We make decisions every day, and the patterns we establish in the small decisions shape the larger ones. Read 1 Chronicles 12:32.

The background for 1 Chronicles 12:32 is that Israel’s first King, Saul, was dead. David, from the tribe of Judah had been appointed King and was ruling the nation from the city of Hebron. Many of the fighting men from each of the other 11 tribes of Israel were coming to Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to David and re-unify the nation. This simple statement, tucked away in the middle of a listing of the men who had volunteered to serve David and who supported his anointing as king over all Israel, tells us of some men from the tribe of Issachar “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”

Effective communication is critical for every leader. Read John 3:16-18.

Jesus was able to capture the essence of His mission on earth in approximately 75 words. In fact the first 25 or 26 words of His mission statement have been memorized and can be quoted by millions of Christians even today. Jesus was so effective in the communication of His mission that most people, even those who are not close followers of Jesus, don’t even have to see the actual words but only the reference title of John 3:16 to recall Jesus’ mission. Effective leaders understand the value in developing their communication skills.

A leader’s character is under constant scrutiny. Read Matthew 22:15-46.

Jesus’ words concerning the religious leader’s lack of character triggered their anger and they determined to embarrass Him publicly. The two most powerful religious groups, the Pharisees and Sadducees, sent representatives to ask Jesus difficult questions about Judaism, hoping to show the people that Jesus was not a prophet but a fake who should not be trusted and should, in fact, be killed for violations to the faith. These leaders tried to trap Jesus concerning payment of taxes, His beliefs concerning heaven and the resurrection of the dead, and His beliefs concerning the commandments and the laws of Moses. In their society, wrong answers to these questions could bring a death sentence.

Effective leaders seek to develop God-honoring character. Read Matthew 18:21-35.

Jesus’ disciples were already leaders when they started following Him but spending time with Jesus caused them to see elements of their life that did not match His words and actions. As they saw Jesus’ consistency, the disciples started trusting Jesus’ character enough to ask the inner-hidden-deeper-secret personal questions they were struggling with in their lives. Peter asked Jesus a question every leader struggles with, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” He must have been shocked when Jesus’ answer was, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Building effective teams takes both action and patience. Read Matthew 16:13-20.

During His public ministry Jesus chose 12 men that would be closest to Him and in whom He would invest tremendous amounts of time in a mentoring process. He was able to able to be with these men 24 hours a day for nearly three years. The Bible chronicles His mentoring relationship and we find there were times when He needed the patience to explain even the simplest illustrations and other times when Jesus challenged His disciples intellectually.