Leadership - Not Rocket Science
Althougth the title suggests that Leadership is not rocket science sometimes it feels like being an effective leader is just about as difficult as constructing a rocket and blasting myself into space. That’s difficult, believe me, I’ve tried it….
I am amazed though as I read in scripture the accounts of Jesus and how He led His followers to life transformation and the accomplishment of great things.
I remember standing at Young Life camp years ago, watching as leaders and high school kids interacted with one another, played with one another, shared joy and life with one another. I remember marveling at the fact that these kids were here with us in Colorado for no other reason than a Young Life leader had entered their world, their school, their life and asked those students to “follow them”, promising they would see and discover great things. That is pretty profound really, that a high school student today would be attracted and would follow, but then again, its not rocket science.
When I read in Matthew 4:18-22 or Mark 1:16-20 or Luke 5:1-11, 27-32 or John 1:43-51, I see Jesus simply walking from village to village, encountering people, entering their lives, inviting them into His life and calling them to follow Him. The amazing thing is that the people Jesus encountered responded, they gave up their lives and they followed Him. No doubt they followed partly because Jesus promised they would “see greater things than that”, the important thing though is that they followed.
I suppose the lesson here is obedience. To be a leader we must be obedient to enter the lives of others and invite them to enter ours. We must be obedient to God’s calling on our lives to pursue Him above all else. We must be obedient and confident enought to call others to follow us as we follow Jesus. The Apostle Paul displayed this obidience and confidence eloquently in Philippians 3:17 when he encouraged others to follow his example and live as he lived. A scary thing sometimes, to think of calling others to follow us as we follow Jesus, but that is the model we are given and I can’t help but think that in so doing we will certainly see “greater things than these.”…
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