Every effective leader has clearly defined core values. Read Mark 12:28-34.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem the religious leaders were determined to have Him executed but it was several days before Jesus was actually arrested. During that time the religious leaders and teachers of the law questioned Jesus often about His beliefs and values. Jesus’ answers always hit a truth that honored God and pointed to His core values.

Many leaders have defined or proven their deepest values in moments of personal vulnerability. Read Matthew 4:1-11.

Jesus was approximately 30 years old. He had been baptized by John the Baptist and His ministry was about to go public. Following His baptism, Jesus spent an extended period of time in the Judean wilderness fasting and praying. At the end of a 40-day fast Satan came to Jesus with visions that would have Him go against His deepest core values for personal gratification at the expense of His relationship with God. Jesus chose to trust God. From what we read in today’s verses it is obvious that at least part of Jesus’ preparation for ministry came during this time of personal vulnerability.

Leaders must at times use exhortation to help their teammates become the people God designed them to be. Read Haggai 2:10-14.

After 70 years of Babylonian exile, God has allowed a contingent of Jews to return to Jerusalem to inhabit the land and re-construct the temple destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B. C. The construction began with great enthusiasm but had stopped. Through His prophet Haggai, God exhorted the civil and religious authorities to stop continually working on their houses and vineyards and once again begin construction on the temple. Haggai pointed out that, by removing activity that honored God’s first priority, the people had deprived themselves of God’s blessing on the project.

There may be times when Christian leaders become confused by what seems to be incompatibility between God’s character and His actions. Read Habakkuk 1:12-13.

Habakkuk’s first complaint to God was that He allowed the wicked leaders of Judah to continue in their lawlessness and perversion of justice. When God informed Habakkuk that His plan to solve the problem was to use the army of Babylon as His weapon of judgment to punish Judah, Habakkuk had an even more strenuous objection. The Babylonians were a wicked, brutal, unjust, pagan people that did not recognize God’s sovereignty and were more evil than the people in Judah. His question was how God could use a more evil people to bring judgment on His people. Habakkuk was confused by an apparent incompatibility between God’s character and His actions.

Each generation of leaders must help the next generation understand that no matter how much power they accumulate they are still accountable to the One True God. Read Nahum 1:1-10.

Just a little more than a century before Nahum’s prophecies, Jonah had taken God’s demand for repentance to the Assyrian capitol of Nineveh. The king and all the leaders had responded immediately by humbling themselves before God and God spared them from destruction. That generation failed to leave any legacy of humility or repentance and the nation returned to the wicked treatment of people that first brought God’s wrath. Unfortunately, children and grandchildren cannot inherit spiritual life so the attitude of repentance was not automatically passed on to the next generation of leaders.