Leadership Quality: Commitment Part 4

All Leaders Must Demonstrate-Matthew 8:18-34

Jesus never begged anyone to follow Him. In fact, He often sifted through His followers to see what they were made of and where they stood. No good leader is afraid to do this. Look at how Jesus did it.

  1. Jesus’ clarification of our commitment. When He saw the crowd, He knew it was time to clarify the cost of following Him.
  2. Jesus’ credibility for our commitment. After the clarification, He demonstrated good reason to follow Him by His miracles.
  3. Jesus’ challenge for our commitment. In Gadara, He divided the cautious, the curious, and the committed.

From Care to Commitment-Mark 8:1-21

Leadership development always begins with showing concern for the emerging leader, then securing a foundation, and finally drawing a commitment.

Jesus slowly moved His men from consumers to contributors. Jesus wanted to get emerging leaders to think about issues beyond themselves. Note the stages of His developmental process:

  1. Shepherd: He met their immediate needs; He provided security.
  2. Equipper: He trained them to serve; He provided opportunities.
  3. Developer: He mentored them to lead others; He provided personal challenge.

Solve Problems-Luke 8:26-37

It is important to remember in any conflict: Jesus doesn’t want to take sides; He wants to take over!

Often we resemble the Gadarenes, those who wanted Jesus to solve their problems but save their pigs. “We don’t want to upset things or get radical,” we say. “We want change . . . as long as it doesn’t change us.” But this in not Jesus’ way.

Note several lessons this passage teaches us about leadership:

  1. Leadership means discomfort. If you’re going to be an effective leader, you must live outside of your comfort zone.
  2. Leadership means dissatisfaction. God uses dissatisfaction as a tool to move us to greater things and higher ground.
  3. Leadership means disruption. The status quo is never the goal of a leader. Disruption is our constant companion.

Leaders Vote with Their Lives-Luke 14:26, 27

Jesus gave Himself wholly to His cause and to His men. Consequently, He could ask them to do the same. When leaders vote with their lives, their followers gain all kinds of security. Jesus’ call for commitment both screened the uncommitted and attracted the committed.

Rich Young Ruler-Luke 18:18-23

Jesus went straight to the central issue, preventing him from making a commitment he desperately needed to make. The man walked away, full of sadness. He clung to what he had instead of committing to what he could obtain.

Leaders’ Gethsemanes – Luke 22:39-46

At times all leaders feel alone, as when they pioneer new territory. Jesus endured one of His loneliest times in the Garden of Gethsemane. His story in the garden provides us with one of the greatest examples in history of a leader’s commitment.

Every leader who does something significant for God experiences a Gethsemane. What can we learn about this lonely season? Gethsemane is the place where . . .

  1. Spiritual battles occur.
  2. Loneliness is felt.
  3. Honesty is expressed.
  4. Submission is required.
  5. Strength is received.

Join me next time for Leadership Quality: Commitment Part 5.