Think about what he accomplished with just three years of a public ministry. It’s still impacting multitudes of people all over the world.
Here are the four things Jesus did that made him an effective leader:
1. Jesus spent time with His inner circle
The idea that the leader cannot be close with the people he works with simply isn’t Christ-like. Jesus did not isolate himself from “his staff,” but rather he did life and ministry with them. The leader who's afraid to be known by the people he's been called to serve with is in a dangerous place. He either thinks himself better than them or is quite possibly trying to hide something from them. Jesus didn’t lead through fear, he led through relationships. In fact, Jesus actually called his disciples, "his friends" (John 15:15). If Jesus can be friends with his “staff,” then why can’t we do the same?
2. Jesus was more about who His followers were becoming than what they were doing
If a leader cares more about the work his staff produces than the fruit the Lord is producing in them, then he will often put his team in a unhealthy place. He will attempt to drive them through his agenda rather than lead them through the Lord’s agenda. Jesus knew if his disciples developed devoted hearts for him, the quality of their work would show it!
3. Jesus was patient with those closest to Him
As we read the gospel, we never see Jesus going on a rant against his disciples. Sure, there are places where he offers correction and/or rebuke, but this is the exception, not the rule. He does not go on and on for chapter after chapter. He addresses the issue and then moves on. He approaches his “staff” with a patient attitude and does not assume that just because someone makes a mistake, they're either disloyal to him or simply an idiot who's incapable of doing anything signifiant. A leader who is always losing his/her temper with others because “they don’t get it,” usually does not realize that the reason many people don’t “get it” isn’t because they are lacking intelligence, but rather because they haven’t been led well.
"A leader can put his people in an unhealthy place if he drives them through his agenda instead of leading them through the Lord’s agenda."
When Peter “blew it” by denying Christ, Jesus did not write him off or “fire him.” He raised from the dead, went from Jerusalem to Galilee, found Peter, and restored him to the ministry. See John 21! Great leaders don’t look to fire people first, they look to walk them through the mistake and restore them.
4. Jesus was not paranoid
One of the craziest things that takes place in Christian leadership circles is the insane idea that a leader always needs to be paranoid about which staff are and are not with him. Who might ultimately "betray" him? Jesus knew he was going to be betrayed by Judas and yet wasn't distract from what God had called him to do.
If you are in leadership long enough, someone will betray you and it will hurt. However, that does not give us an excuse to run around and constantly create an atmosphere of fear and doubt in our staff while calling everything we don’t like or perceive as an attack against our ideas as “disloyal.”
The better question for a leader to ask is not, “Are these people for me?” But rather, “Am I for these people?” If the staff knows that the leader loves them, wants the best for them, and is willing to fight to lead and love them, then betrayal is far less of a threat for him, than for the leader who always freaks out about who might and might not be fully sold out to the vision.
Adapted from Perry Noble's blog: http://www.perrynoble.com
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