Today I want to share a word about the Master of Leadership as I comment on John 1:35-51. This passage reads:
We are continuing to learn from Jesus as our Master and Commander and today we come to the point in time in which Jesus called to Him twelve disciples to learn from Him and to carry on His work.
In calling these twelve men, Jesus showed himself to be the Master Leader. We’ve already seen Him as the Master of Repentance and as the Master of Temptation, but today we will see His mastery of a vital skill, the skill of leadership.
I have been a student of leadership all my adult life and I still have a lot to learn. I have held numerous leadership positions and yet I know that I am not a master leader in the way Jesus is. For example, when I was a line officer in the Army before I became a chaplain, I served as a company commander in the Louisiana Army National Guard. One day, some of my full-time staff put up a plaque in my little office to honor my efforts. It said:
I am their leader! Which way did they go?
Leadership is a craft; it is not a pure science, and yet it is not done just for the sake of the art. It is a very practical skill, yet one that is not easy to define. To paraphrase an old statement about art: “I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it!” Today we will see the Master Leader demonstrating His craft. We need to watch Him and learn.
THE MASTER LEADER WAS COMPELLING:
As we can see from our focal passage, the Master Leader was a compelling personality. He knew that leadership is different than command. Command is defined by the legal authority to compel compliance. That’s why the Uniform Code of Military Justice allows commanders to punish troops who don’t comply with their orders.
Leadership is different. Leadership is the ability to inspire the willing cooperation of those being led. As leadership expert John Maxwell said, “If you look back and no one is following, you are not a leader.” Jesus was a leader because people followed him willingly, including:
- People who were already seeking God (Simon and Andrew).
- People who were sinners and outcasts (Matthew and the Samaritan woman).
- People who were struggling to make ends meet (fishermen).
- People in the establishment (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea).
This is a rare gift, and we must take full advantage of its power in the church and in the military. Every church, and every military unit, has members that people look up to. Influence like this can cause good things to happen, bad things to happen or nothing to happen! Jesus said that good things and bad things cannot come from the same source, so leaders must be wise stewards of their gift!
THE MASTER LEADER HAD A MORAL CHARACTER:
John 2:13-22 tells us more about the Master Leader.
And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
People invest their trust in their leaders. They believe them and do what they say. They trust them with important parts of their lives. They expect them to take due care of this devotion. Like when people entrust a financial advisor to wisely invest their life savings, people invest their trust in their leaders. Therefore, leaders must be trustworthy.
In the case of Jesus, we can see from this passage that He embodied righteousness. He could not abide injustice, or pride, or arrogance, and He revealed this when He cleansed the temple. He also showed this when He forgave the sin of those repentant persons who came to Him. He was as comfortable proclaiming the woes on the Pharisees as He was in healing the ear of the high priest’s servant on the night He was betrayed. Jesus embodied righteousness and that righteousness infused His exercise of leadership.
We must insist that our leaders must be of the highest moral character. Too often we shoot ourselves in the foot by focusing on gifting and job performance but ignoring the issues of maturity, judgment, and morality. Leaders must be sure to guard their hearts, minds, and passions, because the damage leaders do when they fail morally is beyond measure!
THE MASTER LEADER WAS HIGHLY COMPETENT:
Luke 5:1-9 reveals to us that the Master Leader was highly competent.
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken.
Since followers place at least a portion of their lives in the hands of their leaders, leaders must be competent for their followers to trust them. They must be able to accomplish the tasks they set forth. What if there were no fish in net? Would the disciples have followed Jesus? If they are not competent, they may be liked, but they will not be followed.
To show their competence, leaders must lead by example, unlike the church pastor who hid in church basement when teams went out to visit prospects. Also, to be competent takes work. We learn how to lead by osmosis, we must study and train. We also must try our wings and learn from our mistakes.
THE MASTER LEADER WAS COURAGEOUS:
Luke 5:18-32 shows us that the Master Leader was courageous.
And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day. And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Leaders, being out in front of the group, are exposed and that makes them vulnerable. They often see things others don’t and they often take stands others don’t like. This makes them easy targets for criticism.
Jesus was the model of courage. He did the right thing, all the time, even if people misunderstood. Here, He forgave the man’s sin, not just healed him. Then, He called Matthew, even though he was a hated and despised tax collector. He even had supper at Matthew’s home!
Some, so-called, leaders practice a form of lowest-common-denominator leadership which is swayed or even dominated by public opinion. While this is really not leadership at all, it is very common among politicians and other civic leaders. Opinion polls drive American politics more than convictions do, but Jesus was the Master Leader, He was not dissuaded by public opinion from doing what was right.
Assuming risk is inherent in the process of leading. We must not be afraid to lead if called to do so. A turtle gets nowhere unless it sticks out its neck, so we must trust God and enjoy His love. As 1 John 4:18 reminds us, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” God’s love is perfect, even if ours is not!
THE MASTER LEADER WAS COMMITTED:
Finally, Luke 9:57-62 shows that the Master Leader was totally committed.
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
A leader does what it takes to accomplish the mission. Jesus, of course, was the inventor of the phrase, “going the extra mile,” and He did that and more Himself.
Leadership is about helping people overcome obstacles. It is also about achieving your goal, while taking care of people at the same time. One of my favorite leadership sayings encapsulates this concept:
Mission first! People always!
One of our biggest needs is for balance in our lives and in our work and our leadership. Airplanes have two wings for a reason. They need both wings to be able to fly straight and true.
When I was a young boy, and I would get upset about something, my momma would always tell me to, “Straighten up and fly right.” Well, you can't fly straight, and you can't fly right if you are out of balance, and this idea of “Mission First, People Always” gives us the balance that we need in our lives and our leadership.
This motto begins by reminding us that we have a mission to accomplish. If we don't accomplish this mission, then we have no reason to exist. We have a purpose, and we need to carry out that purpose.
Although we must put mission first, we must also understand that we cannot accomplish that mission without people. We cannot do our job without our people. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to always take care of our people. And not only our people at work but our people at home, in our communities, in our churches, and our schools. Taking care of people is essential so that we can accomplish our mission. It is also essential because it is the right thing to do.
Let me put it this way: if we just focus on our mission then we become bureaucrats. If we just focus on people, we become politicians. We must have both wings to fly this airplane straight.
Jesus did what was needed to be done to achieve His mission and to take care of people:
- He turned water into wine, and He saved the wedding at Cana.
- He healed the sick and He revived the dead.
- He taught in parables, and He fed the 5,000.
- He put up with twelve whiny disciples.
- He died on the cross for our sins and He rose again to defeat death and hell.
Our leaders need to be committed as well. We must take responsibility because the saying, “Everybody’s job is nobody’s job,” is a reality. We must follow the command of God from Paul in Galatians 6:9 that says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
CONCLUSION:
As the Master Leader, Jesus set the standard for those who lead. Jesus was (and still is), compelling, competent, courageous, committed, and He is of the highest moral character. He taught His disciples to be leaders, and then they became models for Christians to follow down through the ages. As Paul instructed the church at Corinth:
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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