Day 2 – A leader’s character is forged as much in failure as in success. Read Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75 and John 21:1-19.

When Jesus was arrested and standing trial before the Jewish religious leaders, Peter, one of His closest friends and a trusted disciple, was standing with others outside the court chambers to listen to the proceedings. Peter had promised Jesus he would stand by Him no matter the circumstance but now, when the powerful religious leaders were seeking to destroy Jesus and anyone that associated with Him, his character was facing a serious challenge. When the others outside the court chamber bluntly asked Peter if he was one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter denied it and even denied ever knowing Jesus. Peter’s character failed in just about every way possible. In His great love for Peter, God used even Peter’s horrific denial of Christ to help him develop the strong character he would need to lead the early church.

A God-honoring leader’s life will demonstrate integrity, not hypocrisy. Read Matthew 23:1-36.

Jesus continued to prove He was the promised Messiah by daily giving additional information to His disciples and the crowds. At the same time, He became more and more at odds with the religious leaders of the day. These leaders had established positions of power and authority and had chosen to enforce only selected portions of the laws God had given through Moses and the prophets. The Pharisees did not match their personal actions to the known scriptures of the day and, in fact, twisted them for their own personal gain.

A leader’s character is under constant scrutiny. Read Matthew 22:15-46.

Jesus’ words concerning the religious leader’s lack of character triggered their anger and they determined to embarrass Him publicly. The two most powerful religious groups, the Pharisees and Sadducees, sent representatives to ask Jesus difficult questions about Judaism, hoping to show the people that Jesus was not a prophet but a fake who should not be trusted and should, in fact, be killed for violations to the faith. These leaders tried to trap Jesus concerning payment of taxes, His beliefs concerning heaven and the resurrection of the dead, and His beliefs concerning the commandments and the laws of Moses. In their society, wrong answers to these questions could bring a death sentence.

Effective leaders seek to develop God-honoring character. Read Matthew 18:21-35.

Jesus’ disciples were already leaders when they started following Him but spending time with Jesus caused them to see elements of their life that did not match His words and actions. As they saw Jesus’ consistency, the disciples started trusting Jesus’ character enough to ask the inner-hidden-deeper-secret personal questions they were struggling with in their lives. Peter asked Jesus a question every leader struggles with, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” He must have been shocked when Jesus’ answer was, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Skilled leaders will urge their team to take appropriate risks and then offer them a hand if they begin to falter. Read Matthew 14:22-36.

Not only did Jesus repeatedly demonstrate courage and take risks but He also encouraged His followers to take risks. After John the Baptist’s death, Jesus took some time to minister to crowds that had followed Him into a remote region of Judea and when they dispersed, He sent a few of His closest team members away by boat while He took some time alone to pray, grieve, and find personal renewal. Jesus’ closest friends had been in the boat all night, but with the wind against them, still hadn’t reached the other side of the lake. To their great surprise, and terror, just before dawn, they saw a figure they believed to be a ghost, walking on the water coming toward the boat.