Two thousand years ago on The Resurrection Sunday Jesus’ disciples were locked away in fear. They had heard that Jesus had risen, but had not yet seen Him. When Jesus found them, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders the Prince of Peace commanded peace to the souls of these pioneering leaders.
In a culture where everything rises and falls on leadership it isn’t popular to talk about the danger of leadership. There are thousands of leadership gurus out there that promise to produce effective leaders in seven simple steps; a REALLY good guru can do it in three steps.
Society’s current fixation on leadership paints a glamorous picture that ignores the fact that leadership is dangerous.
Jesus is by far the greatest leader of all times.
He was focused on His mission.
He was clear in His message.
He was unwavering in His conviction.
He inspired, encouraged, and empowered others
He could not be bought, bribed, or coerced.
He solved the only problem that humanity could not solve for itself.
He does more than model the way, He is the way. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus commanded peace to His disciples that evening to enable them to confront the dangers of leadership that awaited them. Being a leader is dangerous because people do not resist change per se; people resist loss. Jesus presents a win-lose proposition. He wins and sin loses. Sin does not give up without a fight. The leaders and rulers of Jesus’ day resisted the idea of losing their power and authority, so they conspired to kill Jesus. Resistance is designed to get leaders to back off. Imagine what today would be like if Jesus had backed off in the face of resistance. HOPELESS.
Today, we celebrate Jesus’ declaration, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” As leaders, we understand that leadership is dangerous. We understand there will be resistance. We understand that God uses resistance to build us up.
When we lead in Faith, we emerge more faithful.
When we lead in Love, we emerge more loving.
When we lead, we “consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Leaders, take courage!
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