Jesus was a terrible leader

Say what you want, but Jesus did not know how to lead a group of people. Probably because there were no books on church leadership at the time. And look where it got him!

Of course I am being facetious. Sort of.

I've been reading this great little book by Carl Medearis '42 Seconds: The Jesus Model For Everyday Interactions.' He says the average length of Jesus' conversations as recorded in the Gospels was 42 seconds long. So our interactions with others should probably be a lot less complicated than we make them.

I've been going to blog about other parts of the book but just haven't for some reason or other. However, after reading chapter 10 the other day I feel compelled to share. The title is "Don't Be So Strategic."

Carl notes,

"...when we talk about leadership and strategy and all that good stuff, we don't typically look at Jesus. I haven't seen many books - even Christian books - written about any of those things from a Jesus-centered perspective. Authors tend to draw from others such as Moses, Nehemiah, Joshua, and the apostle Paul. All great examples, by the way, but they're not Jesus."

In fact, Jesus was terrible at those things. For one, he was always letting himself be interrupted by people who had nothing to do with what the disciples were doing (like children, for instance). Or when it seemed things were starting to move forward, he would say something crazy to stop the momentum. You know, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood..." Or when he'd get a big crowd, he'd just up and wander off somewhere by himself. What kind of a good leader does that!?

Carl contends Jesus wasn't as interested in leading a group of people as he was in having conversations with people. Here are a few more snippets from the book:

"The reason I think this is so important for our understanding of Jesus' conversation styles - and ultimately ours - is because when we place undue importance on strategy, our conversations become unnatural and even downright weird."

"But Jesus was a master at actual conversation. Each discussion went a different direction. He had no prearranged method of talking to people. No cookie-cutter mold."

"Real conversations involve really listening, to the person and to the Holy Spirit."

"Resist the temptation to know what to say next. Let the other person take the lead... Walls come down when people feel cared about and heard."

The book has several examples of Jesus doing these things (You can buy the book and read them for yourself). It also does a good job of showing how this approach ultimately leads to deeper conversations.

Anyway, this was a good chapter from what I think is a fantastic book. And I'm with Carl. I think it's time to drop the strategies and leadership stuff, and be more like Jesus. Practicing patient listening with our friends, family, coworkers and neighbors, and letting the conversations go wherever the person and God want them to go.

After all, Jesus may have been a terrible leader, but somehow his movement is still going strong. Maybe he was on to something.