Three marks of effective leaders…

1. Effective leaders never lose sight of the ultimate goal! In looking at the ministry of Christ, Jesus’ objective was always clear. As Robert Coleman writes in his book Master Plan of Evangelism, “[Jesus’] life was ordered by his objective. Everything he did and said was part of the whole pattern. It had significance because it contributed to the ultimate purpose of his life in redeeming the world for God [Luke 19:10; Matthew 20:28]. This was the motivating vision governing his behavior and not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of his goal” (Coleman, p. 18). Jesus seized every opportunity for decisive action, but never lost sight of his ultimate objective to redeem people to Himself (Luke 2:49). Jesus knew and understood what his overall objective was, and ultimately conceived a plan that would not fail, by calling twelve men to himself who would in turn lead the multitudes and usher in a Kingdom.
2. Effective leaders lead by example! This was by its very essence the leadership style of Christ, who called twelve men to a relationship with himself, and allowed them to simply follow him (John 1:39,43; Matthew 4:19). To Jesus “knowledge was gained by association before it was understood by explanation” (Coleman, p.39), and he gave increasingly more time to his disciples as his ministry was drawing near knowing that his disciples would be the ones who would in turn give this kind of personal attention to others. Jesus’ ministry was marked by visible, memorable symbols and behaviors, for Jesus understood the principle that “more is caught than taught”, therefore he used everyday situations to teach life changing principles for the ultimate end of ushering in his Kingdom.
3. Effective leaders take care of their souls! In looking at the life and ministry of Jesus, it is clear from the scripture that Jesus maintained a healthy balance in his private life. As the scripture states in Luke 2:52, Jesus kept growing “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” In other words, his life had balance, as he was committed to growing mentally, socially, physically, and spiritually. Also throughout his ministry, you often see Jesus seeking seclusion to commune with his father in prayer (Mark 1:35), setting a wonderful example to us, of the importance of taking care of yourself spiritually. This is especially important as all that we do in life needs to be the overflow of our relationship with God.

While Jesus could have been all things to all men, he choose rather to invest himself in a few who in turn could win the masses, and ultimately reach the world. And clearly he set an example for all of us to follow.