Christians believe that our goal is to bring about the Kingdom of God – which is a world of fairness, mercy, reconciliation and healing. Christ is our vision, so how do we accomplish that? 

LEADING WITH LOVE

  Without the love, theology makes no difference. Begin with love in your heart. Love of Christ and love of people are uniquely important qualities to people who would be ministers, teachers, counselors and physicians.

   They asked Jesus, What is the greatest commandment?

   Matthew 22

    - 35. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question:

    - 36. "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

    - 37. Jesus replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

     - 38. This is the first and greatest commandment.

    - 39. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.'

    - 40. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

MAKING IT PERSONAL

The first person you must lead is yourself. Your times, your resources reflect something personal. So first you must lead yourself. It is hard to lead others, if you are a mess yourself. It is hard to teacher others if you don’t believe in what you have to say.

Jesus was very clear about what we should be committed to:

   Matthew 6

    - 31. So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'

    - 32. For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

    - 33. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

ACQUIRING THE SKILLS

Love trumps skill. Skills can be learned, but without love, skills have no value. So the servant leader gathers the skills needed to do the job, skills can be learned with love and commitment. Information, communication, problem solving, resources, experts. Creating work plans. Servant leaders must separate the important from the urgent. Information gathering, information presentation, feedback. With a vision for the Kingdom, we acquire the skills we need.

   Matthew 10

    - 1. He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

    - 2. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

    - 3. Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

    - 4. Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

    - 5. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.

    - 6. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

    - 7. As you go, preach this message:
`The kingdom of heaven is near.'

    - 8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

BUILDING A TEAM

   1. Form a team.
Delegate leadership, create support.

A.) Disciples went out in teams.
B.) Teacher and preach. Shake off the dust, and go out again.
C.) Women supported the disciples.
D.) Sometimes they went Solo: There are some things you just have to do yourself.

   Luke 8

    - 1. After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,

    - 2. and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;

    - 3. Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

CHANGING HISTORY

After the Crucifixion it was the Centurion who was the first person to be change, and he pronounced his evaluation.

   Luke 23

    - 47. The centurion,
seeing what had happened,
praised God and said,
"Surely this was a righteous man."

Pilate evaluated Jesus. He hoped to be unkind. It turned our just the opposite:

   Luke 27

    - 29. and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.

And just prior to going to Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus asked some of the people who knew him best, who they thought he was.

   Matthew 16

    - 13. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

    - 14. They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

    - 15. "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

    - 16. Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

So Jesus had a vision of paradise restored, that he believed in. He assembled disciples who had few skills in leadership and they acquired the skills, they built the team, and they changed history. A third of the world says they did a good job.

  QUESTION:

Leading Like Jesus

How would you apply these five leadership skills to your own job, family, or environment?