11. Peter: Leaders Fail Forward
When Jesus was arrested and being questioned, Peter, the most well-known of Jesus’ disciples is in the courtyard just outside where Jesus is being held. Three times he is confronted with being a disciple of Jesus and three times Peter denies being affiliated with Jesus in any way. What makes this failure even worse is that just hours prior to his denying Jesus, Peter assured Jesus that he would never deny him even to the death. Jesus responded to Peter by saying, “before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” When the rooster crowed, Peter realized what he had done and wept bitterly. Fast forward a few weeks and we see Peter in Acts chapter 2, giving the first sermon after Jesus’ ascension, to a crowd of thousands of people. Peter has emerged as the leader of the early church. Leaders learn from their failings. They understand that failure is a part of life and leadership. They make the most of the failure by gleaning lessons from it and they pick themselves back up and move on having learned from their failure.
12. Paul: Leaders Are Passionate For What They Do and Believe.
When you read the life, ministry, and teaching of the Apostle Paul, one thing stands out very quickly - he is consumed with his mission. As a Pharisee, he zealously and violently opposes the spread of Christianity. Paul said himself that he was zealous to kill and imprison Christians. In Acts chapter 9 while Paul is on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians, he has an encounter with the risen Jesus, resulting in a transformed life and a new purpose. As passionate as he was about destroying Christianity he is now just as passionate for the spread of the gospel. Paul travels across the known world establishing churches. Leaders are passionately driven by a sense of purpose. Leaders have a fire lit under them and are consumed with their mission in life. There is no place for apathy in the life of a leader. Leaders are passionate about what they believe and what they are doing.
