A friend recently watched a documentary on the life of Jesus and commented on the poor quality of Jesus' leadership skills. As this friend is proficient in leadership qualities he described Jesus as being distant towards his disciples and failing to 'keep them in the loop'; not a clear communicator, and not always readily available to his disciples, people who were being trained to carry on Jesus' work, when Jesus was no longer there.
What was Jesus' problem? On thinking about this, yes, Jesus was not always clear in his words and actions, but why? Did Jesus really have a problem, or are we looking at this from the wrong angle?
Assuming that Jesus was perfect as he claimed to be, then this must not be a shortcoming of his. I recently wrote a note to myself, stating that if you think you have God all worked out, then think again and I apply that thought to this topic.
Jesus was teaching his disciples how to teach others about Jesus the Messiah, but he was also teaching them to have faith in him, and not rely on him. A contradiction? Certainly, but let me explain. Some leaders have an ego which needs constant stroking and want to have their followers dependent, not independent. Jesus had no such ego - he just wanted his disciples' trust leading to complete faith in him so they would be able to stand on their own, knowing that God would help them and never leave them. Jesus gave them room to question what they did not understand and encouraged them to think through what Jesus was teaching, so as to be able to stand on their own when Jesus was no longer physically there.
As a parent, I saw my role as guiding and helping our children to mature and become independent of me but at the same time, I was there for them when needed
( I hope!) In the same way, Jesus' 'questionable' leadership skills were ensuring that the disciples knew that they could trust him while at the same time, not depending on his physical presence alone.
There are many faith stories but one which I really like is of George Mueller, a British evangelist in the Victorian era, who established orphanages for hundreds of children. His was a 'faith mission' with no assured income, yet one story reads that one day the children were ready for school, said Grace for breakfast but there was no food for them to eat. It just so happened that at the same time, a food cart broke down outside that orphanage and to prevent the food from going to waste, the driver gave it to the orphanage to give to the children. Now that to me is faith and I think that was what Jesus was teaching the disciples - total faith in him, not a warm fuzzy good feel while Jesus was around.
With (usually) a full pantry and freezer, in today's world we may not have to exercise the faith of George Mueller when it comes to mealtime, but Jesus is calling us to have faith in him - a complete trust that he really is capable and worthy of that trust. With the benefit of hindsight, I can thank God for his care of me, even when I did not realise it at the time and from these experiences, I know that I can trust God today and in the future.
My faith in God is based on previous experience - I know I can trust him- and I think that is what Jesus was teaching his disciples - giving them knowledge and experience to know that faith in him was for real. Maybe Jesus' leadership skills might not pass today's 'pub test' but whatever he did, his disciples were faithful to his teachings.
Isn't that the best outcome for a leader?
What was Jesus' problem? On thinking about this, yes, Jesus was not always clear in his words and actions, but why? Did Jesus really have a problem, or are we looking at this from the wrong angle?
Assuming that Jesus was perfect as he claimed to be, then this must not be a shortcoming of his. I recently wrote a note to myself, stating that if you think you have God all worked out, then think again and I apply that thought to this topic.
Jesus was teaching his disciples how to teach others about Jesus the Messiah, but he was also teaching them to have faith in him, and not rely on him. A contradiction? Certainly, but let me explain. Some leaders have an ego which needs constant stroking and want to have their followers dependent, not independent. Jesus had no such ego - he just wanted his disciples' trust leading to complete faith in him so they would be able to stand on their own, knowing that God would help them and never leave them. Jesus gave them room to question what they did not understand and encouraged them to think through what Jesus was teaching, so as to be able to stand on their own when Jesus was no longer physically there.
As a parent, I saw my role as guiding and helping our children to mature and become independent of me but at the same time, I was there for them when needed
( I hope!) In the same way, Jesus' 'questionable' leadership skills were ensuring that the disciples knew that they could trust him while at the same time, not depending on his physical presence alone.
There are many faith stories but one which I really like is of George Mueller, a British evangelist in the Victorian era, who established orphanages for hundreds of children. His was a 'faith mission' with no assured income, yet one story reads that one day the children were ready for school, said Grace for breakfast but there was no food for them to eat. It just so happened that at the same time, a food cart broke down outside that orphanage and to prevent the food from going to waste, the driver gave it to the orphanage to give to the children. Now that to me is faith and I think that was what Jesus was teaching the disciples - total faith in him, not a warm fuzzy good feel while Jesus was around.
With (usually) a full pantry and freezer, in today's world we may not have to exercise the faith of George Mueller when it comes to mealtime, but Jesus is calling us to have faith in him - a complete trust that he really is capable and worthy of that trust. With the benefit of hindsight, I can thank God for his care of me, even when I did not realise it at the time and from these experiences, I know that I can trust God today and in the future.
My faith in God is based on previous experience - I know I can trust him- and I think that is what Jesus was teaching his disciples - giving them knowledge and experience to know that faith in him was for real. Maybe Jesus' leadership skills might not pass today's 'pub test' but whatever he did, his disciples were faithful to his teachings.
Isn't that the best outcome for a leader?
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