are not Christians. * Wildfires 2027.* Crowd is planning a gathering at the festival, and it tends to sell out quickly.
Links* Come and explore more at crowd.church * Every week finishes with Live Lounge, an open Google Meet where you are welcome to say hello * Questions or prayer requests are always welcome at crowd@crowd.church
Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church.
https://crowd.church/talks/stop-waiting-to-be-someone-important