Principles of Leadership Jesus’ Style BY: Ulysses Bestey Sr., M.TH Faith Fellowship Baptist Church Kansas City Mo

Matthew 4: And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Leadership is the art of leading people in every sector of life to achieve the goals of all parties involves and ultimately the goal that is to lead others to become more like the master, mentor, leader-Jesus Christ. This message is designed to explore the multiple facets of leadership. We live in a world that stresses that one should be assertive and aggressive in his leadership style-you must take charge and give orders if you want to be successful. However, we like to look at leadership from the perspective of the life and times of Jesus as His interfaced with various people with different personalities and walks of life. Jesus’ style of leadership focused on servant-hood. The best leader is one who serves this present age his calling to fulfill with much grace and with a humble spirit. Matt. 20:26-28 Let’s explore the acrostic of L-E-A-D-E-R-S-H-I-P:

L - Leader of All Leaders- And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. 1 Tim. 3:16-17

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic —on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.”

E - Enlistment of Leadership “To often the importance is on personality not spirituality” Warren W. Wiersbe

We must see the potential in men. We must be willing to develop them. We must train them to be heralds of the greatest message on earth- the Good News. We must compel me to come Luke 14:23

A - Allegiance of Leadership “Immediately followed him...” Matt. 4:22

There something magnetic and authoritative about Jesus that these men would have a transferred allegiance to Him as they were devoted to leave their fishing trade. Do you have clear mission statement? Do you have clear vision statement?

D - Development of Leadership Disciples simply means that one becomes a learner or a follower. Socrates had disciples Gandhi had disciples John the Baptist had disciples

Never was a man like Jesus, If one is looking for a leader tell him to follow Jesus John 8:31-32 Leader should be Studious To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 15:5-8 Leader should be Stable "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 13:34-35 Leader should show Sacrificial Love "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Matthew 28:18-20 Leader should be Soul Seeker Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 10:24 Leader should be Submissive "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master."

E - Encouragement of Leadership Spend Quality Time with the leader Pray for the leader Check on the leader’s family life Use Teachable Moments to transmit God’s Word to them.

R - Relationship Priority in Leadership People are important not things God – Matt. 22: Home- Joshua 24:15 Job 1; Ps 127 Church – Hebrew 10:25 Ps 122:1 Job – Eccl 9:10 Col 3:17, 23

S – Solitude of Leadership Mark 1:35 Jesus had a personal retreat –so he could spend time with His Father Jesus had a personal retreat –so he could spend time with His Father – he taught us to “come apart so we won’t fall apart.” We need to refill our spiritual tank and reignite our flame of the glory of God. We must avoid leading on empty or burn out in ministry. Phil. 3:10 We must plan times to pray, play, and relax in order keep your focus

H – Hardship of Leadership Matt. 16:33 Hardship of standing alone. Hardship of being biblically correct versus that of being politically correct. Hardship of risk taking. Hardship of staying focus to live a life above reproach. Hardship of standing alone. Hardship of mastering your emotions

Hardship of making decisions others don’t want to make Hardship of sacrifice personal interest for the good of the group Hardship of keeping people as being important than things or toys Hardship of keeping and delicate balance of home and work.

I stands for Interruption of Leadership P stands for Preservation in Leadership Heb. 12:1-2 Try, Try, Try, Again

Principles of Leadership Jesus’ Style BY: Ulysses Bestey Sr., M.TH Faith Fellowship Baptist Church Kansas City Mo