Let’s face it; we live in an unusual time and generation. There are many things, both good and bad, happening in our world. It seems that society is moving at a rapid pace toward negative ideals and standards. The majority of individuals I have come in contact with typically have a negative view of where we are as a world and feel like the Church is losing. Contrarily, I only see opportunity!
As the Church and as believers, we have a tremendous opportunity to shine our light and change our world! God has given us all power and authority to rise up and start a positive change in the Church and the world. I sense deeply that an Army of Fearless God Warriors are rising up to bring the change the world desperately needs! However, it will only happen if we have strong leadership in the church!
I have always been passionate about the importance of leadership personally and within organizations, businesses, churches, and countries. Leadership not only determines how far we go, but also how fast we get there! Therefore, it is important that we study the traits of great leaders so that we can develop successful leadership skills ourselves.
It is unquestionable is that Jesus is the greatest leader in the history of mankind. Jesus came from a small town and partnered with twelve people to spread His movement. Thousands of people followed His teaching when He was alive, and even after His death over 2,000 years ago; Christianity is still spreading across the Globe. The best selling book in the world, The Bible, covers His life journey and the effects of Christianity.
Needless to say, Jesus was a remarkable leader during His time on Earth and can teach us a thing or two about being a leader of significance.
As I studied what made Jesus such a great leader I came up with Seven Leadership Lessons we can learn from Him. Of course, there were many more, but I narrowed it down to the top seven!
- Jesus loved people.
Scripture: Luke 19:10 (NKJV)
‘for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’
Leadership Lesson: Leaders love people and seeing their lives become better must drive their mission.
Jesus loved people of all ethnic and economic backgrounds. Seeing people’s lives improve through His mission on Earth fueled Jesus.
As leaders, if we want to be significant, our mission on Earth must be fueled by our desire to see people’s lives improve. Our mission, whether it is in business, churches, organizations, or personally, must in some way be ignited by our love for people. True significant leaders want to see people’s lives improve!
- Jesus had a team.
Scripture: John 5:30 (NKJV)
‘I can of Myself do nothing.’
Leadership Lesson: Leaders realize that they can do nothing by themselves.
Jesus understood that He couldn’t do anything without a team of people around Him. Therefore, He recruited twelve disciples who partnered with Him spreading Christianity.
As leaders, we must realize the value of having a team of people around us to accomplish our mission. We were not meant to live alone or work alone. If we ever want to accomplish anything significant we must recruit a team of people who are going to help us fulfill our mission at the highest level. Without a team we are very limited in what we will be able to accomplish.
- Jesus empowered people.
Scripture: Luke 10:19 (NKJV)
‘Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.’
Leadership Lesson: Leaders empower the people around them.
Jesus understood that as leaders we cannot do it all, and therefore, He empowered people around Him to go out and fulfill His mission. Jesus knew He couldn’t do it all as a leader and that His movement wouldn’t reach its full potential without empowered people to use their personal talents to fulfillment.
As leaders, we must realize that our mission will never be accomplished to our fullest potential until we learn to empower those around us. If Jesus couldn’t fulfill His mission on His own, we certainly shouldn’t believe we are able to! We must realize that empowering those around us to operate in their personal strengths, to fulfill the ultimate mission, will give us the greatest impact and long-term success.
- Jesus had a servant’s heart.
Scripture: Matthew 20:28 (NKJV)
‘just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’
Leadership Lesson: Leaders have servant hearts.
Jesus understood that His leadership position wasn’t a place of superiority but a place of servanthood. Jesus was always focusing on serving the needs of His disciples and followers. He never had an attitude of entitlement, but always operated in humility serving those around Him. Jesus was never an ‘untouchable’ leader. He was always in the midst of those He served.
As leaders, we must realize that we are servants. We must have an attitude of humility and serve those around us. It is vital that we realize that leadership does not place us higher than others, but lower than others because we are called to serve them. John Maxwell states: “In order to go up, we must give up.” Leaders must realize the higher we are, the more rights we lose because our job is to serve the needs of those around us.
- Jesus met needs.
Scripture: John 6: 5 (NKJV)
‘Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He aid to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”’
Leadership Lesson: Leaders perceive the needs of those around them.
Jesus understood that true leaders perceive and meet the needs of those around them. He knew that perceiving and meeting the needs of the people around Him was a vital to His leadership success. In Scripture we find continual stories that point to Jesus’ ability to meet the needs of those around Him.
As leaders, we must understand the power of perceiving and meeting the needs of the people around us. It is our job to meet the needs of those around us whether they are our family, friends, team, followers, customers, or even mentors. The saying is true: “People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.” We must understand that as leaders we will never reach people or gain influence until we meet their needs!
- Jesus was intentional.
Scripture: Luke 5:16 (NKJV)
‘So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.’
Leadership Lesson: Leaders are intentional with their time.
Jesus was intentional about how His time was spent. He knew the power of balancing time alone and with others. Jesus knew the importance as a leader to spend time alone to regroup and recharge. He was aware of the how important it was to schedule time to rest and unwind. Jesus also knew when it was time to be around others to grow, fellowship, and serve. He was never reactive with His time; He was always intentional with it, whether it was spent alone or with others.
As leaders, we must learn to be intentional with our time. It is vital that we recognize the importance of our time and be intentional to balance it between others and ourselves. If we fail to balance and take time to recharge, we will burn out and become ineffective as leaders. When we are intentional about our time we become proactive and not reactive in our lives.
- Jesus was forgiving.
Scripture: John 21:15-19 (NKJV)
I encourage you to read this Scripture passage. In this passage Jesus meets with Peter privately after His resurrection and Peter’s denial of Him to others as He was on the Cross. Jesus shows Peter grace, forgiveness, and His great love Him despite Peter’s mistakes.
Leadership Lesson: Leaders are quick to forgive.
Jesus understood the power of forgiveness. He realized that forgiveness is an attitude and at the end of the day everyone makes mistakes. Jesus knew that being quick to forgive allowed Him to live a happier life and closer with those around Him. He understood that people are human and gave them grace. Jesus was always quick to forgive those closest to him and His followers.
As leaders, we must understand the power of forgiveness. We must have an attitude of understanding toward others. People are human and make mistakes. We all do. It is our job as leaders to have an attitude of forgiveness and be prompt to grant grace to others. Quickly forgiving others keeps us happier, keeps those around us loyal, and keeps all of us more productive and striving toward our main goal.
It is my hope that you all are inspired as I share the lessons from the greatest leader of all time! May we be empowered to live out our lives as leaders according to the example of the greatest leader of all time, Jesus!
About the Author
Koach Katlyn- Katlyn Moncrief Bryan
www.koachkatlyn.com
