A Christ-Centered Community

by Danny Kim
GLDI Class of 2009
UC Berkeley Graduate

If I could rename GLDI, I would call it Global Servant Developing Community. Underneath all the intensive training, GLDI has taught me a simple yet profoundly fundamental truth about leadership: to become a leader is to become a servant. The greatest leaders are the greatest servants and the greatest servants are the greatest followers.

During one of his lectures on leadership, Dr. Os Guinness distinguished the difference between worldly calling and biblical calling. Calling, according to Dr. Guinness means to be and do what we are. The world tells us “we are what we do.” But biblical calling means, “We do what we are.” This is very true. In this society, we are defined by what we do, what school we went to, or the achievements that we’ve accomplished. Our identity and calling, therefore, are dependent on our achievement and works of being proven worthy. But biblical calling and identity are in direct contradiction to this idea. “We Christians do what we are,” said Dr. Guinness. We are called to be the servants of Christ, His followers. The words that changed the world are “follow me,” and we always have to remember that we are not called to be someone but we are called to someone. Although GLDI brings many influential Christian leaders from various spheres of fields in society, all of their lectures on leadership can be summed up into one word, obedience. From obedience come integrity, humility, and trustworthiness before the audience of One. When we take all we have and make it obedient to Christ, we become faithful servants, leading us to become the greatest leaders.

Conclusion 1) GLDI is a different kind of school. It’s a Christ-centered community that enables people to become the best servant and follower of Christ. Speaking of community, one of the greatest aspects about GLDI is that you get to live in the community of Christ. As much as I’ve learned from world-renowned speakers, I’ve learned from my fellow colleagues. Living with the same people for 40 days in close proximity can be challenging, as it is fun. As iron sharpens iron, my brothers in Christ have sharpened me by enabling me to see and shave away my pride, ego, and selfishness. And through the discussions, sharing, and fellowship, we got to challenge, correct, heal and encourage each other in love. GLDI doesn’t just teach mere knowledge on leadership. It shows us how to live to become servant leaders. It teaches us how to think, see, and live biblically, how to love and serve, and most importantly, how to become the followers Christ.

Conclusion 2) This simple truth on servant leadership was powerfully liberating. God wasn’t looking for my ability but for my availability. And God is not waiting for me to do something great but He is expecting me to be faithful to small things that are given to me now so that He may entrust me with great things in the coming years. Even as I’m back in the reality of the world, I feel an unexplainable sense of peace and security that my identity has been purchased at the cross, not by my works. If I can take one thing home from my 40 days in GLDI, it is to live for the audience of One. GLDI has given me the right idea of leadership and has secured my identity as a follower of Christ.