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.

It is critical that a leader constantly restate the organizational goals. Read Mark 4:1-20.

Jesus told a lot of parables (short simple stories intended to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson) during His communication with both His team and the general public. We discover these parables had a specific purpose when Jesus explained them to His closest teammates, but there are alternate truths that come out of these parables without destroying the original reason the story was told. In the parable of the sower Jesus talked about a sower of seed (the Word of God) and also the result when that seed landed on a certain type of soil (the hearts of the people). His point was that all may hear but not all will act upon the Word and only a few will have fruitful results from the truths they heard.

Effective leaders are innovators and change makers. Read Mark 2:18-22.

The Jewish people had refined and re-defined the established religious practices of Judaism since God called Abraham and established the Jewish people. As often happens, the refinements in Judaism slipped toward legalism and eliminated some of the freedom God had initially established for His people as they worshiped Him. Jesus came on the scene with full knowledge of God’s original plan and even though He lived in total obedience to God’s sovereign will, His actions sometimes looked and felt like heresy to the religious leaders since the original practices had been changed over the years.

Effective leaders have the persistence to overcome obstacles. Read Mark 2:1-12.

Jesus’ reputation as a teacher of God’s law and as a man who could heal the sick and perform other miracles had spread among the people. Crowds were getting so large whenever Jesus spoke in public that it became difficult for people to get their sick friends to Jesus for healing. When four men, carrying a man on a stretcher, tried to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus there was no possible way to get him through the crowds and into the house where Jesus was teaching. They did not give up; they climbed to the roof, tore a hole in the roof and lowered him into the room where Jesus was teaching and he was healed.

Conflict management starts with a leader’s attitude. Read Matthew 5:43-45.

Jesus was teaching His disciples some truths that were (and still are) counter cultural. In what many consider His most famous sermon He called His team to be different, to see the world from God’s perspective, to relate to people in a supernatural fashion, and to develop a God-like attitude rather than to accept the popular worldview. With these words, “You have heard that it was said, ‘love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven,” Jesus challenged a culturally accepted norm held by virtually every leader on earth.