Understanding leaders know that real change comes at a price. Read Luke 8:26-39.

During the three years of Jesus’ public ministry He often brought significant changes into people’s lives in an instant. He would heal them from a life-long disease or cast out a demon and all at once, the truths they knew about themselves were no longer true. As would obviously be the case these changes not only affected the life of the individual who experienced the miracle, they also affected the lives of everyone who knew that individual and sometimes everyone living in an area felt the effect. Such was the case when Jesus cast out a demon from a man who for years had terrorized an entire farming region near the Sea of Galilee known as Gerasenes.

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.

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.

Wise leaders are purveyors of hope. Read Zephaniah 3:8-20.

God had spoken and the people of Judah and Jerusalem would be judged for their attitude, treacherous behavior, lack of justice, and arrogant self-righteousness but Zephaniah’s prophecy ended with hopeful words about their long-term future. Zephaniah offers a plan for repentance and helps the people see a way back to God.

Wise leaders understand that a team’s attitude must change from the inside out. Read Zephaniah 2:1-3.

Zephaniah lived during the period of religious reform demanded by King Josiah. Josiah was a godly king of Judah who destroyed idol worship and revived obedience to God, but the outcomes of Josiah’s efforts were incomplete. The people responded to Josiah’s reforms outwardly out of respect for his leadership, but they never acknowledged their own sinfulness and made changes of the heart. Zephaniah knew transformation happens from the inside out.