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.

Every leader will be pressured to focus on the urgent over the important. Effective leaders do not replace well-planned activity with chaos or frantic busyness. Read Luke 10:38-42.

As part of His final ministry trip, on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped at the home of some friends, Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha. This wouldn’t be a long stay but He was simply taking time for a few moments of R&R and a meal. By now wherever Jesus went He wasn’t traveling alone so when Jesus showed up for dinner so did a lot of other people. It is not difficult to imagine how much stress Jesus’ arrival put on the women of the home who were charged with preparing dinner.

Teams respond best to a leader who is able to lead well in their own life. Read Luke 4:1-13.

As we enter into these verses Jesus is about 30 years old and ready to start His public ministry. He had just been baptized by John the Baptist when the Spirit of God led Him into the desert where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. At the end of the 40 days Satan came to Him with three specific temptations. Jesus’ self-discipline would be tested and His very right to lead would be based on how well He could lead Himself.

The effective leader understands the value and dangers of exhortation. Read Mark 6:14-29.

John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and friend had publicly exhorted King Herod saying “It is unlawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herod’s response was to have John imprisoned. Herodias, the wife in question, responded by nursing a grudge! Ultimately, Herodias, through her daughter, got her chance to publicly exhort Herod to kill John and, socially backed into a corner before his friends, Herod had John executed. Lest we be too hard on King Herod, most leaders written about in the Bible responded unfavorably to prophetic exhortation or rebuke. How a leader responds to exhortation says a lot about their character or lack of character.

There will be times when silence is the best leadership communication tool. Read Mark 5:35-43.

Jesus’ public ministry was gathering large crowds. In fact, the crowds were so large they were physically pressing in on Him and demanding all His time and energy. After preforming a miracle, raising Jairus’ young daughter from the dead, Jesus urged those who witnessed the miracle to be silent on the issue. Jesus knew that information about this miracle would bring increased popularity, even larger crowds, and have a negative impact on His ability to freely move about the countryside.