Thursday, April 2, 2009

Clean feet and respectful models

Pastors Don and Susan modeled mutual submission, mutual respect, and servant leadership as Don washed his wife’s feet in public. It was such a simple act, and yet so strange to the culture that most of the pastors stood to their feet, straining to see. The men were curiously fascinated. Submitting to one’s wife and serving her are simply not widely practiced in this East African culture.

Within 10 minutes, Susan herself was washing another woman’s feet. A pastor sprang up from the audience and asked if he could take over washing the woman’s feet since he was her husband. He did so looking over his shoulder and laughing nervously from embarrassment.