Leaders must have the commitment of their team if they hope to succeed. Read John 6:41-65.

Often Jesus had large crowds that followed Him. Many of them hung on His every word. However, when He said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven,” many in the crowd began to grumble and said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I came down from heaven?’” The issues got even deeper when Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” “On hearing it, many of His disciples said, ‘this is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’” The result according to verse 66, “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” Jesus clarified the level of commitment He expected from His followers.

Skilled leaders know the importance of spending time with key followers, especially in the early stages of their time together. Read John 1:35-39.

When John the Baptist publicly recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God, two of his disciples heard him and followed Jesus. Jesus saw them following Him and invited them to come with Him and according to verse 39 they “spent that day with Him.” Jesus did more than spend time with these men; He opened Himself allowing them to have a relationship with Him.

Leaders are simply stewards of the resources God has given them. Read Luke 19:11-26.

During His public ministry Jesus often told stories that illustrated a principles for life. In one of these stories Jesus told about a landowner who, just prior to leaving on an extended trip, gave three men some funds to spend, save, or invest. Each had the freedom to use the money as they saw fit but each would be asked for an account of how they handled the money when the landowner returned. The landowner’s expectation was that these men would be stewards of the money he had given them and, in Jesus’ story, those who had been faithful stewards of the funds were rewarded for their efforts and those who did not steward the funds would be held accountable.

The effective leader must pass the “Commitment Test.” Read Luke 18:18-23.

During the three years of Jesus’ public ministry, as His popularity grew, many people desired to be close to Him, join His team, seek affirmation for their life decisions, and get His answers to spiritual questions. It is refreshing that Jesus always went straight to the central issues in their life that would keep them from finding the answers they sought and achieving their potential.

The effective leader finds a number of ways to constantly restate the goals and priorities of their mission. Read Luke 15:1-32.

Jesus was clear about His mission. According to Luke 19:10 He came “…to seek and to save what was lost”; those that were separated from God. Jesus found many ways to communicate that goal to the crowds that followed Him, His team, and the religious and political leaders. In Luke 15 Jesus reinforced His mission through three different stories about different situations; the sheep were lost naturally, the coin got lost accidentally, and the son got lost willfully. No matter what created the lost condition, Jesus came to find and help those who were separated from God.