Lead Like the Lord: Lessons in Leadership from Jesus

By W. K Brothers

Every story needs a lead character, a ship needs a captain, and an arrow needs a target. The Christian's lead, captain, and target is Jesus-the Son of God. Two thousand years after His death, Jesus is known around the globe. In Lead Like the Lord: Lessons in Leadership from Jesus, W. Kirk Brothers shares his own personal journey wi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heritage Christian University Press
• Release date: Jul 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781734766592

Book preview

1

LEARNING TO LEAD LIKE JESUS

Introduction

Hugo McCord, a gospel preacher I knew since childhood, was correct when he noted, A boy will not stumble as much when he puts his feet in his father’s snow-tracks. So a preacher, when he steadily keeps his eyes on Jesus, will stumble less. One reason the Lord came into the world was to make tracks (1996, 23). One goal of this book is to rekindle a deep respect for Jesus Christ in the heart of every Christian who reads it, and every leader in particular, that will inspire us to observe His life more intently, study His word more deeply, and imitate His example more precisely. Learning what made Jesus the greatest leader can help each of us do what we do more effectively. The characteristics that made Him a success can help one to be a better accountant, or sales manager, or mechanic, or farmer, or elder. Come; let us walk in His footsteps.

Why Look at Jesus?

Jesus had no formal training other than the training that any typical Jewish boy would receive growing up. He did not come from a family with wealth. He was described by John the immerser as the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Ironically, when His family went up to Jerusalem after His birth to offer sacrifices, they could not afford a lamb to sacrifice for the Lamb of God. Instead, they made the offering of two birds, the offering of the poor (Luke 2:22–24; cf. Lev. 12:8). He also had no political or military might. He did not have an army with swords, shields, and horses behind Him. He held no high office. He did not grow up in a palace. Jesus was a simple peasant. He grew up as a carpenter in a community that was looked down on by many. Due to the nature of His birth (by the power of the Holy Spirit), there would have been those who would have questioned the integrity of His mother and father.

Yet, He changed the world. His apostles traversed the Roman Empire to tell the world about Him, even though it meant death for most of them. Billions have been impacted by His life. Millions have become His followers. Countless committed disciples have marched into the arena to face the lions in His name or have boldly proclaimed their faith in Him while bound to a stake as the flames leapt up around them. Two thousand years after His death, He is known by people spanning the globe. The book that tells His story is the bestselling book of all time. I am reminded of John 6. Many disciples were leaving Jesus. They were merely curious followers, not committed ones. Jesus turned to the apostles and said, Do you want to go away as well? (6:67). Peter’s response is one of the most powerful statements in Scripture: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (6:68). I think Peter’s statement could also apply to our study of spiritual leadership: Lord, to whom shall we go? Whom could we consider that would be better than the most influential person to ever grace this planet?

The journey to this book began when I was in graduate school. My PhD work focused on leadership, and biblical leadership in particular. I read countless books and articles about leadership, I listened to professors who shared their knowledge and experience, I poured over page after page of research, and I typed hundreds of pages on the topic. One thing stood out to me repeatedly as I examined the research and literature on this topic. I kept noticing that many of the characteristics and habits of great leaders, which are being promoted in modern books and seminars and are revealed in modern research projects, were demonstrated by Jesus 2,000 years ago. For example, research drawn from over 200,000 people who rated over 25,000 leaders is highlighted in John H. Zenger and Joseph Folkman’s book The Extraordinary Leader. They identified the following characteristics: Leading Organizational Change, Interpersonal Skills, Personal Capability, Focus on Results, and Character (2002, 13). In their monumental work The Leadership Challenge, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner explored the findings of their own research. They discovered five practices of exemplary leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart (2017, 12–13). They also identified four primary characteristics that people look for and admire in their leaders: Honest, Competent, Inspiring, and Forward-looking (2017, 31). I believe you will find, as we study the ministry of Jesus, these characteristics being lived out in His life.

I will quote numerous leadership books throughout this book. So many quotes may cause you to feel, at times, like you are reading a term paper for a graduate class. There is a method to my madness. I have two primary reasons for doing this: (1) To identify books you might want to read for further study, and (2) to illustrate the reality that the principles that are often recommended today were taught and lived out by the Son of God long before we drew our first breaths.

Are We Ready to Learn from Jesus?

Professor of education Findley B. Edge, in his book titled Teaching for Results, notes the role of the student in the learning process: The teacher is not the only one in the teaching-learning situation who causes action, reaction, and interaction. Some of these factors find their source in the learner (1999, 37). We have established the fact that Jesus can teach us how to be great leaders, but we will learn little if we are not ready to be good listeners and learners.

Jesus stepped into a boat along the shore of the sea of Galilee and told one of the most popular and well known of all His parables, the parable of the soils.

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. As he said these things, he called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Luke 8:4–8, cf. Luke 8:9–15; Matt. 13:3–23; Mark 4:2–20)

Before proceeding with the meaning of the parable, let’s talk a little bit about the cultural setting behind the parable. Craig S. Keener makes an important observation: Most of the Roman Empire’s inhabitants were rural peasant farmers or herders. The literate elite often ignored this large population, but Jesus’s illustrations show that he ministered frequently among this class. Although Galilee was heavily populated with villages and boasted two major cities (Sepphoris and Tiberias), most of its inhabitants were rural, agrarian peasants (1993, 82). Jesus spoke the cultural language of His audience. This is an important trait of leaders. Jesus’s audience understood the agriculture behind the parable, but we may not. Our society is becoming less rural and less agricultural in orientation and more urban and technological.

My father grew up on a corn and cotton farm in Unionville, Tennessee. His family used mules, a pony, and a Farmall tractor for the farm work. They also did a great deal of work by hand (harvesting, for example). Farming is largely done by machinery today. In Jesus’s day, seed was cast by hand, or it was allowed to trickle through holes in a sack (often carried by an animal). Sometimes the ground was plowed first; sometimes it wasn’t. Thus, crops did not necessarily grow in a clearly defined area like they do on many farms today. There were also many walking paths that traversed the landscape between houses and farms. Land in first century Judea tended to have a thin layer of soil with rock underneath. This reminds me of the soil of Bedford Country, Tennessee, where my dad grew up. The family farm was filled with large limestone rocks. Most of these rocks were covered by a layer of topsoil. As a result, you did not always know how deep the soil was. Thistles were a common problem on farms in Judea as well. Some were present when the seed was sown (if the field was not cleared and plowed). Even if the thistles were removed, it is likely that they were not pulled up by the roots but were simply cut off above ground and burned. This would allow the weeds to grow back and become a threat to the productive plants (cf. Keener 1993, 82). Harvests could range from 10 to 100 times the seeds planted in the fertile Jordan valley, but for most of the region of Judea the average return was tenfold (Keener 1993, 144).

Jesus often told parables without giving an explanation. Yet, in the case of the parable of the soils, He gave an explanation in response to a request from His disciples. He identified the four soils discussed in the parable: road, rocky, thorny, and good soils. The road soil fell on the pathway. When a section of earth has been walked on enough, it can become as hard as concrete. I was reminded of this when I was doing archeological work at the ancient city of Caesarea. You could tell when your digging brought you to the dirt floor of an ancient home. It was much harder than the soil around it. It was like digging through concrete. Seeds cannot penetrate hard soil. Likewise, some hearts just will not listen.

Another soil was the rocky soil. This is the soil that looks fertile, but there is a layer of rock a few inches under the surface (like parts of my grandparents’ farm). The result is that the ground does not hold much water, and it quickly dries up in the dry season. Also, the shallow soil prevents the roots from digging deeply into the ground. Thus, the plant is weak and susceptible to extremes of weather. This soil illustrates the weak spiritual heart or temporary faith that starts with a bang, and then quits when trouble comes.

Next, Jesus noted the thorny soil. The thorns grow up around the good plants, drawing resources from the young plants and starving them to death. I am reminded of the early attempts by my wife and me to grow a garden. We would start well, and the garden would progress until all my summer traveling started. We would then get behind in tending the garden, and the weeds would take over. This illustrates the heart that is open to Jesus but is never able to let go of this world and this life. It is consumed with earthly things, and they choke out the heavenly things.

Finally, Jesus revealed the good soil. This soil produces a wonderful crop. It is soft and deep, rich with nutrients, and free of weeds. Jesus said that, spiritually speaking, this is the heart that is honest and good, holds tight to the word, bears fruit, and does not quit. You might be wondering why we would take the time to look at this parable. Why not just dive into the characteristics of the leadership of Jesus?

The answer to the question above is found in this statement by Jesus: Take care then how you hear (Luke 8:18). We will never learn to lead from and like Jesus unless our hearts are right. Therefore, we need to take some spiritual soil samples.

Road Soil – Spiritual leaders are willing to learn. Am I?

Rocky Soil – Spiritual leaders have strong faith and finish what they start. Will I?

Thorny Soil – Spiritual leaders put heavenly things before earthly things. Do I?

Good Soil – Spiritual leaders have humble and open hearts that listen and learn. Do I?

Do not continue with this book if you do not have a heart that is willing to accept the teachings and examples of Jesus and to put them into practice. Let us not be like the shallow disciples of John 6 who walked away. On the other hand, notice that Matthew 13:8 says the good soil produced thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. This means that in some cases the harvest was one hundred times more than the amount planted. That is an incredible return on one’s investment. If you told someone who plays the stock market that they would receive one hundred times what they invested, they would make a mad dash for a broker. The text is saying if we will honestly and humbly open ourselves up to learning from the words of Jesus, God can produce great things with our lives.

Conclusion

What are we trying to accomplish in this book? What are we aiming at? Every story needs a lead character, a ship needs a captain, and an arrow needs a target. Our lead, captain, and target for this book is Jesus, the Son of God. Each chapter in this book will begin by examining a characteristic of the leadership of the Christ and will then challenge Christians today to apply the lessons learned to their lives. We will use the letter C as our memory glue throughout this study, as we consider nine characteristics that made Jesus the greatest leader ever to walk the face of the earth. He was centered, connected, compassionate, common, clear thinking, competent, courageously calm, a coach, and a person of character. There are additional characteristics that might have been included. I pray that the ones I have chosen will whet your appetite for a lifelong study of learning to lead like the Lord. Jesus is the Son of God, so naturally there are things about His leadership that we can never emulate. Yet, I firmly believe that if we will seek to apply these nine principles, we can have an influence on others that will impact eternity.

Discussion Questions

What are some New Testament examples of the leadership ability of Jesus?

What is the best book you have every read on the subject of leadership (outside of the Bible)?

Can you name some principles in that book that are seen in the life of Jesus? If so, name some.

Name some examples in the Bible of the different types of soils mentioned in Jesus’s parable.

Homework

Make a list of potential excuses that might keep you from completing this study.

Make a list of potential excuses that might keep you from putting the example of Jesus into action.

Consider what you will do to make sure those excuses do not stop you.

2

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP?

Introduction

You’re twenty years old. You have your whole life ahead of you, but you are not sure how long that will last. Your home, family, car, and dreams are thousands of miles away. Today, you are in Afghanistan. You are part of a small patrol that is to infiltrate a small village along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Intel has reported a Taliban presence, and the responsibility of your eight-person patrol is to confirm or deny this intelligence. You have been on patrol before, but today is different. Today, the patrol leader has asked you to be the point man. It is your responsibility to go in first. You must see the enemy before he sees you. The lives of the seven soldiers behind you are in your hands. If you fail, they may die.

Your senses are on edge as you approach the