When Jesus says to follow Him, He expects us to sacrifice our own will and desires for His character to be deposited in us. We give up our old sinful nature which has passed away as we get dunked in the water and take on His new spirit as we resurrect from the water. This is a permanent change, as the Word confirms in 1 John 3:6, the power of sin no longer lives inside of us. After baptism, sin lives on the outside, tempting us to get back on the inside.
Thankfully, we can now use our Christ given authority to rebuke sin and flee from it. We also have the responsibility to renew our mind daily, and not conform to the sinful patterns of the world. We aren’t called to do this part-time, and there is no such thing as being a part-time Christian!
It is important to understand that our new nature extends beyond our kitchen table with loved ones. Certainly, Christ calls us to be His ambassador in every situation and spread the fragrance of Christ in every place. This includes the marketplace and your workplace. If you are a Christian in a management position, how do you lead your teams?
I have worked with unbelievers and believers alike, and I can confirm that the devil can use anybody who is willing to be used, knowingly or unknowingly, strife is rampant. Whether it is dealing with difficult people, resolving conflict, or overcoming obstacles, the recipe for victory can all be found in the bible. So, let’s take a look at what the Word says on good leadership in the workplace.
Good Christian leadership develops the talents of others, as a primary function of their leadership. Every person on this earth was given unique talents and special abilities by God, and a good leader draws this out by encouraging growth, recognizing achievements, and reinforcing positive behavior. They may also foster an environment that creates ongoing opportunities to showcase potential. It is important to empower the individual working under you to be able to rely on their own decision-making abilities and apply their very own creative strategies to complex problems in order to pave the pathway to their role in leadership. Jesus did all of these things well with his apostles.
A Christian leader should always use Holy Spirit wisdom to help individuals identify and build on their talents, while never discouraging others on about their weaknesses. It is important to speak the truth in love and correct others with grace, as Paul mentions in Ephesians. Good leadership is not just about the leader, but it places an emphasis on the potential and development individuals being trained under the leader. How does your team feel about working with you as their leader?
If we look closely at the ministry of Jesus, we can learn these principles in detail. In the beginning of his ministry when He called the fishermen Simon and Andrew to follow Him, He said follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. This is exactly what Jesus was on earth, so we can see how His intention was to reproduce Himself. By the end of His ministry, when Jesus was about to ascend to heaven (retire in human terms), Simon and Andrew were casting out demons, healing the sick, fishing for new men, and doing everything else Jesus was doing.
In John 14:12, Jesus said that His disciples will do greater things than He. This is a very provocative and thought stimulating statement and scripture in the bible. I have studied this verse for years and I am still uncovering its depth. The purpose of Jesus ministry was to reproduce Himself as we saw above, but also for those ‘working under’ Him to do even greater works! I always find this scripture remarkable; our Lord wants us to go even further than He did while on earth.
In summary, an effective leader always reproduces themselves, draws out talents from others, and encourages growth beyond themselves. One should never consider themselves indispensable and every leader should embrace humility as their lifeline. Jesus exemplified this very well.
I learned this concept when I had my restaurant with 35 employees working under me. In the beginning I was working 80 hours a week, performing all tasks when people called off. As we trained employees to supervise and eventually hired a general manager, I became less indispensable. My general manager learned how to perform on the same exact capacity as I was performing, therefore I was no longer indispensable! It takes humility to do this, which is a biblical principle.
Furthermore, we assume that individuals are always moving upwards in terms of growth and progression, therefore, a leader who is here today may not be present tomorrow. Who will replace you?