Jesus Was a Leader Volume 2
“JESUS WAS A LEADER”
VOLUME 2
It is the person you become that you take into eternity. Until your older, that statement is not usually one that we as humans think about. Our lives are usually so busy with everything that is going on in our worlds, seldom do we take the time to think about our souls.
How did I go from Jesus was a leader to talking about our souls? Before you stop reading, please bear with me. There is direct correlation in the process of following Jesus while leading and taking care of our souls in the process. If you are a good leader, you often ask yourself things like “HOW DO I GROW MY TEAM” or “ARE MY GOALS SUCCEEDING.” “HOW DO I LEAD BETTER,” “HOW DO I BECOME A BETTER COMMUNICATOR,” “HOW DO I MANAGE MY BUDGET.” But seldom do we ever ask ourselves how our soul is doing.
Before I get into that deep subject, I need to quote scripture, Matthew 7:5; “YOU HYPOCRITE, FIRST TAKE THE PLANK OUT OF YOUR OWN EYE, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE CLEARLY TO TAKE THE SPECK OUT OF YOUR BROTHER’S EYE”. In my capacity of Ministry Leader for Celebrate Recovery there are times when I mentor men that are either struggling with sins from their past or they are looking towards me for guidance and strength in pursuing recovery. Matthew 7:5 reminds me that as a mentor and leader, first I need to ask Jesus to search my heart and point out things that I may be withholding in seeking forgiveness and search my soul for long forgotten sins that I had buried deeply in my soul because it was, at the time, an issue I couldn’t deal with. Last week the lesson at our CR large group meeting was confess. During the lesson 12 video, Pastor Johnny Baker touched my heart strings with stuff that I had held deep in my soul, memories that I refused to deal with that obviously had a very profound effect on my soul.
As God’s creations we are given a body, we are given a mind, feelings, and a will so that we can make our own decisions, and our soul is what ties it all together. Our souls have been designed to always seek harmony and our soul always longs for integration. Unfortunately, sin comes into our lives and seeks to disintegrate our souls with conflicting desires which may be seen as an inflated ego, or it may give the impression that someone really does not care. Either of these can make it difficult if you are a leader. If you are an organizational leader, in the broad sense, you look to see what needs to be done, eager to make changes because you think it will make everything better, and you may tend to think you are making a difference. This type of leader tends to be outwardly focused and can unfortunately forget to tend to their soul and the souls of the people they are leading. I was this type of leader, ouch!
Jesus, however, was a spiritual leader, inwardly focused on that he was to lead his father’s people with a gentle and loving heart, always concerned with their souls. Always seeking peace and harmony, forever tending to people’s souls in a way that helped them see their wayward ways, teaching them better ways to live and love!
As I close this month’s blog, my heart is heavy. Jesus has helped me to realize that I was the hypocrite described in Matthew 7:5. I can only ask for your forgiveness and pray that I become a fraction of the leader that Jesus that Jesus desires me to be, always ministering to the souls of the people I lead and always seeking his guidance in all things.
Until next month, may God bless you and keep you, and may you feel his peace, always. Don.
