Throw in the towel

In an article titled “applying the towel,” covering a dialogue between Rick Sessoms and Colin Buckland over their work called “the king who led with a towel,” many Jesus leadership issues were discussed. They surmised three distinctive features of Jesus’ style of leadership. First, that Jesus led his followers by creating a relationship. Rick and Colin use Jesus with Simon Peter as an example where Jesus entered Peter’s world of fishing, helped him catch the fish, then invited Peter to join him. Second, that Jesus’ power was activated in influence not coercive power. They mention the fact that Jesus came as a socio-economic lower class person, instead of a political or religious head, as an example of his desire to influence a free-will choice to follow him and not an order or command. Third, that Jesus prioritized his follower’s kingdom potential over his own benefit as their leader. In their words, “Jesus did not invest His life in others to build a successful organization. Jesus invested His life in others so that they could grow to their maximum Kingdom potential.” The twelve, became eleven, would successful spread that kingdom message and power despite the higher religious and governing body’s power of position over them. Thus, Jesus invested his time well, in the right people, who when the time came fulfilled the potential that Jesus saw in them. If we can learn from this model the need for relationship building, proper influence seeking free-will followers, and the heart of potential not title, then we will certainly have healthier leaders.