Leadership: The Jesus Way

Pastor’s Training Call June 2019

Matthew 20:20-28

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. ²¹ And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” ²² But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” ²³ So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.” ²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ²⁷ And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

INTRO

The Hebrew mindset contains holistic thinking. Greek thinking introduced a scared/secular split.  Jesus’ message was primarily about Kingdom not just church. Even the word church had a slightly different meaning than we are accustomed to.

Church – Ekklessia - ekklēsías, fem. noun from ékklētos (n.f.), called out, which is from ekkaléō (n.f.), to call out. It was a common term for a congregation of the ekklētoí (n.f.), the called people, or those called out or assembled in the public affairs of a free state, the body of free citizens called together by a herald.

Although a business may not meet on Sunday and be part of the fellowship concept of church, it is still part of the Kingdom and the Ekklesia.  

Jesus’ style of leadership is not just for church leaders. It is the method of leadership for all Kingdom citizens. His method is servant leadership. Servant leadership does not use forms of coercion nor depend on the position of authority, but it focuses on leading by serving the people that one leads.

I.  GENTILE STYLES

Jesus often spoke about the method of leadership Gentiles or (non-Kingdom people) use.   He sharply contrasted the style they use and the style we should use.  Here are some of the characteristics of leading we must avoid at all cost.

A.    King Complex – (Mt. 20:20-28) – Lording over people, harsh, hostile, dictatorial, domineering, self-serving, position.

B.     Position Complex – (Mt 20:20-28) – Thinking that title or position makes one big.

C.     Playing Politics (Mt. 20:20-28)

D.    Seeking Personal Power and Glory (Mt. 20:20-28)

     II. JESUS’ MODEL OF LEADERSHIP - John 13:1-17

John 13:1-17

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. ² And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him; ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ⁵ After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶ Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” ⁸ Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” ⁹ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” ¹² So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."

How did Jesus lead? What was His model of leadership? Only by understanding              this can we truly be molded into His model of leadership.

A.    He leads from true love (verses 1-2).

B.     He understood that his authority was for service (verse 3).

C.     He insisted on serving people (verses 6-8).

D.    He led by example (verses 12-16).

III.   Tip from JESUS’ LEADERSHIP

  Now that we understand His motives of leadership, we need to investigate His style or method.

A.    He kept in constant contact with his boss (Communication).

Mark. 1:35

³⁵ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

As leaders we must over communicate.

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” – James Humes

·      Leaders Communicate Vision

·      Leaders Communicate Wins

·      Leaders Communicate Where we are Missing the Mark

·      Leaders Communicate The Whys

·      Leaders Communicate Appreciation and Proper Affection

B.     He stuck to his mission (Focus).

John 4:31-32

³¹ In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” ³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

 “If you can’t defeat them distract them.” – Unknown

He never let people make Him king, He never built a temple or wrote a book, but He stuck to His mission.

·      Successful Leaders know the why but often let their team decide how

·      Successful Leaders focus on their strength and delegate their weaknesses

C.    He guarded his energy (Low Stress).

Matthew 10:14

¹⁴ And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

Matthew 7:6

⁶ “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” – Mark Twain

·       Successful Leaders practice daily gratitude

·      Successful Leaders exercise faith in the future

·      Successful Leaders are optimistic

D. He always had a plan (Strategic).

John 6:4-6

⁴ Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” ⁶ But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door.” -Confucius

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” - Alan Lakein, writer

·      Successful Leaders write down their goals

·      Successful Leaders review their goals twice a day

·      Successful Leaders ensure

E.     He took action (Achiever).

John 5:17

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

·      Successful Leaders are not afraid to take action

·      Successful Leaders realize that wrong actions are learning actions

·      Successful Leaders that we learn by doing

F.     He formed a capable team. (Recruiting)

Luke 6:13

¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.

“Talent wins games but teamwork wins championships.” – Michael Jordan

·      Successful Leaders think team first

·      Successful Leaders are coaches of the team

·      Successful Leaders win with others

·      Successful Leaders give credit to the team for wins

G.    He kept things simple. (Simplicity)

Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

                                 “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” –  Confucius

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”  – Leonardo da Vinci

“That’s been one of my mantras, focus and simplicity. Simple can be    harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” – Steve Jobs

·      Successful Leaders communicate with simplicity

·      Successful Leaders plan with simplicity

·      Successful Leaders think in simple terms

            H.    He led from the inside out. (Integrity)

Matthew 23: 25-26.

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish that the outside of them may be clean also.

He never asked His followers to do what He wouldn’t do.

·         Successful Leaders practice authenticity

·         Successful Leaders share vulnerabilities

·         Successful Leaders 

I.       He had a great bench (Training).

John 14:12

¹² “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

·      Successful Leaders focus on the next generation

·      Successful Leaders give away all that they have

·      Successful Leaders realize what they give away will come back to you

J.      He finished well. (Endurance)

John 13:1

¹Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

“Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic.” – Robin Sharma

“Start strong, stay strong, and finish strong by remembering why you started in the first place.” - Ralph Marston

“There are no excuses. I will finish the year strong.” – Bart Simpson

       ·      Successful Leaders lead with the end in mind

·      Successful Leaders endure until the end.

There is no leader whoever walked this earth more skilled and capable than Jesus. He is our master teacher and model. His method and style of leadership is superior to all others. Furthermore, since He is the indwelling Christ, we must learn to cooperate with His nature and ways.  My prayer is the Leader of the universe will rise up and shine through us, making us leaders indeed.