By David Timms
Jesus did not come to teach us about leadership. Let’s start with that. Jesus’ mission was to proclaim the kingdom of God, to reveal the Father, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
To the best of our knowledge, he did not run leadership seminars for his followers. He did not write books or blogs on leadership. Nor did he speak at leadership conferences or start a leadership coaching business. He didn’t create or leave an organizational chart for the church. He did not appoint himself as a CEO. Nor did he insist on titles or privileges. Quite the opposite, he emptied himself of all the honor that he formerly had (Philippians 2:6-7).
Jesus didn’t set organizational numeric goals (How many of these? How much of that?) to measure success. Nor did he hire people based on fit, or fire them based on poor performance. Indeed, at his death, the “movement” had mostly fizzled. His followers were few and they were pretty much in hiding behind locked doors (John 20:19). Frankly, based on his track record, few people today would ask Jesus to speak about successful leadership.
So, when we talk about leading like Jesus we immediately find ourselves in an odd conversation. Indeed, he seemed far more interested in defining followership than leadership.
Of course, there are a few recorded moments when the disciples closest to him were vying for recognition and power—arguably a leadership grab (Mark 8:34-37; 9:33-37; 10:35-45)—and Jesus contrasted the leadership priorities of the world with the role of leadership in the kingdom of God. He called his followers to forsake the naked ambition that they saw in “the rulers of the Gentiles who lord it over people.” Instead, he said, his followers should be servants and slaves.
Jesus’ call for us to be servants and slaves helped birth and fuel the servant-leadership model that has dominated Christian circles in recent decades. Over the past 50 years (since Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s), many Christians have taught that to lead like Jesus means to be a servant to everyone. But was Jesus actually revealing the secret sauce for authentic and God-honoring leadership? Or was he simply calling his disciples to resist the temptation to pursue power (Mark 10:42)? Have we made too much of “servant leadership”? Frankly, I think so.
In most instances, the servant-leadership model has tended to over-emphasize service and under-emphasize leadership. All too often, the result has been frustrated or burned-out men and women who assume that the leader must plug any gap, serve any person, do any task, or help in any way—whenever possible and whenever called upon. What could be more detrimental to both our health and effectiveness? And yet, we have precious few options when we talk about leading like Jesus.
If we are going to lead like Jesus, we’ll need to read between the lines in the Gospels. We might search for a few verses that start with the words: “Christian leaders should . . .” But alas, we’ll search in vain.
Of course, Jesus was a leader. I’m just saying that he had remarkably little to say about leadership. So, we’ll have to tread lightly and carefully into this territory. What might we say?
Followership Matters Most
If we are going to lead like Jesus, let’s begin with what he seemed to value most; not leadership but followership. That might be a twist in this conversation.
Interestingly, Barbara Kellerman, an expert in leadership research and education who teaches at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, has noted that the glaring gap in leadership education today is any meaningful conversation about followship (Professionalizing Leadership, 2018: 128). “There are good reasons,” she writes, “for teaching followership to those ostensibly learning leadership.” This sounds very consistent with the life and ministry of Jesus.
Many people want to lead, but relatively few people have truly explored followership in their own lives.
Can we truly lead if we have not learned to fully submit to the authority of others? This is the essence of good followership: not coerced submission, but the willing surrender of our personal desires, ambition, preferences, and convenience to serve someone else or someone else’s vision. And this act of service is not a box to check on the way to leadership. It is, rather, the ongoing posture of the leader’s heart. If we have not yet learned to truly and deeply follow, are we ready to provide leadership in the kingdom of Christ (or anywhere)?
This followership ultimately means being Spirit led. We follow the life and teaching of Jesus, as we also follow the leading and guiding of the Spirit of God.
Jesus modeled this throughout his life when he said to his parents, “I had to be in my Father’s house” (Luke 2:49). Later, “he was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matthew 4:1). On the night before his crucifixion, he withdrew to a place alone and prayed “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:41-42). Time and again, Jesus embraced deep and sincere followership.
Later, the apostle Paul urged the Christians in Galatia (and all of us) to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) and be “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18). Then he added, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
This is not an invitation to invoke the power of the Spirit, as though God is waiting for us to put him to work. We don’t learn to “use the Spirit” or “tap into the power of the Spirit.” Quite the contrary, this is learning to follow most deeply, to be increasingly surrendered in heart (our affections and desires) and mind (our thoughts and conclusions).
At the very best we are under-leaders. We don’t lead for Jesus; we lead under him. And if this followership mentality gets supplanted by pride, or short-changed by ambition, then our leadership fails to lead like Jesus.
Commitment to Character
At its core, leadership is not about what we can do, but who we are. In our pragmatic culture we gravitate to competence. If people can do something for us, or will promise to do something for us, we are more likely to elevate them to leadership, irrespective of their character and personal values. We tend to follow strong and capable people more than good or godly people.
This was, of course, one of the challenges Jesus faced. As soon as the crowds realized that Jesus could feed them with a few loaves and fish, and heal them, and cast demons out of them, they arrived in droves. How easy it would have been for Jesus to succumb to the simple pathway to leadership—show them power. Is this not, in fact, precisely what Satan tried to tempt Jesus with, even before Jesus’ ministry got underway? “Jesus, turn these stones to bread and feed yourself. Jesus, throw yourself off the temple so people can watch God send his angels to rescue you. Jesus, here’s a shortcut to world domination” (Matthew 4:3-11). But the kingdom of God is not established by power or violence (Matthew 11:12).
Instead, the kingdom of God is established by leaders who demonstrate sacrificial love, who are motivated by empathy, and who model authenticity and integrity. These character traits, driven by our faith in Jesus and grounded in our trust in God, are the supreme qualifications for leading like Jesus. And this “model” is not just for the church but for businesses, schools, and community organizations alike.
Empathy outweighs education. Love surpasses intelligence. Integrity is greater than effort. Authenticity matters more than title and position. Indeed, to lead like Jesus frequently means that we will lead from behind or below within an organization. It is the willingness to empty ourselves for the purposes, plan, timing, and leading of God within our lives. It is to become people of increasingly Christ-like character who understand followership at deep levels.
We become people who lead like Jesus when we become people who look like Jesus.
Not at All Squishy
Of course, there are important skill sets to learn and refine when it comes to effective leadership. Effective leaders are also effective communicators. They see a way forward that perhaps others can’t see. They inspire and build the lives of their followers. They manage teams and make strategic decisions. They achieve measurable and tangible goals and produce change.
Consequently, some readers might think that this talk about followership and character as too squishy. That’s entirely understandable. It’s easier to teach skills that we can observe, measure, and implement quickly. There seems so much to do that we might understate who we are to be. Besides, formation of the heart and soul takes longer and is trickier to measure. But this is the kingdom curriculum.
However, if we are to lead like Jesus, we won’t focus first on vision, mission, communication, organizational structure, emotional intelligence, change management, project management, or a host of other possibilities. To lead like Jesus is first and foremost to make a deep commitment to personal formation. It emerges from followership and the fruit of the Spirit of God within us. We become transformational leaders only when we ourselves are being transformed from the inside out.
This is not at all squishy. It will take more time, greater discipline, deeper commitment, and stronger effort than a few short courses on leadership.
There’s a vital place for skill development and leadership enrichment seminars, but it’s always secondary to the transformation of our own hearts and lives. We reverse these two simple priorities to our peril.
What would it look like for us to embrace followership and personal transformation more seriously? That’s when we’re on the road to leading like Jesus.
David Timms serves as Dean of the School of Theology and Leadership at William Jessup University in Rocklin, California.
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