Developing Leaders – Part 3

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Part 3. Jesus’ team building model

It is always wise to look at Jesus. What did He do in order to assemble His team? First of all He must have prayed and listened, because He only ever did what His Father told Him to do (Jn 5:19; 5:30). Then Mark 3:13-16 affords us the following insights:

“[He] called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.”

There are several clear steps here from which we may learn:

1. He called those He wanted

It is important that leaders affirm those they call to work with them. They should want to be together. I have seen many teams/groups who don’t really like each other, let alone want to work together!

2.  They came to Him

The disciples responded positively to Jesus. They wanted to be with Him and affirmed His leadership. A decision to stand alongside the one who calls is important.

3. He appointed twelve – designating them apostles

This tells us that a clear role for each person is important. It may change and develop over time, but we should be as specific as possible in pinpointing both people’s gifts and their function within the team.

4. That they might be with Him

So many senior leaders fail here. Much good discipling and team growth occurs organically when those who are “called” spend time together. In the context of simply “being together” Jesus was able to teach, train and trust His men. I am saddened when I hear younger men say that their relationship with their senior leader is purely professional. This misses the effectiveness of imparting leadership skills just by being an effective role model in many different contexts.

5.That He might send them out to preach and to have authority…

Jesus took the time to prepare His disciples thoroughly. He trained them in order to release them to go out and do what He did. Yet Jesus wasn’t just making clones. Read the Scriptures and you will discover that Jesus used different methods to call each team member to Himself. He treated each one as an individual. The gospel of God’s love and grace doesn’t make faceless robots of us. Rather it releases every person into their unique and full potential.