You know that the rulers in this world, lord it over their people and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else (Mark 10:43-44)

When Jesus said these words to the disciples he might as well have been explaining how a man gets to the moon–something that had never been imagined and at that time was technologically impossible. The disciples heard Jesus’ words, but they had never imagined what Jesus was describing and certainly never seen it in practice–to them Jesus was calling them to the impossible. But Jesus not only draws a line between worldly ways and Kingdom ways and explains the difference, he models the truths he expected of his followers. Interestingly enough, though time and experience have shown those who follow Jesus nearly two-thousand years later what this kind of leadership looks like, rarely do we lead like Jesus articulated or modeled. You would think if any one group of people were committed to leading differently it would be the people of Jesus—Christians and the church.

However, if our experiences have taught us anything it is that no one needs to wrestle with what it means to Lead like Jesus more than the people who are called by his name. Too often, it seems we take our cue from the business world or from the latest high achieving or successful business leader. There is nothing wrong at all with learning from the world’s discoveries because after all –all truth is God’s truth—and Moses learned to lead in Pharaoh’s court. But to lead like Jesus means that we hold everything we practice up to the light of his example and we measure it by his aims, not our own, and certainly not the world’s. Not surprisingly, if we lead like the world expects, we are likely to get the temporary and often broken result of the world. If we want the world that Jesus promises and the blessings of life as he orders it, we are going to have to learn to lead like Jesus.

If you want to know more, please check out my JourneyWise Course: Lead Like Jesus