The truly successful leader will train their team to take over without missing a beat when something happen to them. Read Luke 24:46-49.

Jesus had accomplished His assignment on earth and was about to return to heaven where He would reside until His promised return at the end of the age. Even though Jesus had completed His assignment there was a whole world of people in His generation and all the generations to follow who still needed to know that Jesus had made reconciliation with God for the human sin condition. It was to fulfill this ongoing part of His mission that Jesus trained a team that could take over and carry His message to their generation and future generations.

Every leader, even those with great teams, will be alone and feel lonely in leadership. Read Luke 22:39-46.

Jesus has finished His final meal with His disciples and has crossed the valley to the Mount of Olives where He and His team will spend the night. When they arrive Jesus separates Himself “about a stone’s throw” from His team and begins to pray. It was during His time of prayer that Jesus faced some of the loneliest moments of His entire life. He knew it was just hours before He would be tried, convicted, tortured, and crucified. He also knew everyone on His team would desert Him and that He would spend hours on the cross where God would not look on Him as He took on the sin of all mankind in order to serve as the once-for-all sacrifice for the human sin condition.

Leaders may have great power at their disposal but are still expected to act as servants to those on their team. Read Luke 22:24-30.

Jesus was having His final meal with His disciples just prior to His arrest, mock trial and execution. The Bible tells us He was eager to eat this meal with His friends so He could enjoy some close fellowship and help them understand His immediate future and some of what was in store for them over the next few days. But, during the meal “…a dispute arose among them to which of them was considered to be the greatest” (v. 24). Jesus used this discussion to shape their perspective. He helped them to understand that the power structure in the kingdom of God is radically different from what the world perceives as power.

Every leader will have some teammates that fail regardless of the leader’s mentoring or interpersonal skills. Read Luke 22:1-6.

The Bible tells us that at times there were hundreds of people that followed Jesus all over Judea and called themselves His disciples. From His many dedicated followers Jesus chose an inner circle of 12 that He mentored and gave significant amount of personal time. Yet, even though Jesus is the one perfect leader to walk the face of the earth, one from His inner circle betrayed Him. If in leadership very long, every leader will have a similar experience.

A leader’s character is obvious even to those who may not agree with their values, leadership style or philosophy. Read Luke 20:19-26.

As Jesus became more widely known among the people of Judea He drew the attention of some of the religious leaders who felt threatened by His popularity with the people. Much like what happens in an election year in America, the first order of business by Jesus’ opponents was to discredit Him before the crowds. Individuals were sent with specific questions that were designed to entrap Jesus. Interesting that they prefaced their questions with “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth…” God-honoring leaders demonstrate such integrity with their character that even those seeking to do them harm can’t discredit their example.