Jesus' Leadership #5 Willingness to Look Foolish

What does each of these characters have in common?

§  A deluded engineer

§  A magician

§  A waiter

§  A nudist

§  A beggar

§  A lunatic

§  A harem girl

§  An improper woman

§  A blasphemer

[Think about it for 15 seconds without scrolling down]

These were roles assumed or assigned to the following:

§  Noah (designed and built the ark in the middles of a desert)

§  Moses (turned water into blood)

§  Nehemiah (was cupbearer to a king)

§  Isaiah (went naked for three years)

§  Elijah (had to ask a widow for food)

§  King David (acted insane to escape his captors)

§  Queen Esther (made her way to the top of the king’s list)

§  Mary (conceived a child before proper marriage)

§  Jesus (claimed to be equal to God)

God had little use for people whose main concern is “What will the neighbors think?” Leaders must willing to sacrifice and take risks with their public image.

Jesus was willing to look foolish. And this was the key to his success as the leader. Coming into town on a donkey, having to fish to pay your taxes, and forgetting to bring extra wine during (probably one of his family’s) wedding party. Crying like a rejected lover, passing out invitations to a feast that largely go unanswered, having to stand on front porches and knock hardly sounds like a job description for a king. Before and at the Cross, Jesus being laughed and mocked at.

Godly leaders cannot be afraid to look foolish. We must keep to the plan that we vaguely sense but that only God can see.

Are you willing to look foolish as a leader?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.