The wise leader understands the power of attitude? Read Luke 6:17-42.

One of Jesus very first acts after selecting His team of 12 disciples was to instruct them about attitude. The common thinking of the day was that the poor had done something wrong or they would not be poor, those suffering or hungry or mourning were somehow crossways with God or they would not be in their situation and that visa versa the rich has somehow pleased God and received special favor. Jesus was quick to instruct them not judge or you will be judged and examine their own personal shortcomings before they examined the shortcomings of others. The attitude of Jesus’ closest followers would be critical if they were to adopt His core truths concerning the people He was sent to rescue from Satan’s grip.

Great leaders have great passion. Read Luke 3:2-22.

Many of the Old Testament prophets foretold of a man who would become a forerunner before Jesus, preparing the hearts of the people for Jesus’ life and message. John the Baptist, who was only about six months older than Jesus, effectively fulfilled that role for the nation of Israel preparing people for Jesus’ message. There are two words that may sound odd when juxtaposed against each other that both accurately describe the life of John the Baptist. Those two words are passion and humility. In this leadership study we will look at John’s passion and in the next study we will look at John’s humility.

The wise leader seeks to move the team from leadership consumers to leadership contributors. Read Mark 8:1-21.

For the second time Jesus had fed a large crowd, this time in excess of 4,000. Jesus was teaching His disciples that God could provide a lot of food from a few loaves of bread and some small fish. A much deeper lesson came later when they realized that this miracle was just an example of how God provides for all their needs. This second level of understanding was critical for Jesus’ disciples to become leaders after His death.

Every leader must be able to manage stress. Read Mark 4:35-41.

During Jesus’ public ministry He traveled from city to city and often crossed the Sea of Galilee to preach in the major seaports. During these crossings, which ranged from an hour to several hours, He often caught a nap replenishing His energy levels. During one of these crossings, while Jesus was asleep, a sudden storm hit and His teammates hit the panic button. They woke Jesus and their words indicated they were stressed out from fear. Jesus not only dealt with the source of the disciples’ stress by calming the storm, but He also urged the disciples to place their faith in God. Ultimately, for every leader, the best way to manage stress is to relinquish their problems to God.

Excellent leaders understand how to prepare their team and organization for change. Read Mark 1:1-8.

All human history was about to change as Jesus, God’s promised Messiah, prepared to start His public ministry in Israel. God assigned John the Baptist the task of preparing the way for this unprecedented change. As we know today, Jesus was very different than anyone expected and John had a major task to get the people ready for this radical shift in expectations.