To be a leader like Jesus we must follow his example reflected in the gospels of the Holy Scriptures, and we must consider some principles to develop the character of Christ in us. For this it is important to have the disposition and dedication to the ministry of leadership.
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How to be a leader like Jesus?
At present, leadership has been a topic that is very much discussed in the churches, since leaders are needed who are committed to the work of the Lord and who have a heart similar to that of God, in order to be part of the transformation of many people who are lost without having God in their lives.
But leaders are also needed who have the spiritual gifts, the strength, and the authority to exercise their function with discipline and diligence, since God wants to have a church that is in order, where the rules are respected.
In this sense, leadership begins at birth but does not cease to be implemented with death, since God chooses people who can guide and that is why privileges and responsibilities fall on them. The good leader has influence over others and manages to transmit God’s message clearly, and puts it into practice with his testimony and actions within the church.
Leadership must offer opportunities, model the character of its members and create opportunities for all equally. In the Bible we can appreciate the impact that Jesus had as a leader in the town, where everyone wanted to hear him. “It came to pass that while Jesus was by the lake of Gennesaret, the crowd pressed against him to hear the word of God.” (Luke 5:1)
In this passage we can see that Jesus exerted a lot of influence on others because he was an exceptional leader and because he spoke the truth in a calm and confident way. Through his teachings, he conveyed his leadership and made himself understood through his parables.
3 Aspects to be a leader like Jesus
To be a good leader like Jesus and have the characteristics of this teacher, we must consider different aspects:
1.- Jesus teaches with patience
This principle of leadership can be seen in the Bible, in the book of John chapter 11 and reveals the story of the “Resurrection of Lazarus”: When Jesus heard it, he said: This disease is not for death, but for the glory of God, for that the Son of God be glorified by her (John 11:4)
In this biblical quote, Jesus makes it clear that he knew the purpose of Lazarus’ death and that is why it took him several days to arrive at the place to let him die, since in this way God would be glorified by resurrecting him, and the message would be proclaimed. in the whole town.
But his disciples could not get the message quickly when he told them that Lazarus was sleeping, since he meant that he was dead, and they understood that he was resting and that he would get up soon. As seen in this quote:
Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I’m going to wake him up. 12 Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will heal. But Jesus said this about the death of Lazarus; and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep. Then Jesus told them clearly: Lazarus is dead.” (John 11:11-14)”
The master’s disciples were not that smart, as they were ordinary people like everyone else. That is why they could not understand a symbology as simple as that “Lazarus was asleep.”
However, Jesus was patient and explained to them what he meant by that phrase, and he understood their slowness in understanding the divine message. A good leader acts patiently and does not lose his cool. So Jesus explained to them clearly:
“Lazarus is dead, and I’m glad I wasn’t there, because now you’ll have a chance to trust me. Let’s go where he is.” (John 11:13-15
In this way, to be a leader like Jesus, you must practice patience, speak in an understandable way for those who really want to learn. Jesu s’ patience was present when they questioned everything he did, since there was a lot of uncertainty about the message that Christ proclaimed, since they did not understand the way of speaking or the symbology.
However, he patiently explained to them and used parables to explain his divine message and the purpose of his presence on earth, such as the parable of the lost coin:
”Or suppose a woman has ten pieces of silver and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors and says to them: Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin. In the same way, I tell you that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over a sinner who repents.” (Luke 15: 8-10)”
2.- Jesus feels compassion for everyone
In the Bible we can find passages that tell us about the compassion of Jesus Christ towards humanity, as witnessed in the shortest verse “Jesus wept” and despite being so short, it carries a great teaching.
This leads us to wonder why Jesus was weeping at that particular moment. Following the story of Lazarus mentioned above, he felt compassion for the pain of Maria and other relatives of Lazarus. This is visualized in the following quote:
“When Mary came to where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell at his feet, saying: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Jesus then, seeing her weeping, and the Jews who accompanied her, also weeping for her, was shaken in spirit and moved, and said: Where did you put him? They said to him: Lord, come and see. Jesus wept.” (John 11:32-35)
In this way we can appreciate that Jesus did not hide his feelings and was sincere about the situation. So Jesus suffers for our suffering and feels compassion for our pain in different adverse situations in life.
In the same way, God could be crying with us without realizing it. Jesus as a good leader shows his support and help in difficult times, he is in our sadness and cries with us.
In this sense, to be a leader like Jesus, we must feel compassion for others, feel empathy and give strength to those who are weak at a given moment. Just as Jesus suffered when he saw so much need in people, in the same way a good leader does it without judging.
3.- Jesus loves and serves
One of the most outstanding characteristics of Jesus Christ is that of loving and serving others, seeing the need and reaching out to give them strength. And in the different passages of the Bible we can find examples of his infinite love and service for humanity, where the people who were around Jesus expressed themselves in the following way: “Then the Jews said, Behold how he loved him.” (John 11:36)
In this way, a leader like Jesus loves, since Jesus is God and God is love. One can come to think in an erroneous way that God does not care about our things, but so great is his love for us that when he came to earth, he did not come to be served, but he came to serve and to give light in middle of darkness
Finally, the story of Lázaro reveals the characteristics of a good leader, who must be patient, compassionate and loving, willing to serve others and lend a hand in times of adversity. In the story of Lazarus, in the end God is glorified and everyone’s sadness turned into joy, as the following biblical passage shows:
“Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and had a stone placed over. Jesus said: Roll away the stone. Marta, the sister of the one who had died, said to him: Lord, it stinks already, because it is four days old. Jesus said to him: Have I not told you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? Then they removed the stone from where the dead man had been laid. And Jesus, raising his eyes on high, said: Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me; but I said it because of the crowd that is around, so that they may believe that you have sent me.
And having said this, he cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus, come out! And the one who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped in a shroud. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.” (John 11:38-44)
In this sense, a leader like Jesus must love and serve with fervor without expecting anything in return, doing it sincerely and with the greatest possible dedication. We must not love a specific group of people, to whom we deliver all our teachings, since God sends us to preach the gospel to every creature, to seek what is lost and offer them the admirable light of Christ.
It is unfortunate that in the church there is currently so much discrimination and where opportunities are limited by cronyism, since we are all children of God, with weaknesses and strengths. That love that we give must be equal to the love of Jesus, who gave his life for us and gave us eternal life.
On the other hand, Jesus, as a good leader, challenged his disciples to choose between the leadership model according to the different rulers of this world and the leadership model exemplified through a life of love and service towards others. Currently, leaders come across the following questions such as: What leadership model am I currently following? Do I only seek to be popular by being a leader?
However, what we must really question is about the principles that we are carrying out at the moment in which we exercise leadership and our priorities when it comes to assuming our responsibility, just as Jesus did in his time, since Jesus gave him he gave first place to his Father; second place was given to his family and third place to the goal of making disciples.
In this way we must follow the example of Christ when he was on earth and taught with love, compassion and patience. But he also had disciples who would be in charge of proclaiming the message of the cross, since he would give himself up for us in a perfect sacrifice.
But it was not easy for him to be understood, even for his disciples, who sometimes had a hard time understanding him. But Jesus practiced patience and love and clearly explained his purposes to them. He showed them through his example the true love of God, since without this he cannot be a good leader, since God is love, as shown by his word:
“Beloved, let us love one another; because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. He who does not love, he has not known God; because God is love. In this was shown the love of God toward us, in that God sent his only Son into the world, that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:7-9)
Finally, to be a leader like Jesus, one must be born again, leave the old man behind, and begin a ministry filled with spiritual gifts. A good leader must also accept constructive criticism, considering the opinion of his brothers, and help everyone equally, leaving preferences aside, since God is no respecter of person:
“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, a great and mighty and awesome God who does not…