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.

Every effective leader has clearly defined core values. Read Mark 12:28-34.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem the religious leaders were determined to have Him executed but it was several days before Jesus was actually arrested. During that time the religious leaders and teachers of the law questioned Jesus often about His beliefs and values. Jesus’ answers always hit a truth that honored God and pointed to His core values.

Great leaders are not afraid to confront wrongdoing and stand up for what is right.  Read Mark 11:12-19.

Jesus was secure in His identity and mission. He had arrived in Jerusalem for what would be his last visit and when He arrived He visited His Father’s house, the Temple. While some of the business conducted in the temple’s outer courts provided traveling pilgrims with sacrificial animals for their offering, many of the people doing business in the Temple’s outer courts were doing business and hawking wares for profit and not to benefit the worshiper or to bring honor to God. Jesus did not seek permission to confront what was an obvious unfair, unauthorized, illegitimate use of the Temple’s outer court.

In every culture God-honoring leaders have universally recognized the virtue of justice and the treacherous nature of injustice. The effective leader understands that justice must be a priority and must be carried out properly and effectively. The Old Testament prophet Micah offered a simple key to leading justly. “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:7-8).

God demands that everyone act with justice and mercy but the stakes go up when leaders are involved. Leaders have influence and decide when customers are treated fairly and their team receives equal pay for equal work. Leaders decide who is promoted, who is transferred, who is hired and who is fired. Leaders often determine who is put in danger and must sort out the morass of ethical questions with justice and fairness. Leaders must be proactive and, like Jesus in the Temple, cannot allow obvious injustice to go unchallenged.

Do you turn your back on injustice because it may put you at risk with others in positions of authority? Leaders would do well to remember a statement by former British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher, “What great cause would have been fought for and won under the banner, ‘I stand for consensus’?” When a leader is proactive to bring justice to bear, there is seldom a consensus. God-honoring leaders are not afraid to confront wrongdoing and stand up for what is right.

A leader’s desire for greatness is good. It is the formula for greatness that can become a problem. Read Mark 9:33-37.

When Jesus confronted His disciples for arguing over which of them was greatest, they felt embarrassed. Jesus’ example had been that true greatness is measured by how leaders serve others not who achieves the most positional authority. Jesus’ formula for greatness did not center on pleasing other men but pleasing God. He made it clear that service to others is a measure of service we give to God. The Biblical formula to becoming a great leader is measured by how leaders serve others and thus serve God.

God-honoring leaders translate standards into values/principles that guide personal conduct and relationships with others. Read Mark 7:1-23.

The Pharisees, the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, held to the fine points of Scripture and religious tradition but they had not translated those standards into values to live by. They lived by the letter of the law and in verse nine Jesus says, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions.” They had let go of the reason for the command from God and turned it into something legalistic that demanded unquestioned adherence, ignoring the original intent.