Leaders are simply stewards of the resources God has given them. Read Luke 19:11-26.

During His public ministry Jesus often told stories that illustrated a principles for life. In one of these stories Jesus told about a landowner who, just prior to leaving on an extended trip, gave three men some funds to spend, save, or invest. Each had the freedom to use the money as they saw fit but each would be asked for an account of how they handled the money when the landowner returned. The landowner’s expectation was that these men would be stewards of the money he had given them and, in Jesus’ story, those who had been faithful stewards of the funds were rewarded for their efforts and those who did not steward the funds would be held accountable.

The effective leader must pass the “Commitment Test.” Read Luke 18:18-23.

During the three years of Jesus’ public ministry, as His popularity grew, many people desired to be close to Him, join His team, seek affirmation for their life decisions, and get His answers to spiritual questions. It is refreshing that Jesus always went straight to the central issues in their life that would keep them from finding the answers they sought and achieving their potential.

The effective leader finds a number of ways to constantly restate the goals and priorities of their mission. Read Luke 15:1-32.

Jesus was clear about His mission. According to Luke 19:10 He came “…to seek and to save what was lost”; those that were separated from God. Jesus found many ways to communicate that goal to the crowds that followed Him, His team, and the religious and political leaders. In Luke 15 Jesus reinforced His mission through three different stories about different situations; the sheep were lost naturally, the coin got lost accidentally, and the son got lost willfully. No matter what created the lost condition, Jesus came to find and help those who were separated from God.

There are times when every leader will be asked to give up short-term comfort and security to gain a much greater prize. Read Mark 15:15-24.

It is the day of Jesus’ execution. He was innocent of any crime but was being obedient to the revealed Word of God and was willingly sacrificing His life, shedding His blood as the required sacrifice for the atonement of mankind’s sins against God. According to Matthew 26:53, Jesus could have made a simple request to His Father and God would have provided legions of angels to extricate Him from the religious leaders and Roman soldiers who were about to execute Him. Jesus did not take the short-term easy way out but chose an excruciating death for the long-term good of all mankind. He gave up His life to gain the redemption of the whole world and for that great sacrifice Jesus is the name God has placed above all names and is the person that will eventually be confessed by every tongue and to whom every knee will bow.

Leaders do not have to be superstars or great heroes to make a significant impact. Read Mark 14:51-52; Acts 13:13; Acts 15:38; Colossians 4:10; and 1 Peter 5:13.

We know little about the author of the book of Mark or as he was also known, John Mark. Our first introduction (at least according to many Bible experts) shows him as part of the group at the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was taken captive the night before His crucifixion. Not a real flattering moment for Mark. The next time we meet him he is accompanying Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Again, not all that flattering for Mark because for some unexplained reason Mark leaves his friends and returns to Jerusalem. This act created such tension that Paul refused to allow Mark to accompany him on his second missionary journey explaining “…he had deserted them.” Mark’s beginnings didn’t show much promise that he would be a major contributor to the faith.