|
|
     |
Leadership 101: Mission First, People Right Behind It Also known as, "Mission first, people second," it is important for every leader to remember that the mission is what is most important. Let me focus on the mission part. From a military perspective, this doesn't necessarily mean throwing soldiers haphazardly at an enemy in order to accomplish the "mission." Part of "Mission first" means understanding the big picture. You have to know what the overall mission is. You have to understand how your smaller mission fits in with that big picture view. Maybe you fail the smaller mission because those same troops are needed later on for the bigger picture. Therefore, sacrificing your troops for the smaller mission actually hurts the bigger one. That's not good. From a Christian perspective we have to understand the overall mission. In case there is any doubt:
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to
obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you
always, even to the end of the age. In obedience to this assignment, we will be called on to participate with Jesus as He calls all people to Himself. Sometimes it means witnessing to a neighbor. Other times it means being the pillar of strength for our family when a tragedy occurs. Or it could be bringing home-made ice cream to the church ice cream social in the name of fellowship. And lest we forget, sometimes it's simply to lift up a prayer for someone we met just once and may never see again. We have to understand all of these smaller missions are part of the greater one. This can be of great comfort as we try to understand a "small" mission that doesn't seem to make any sense. Ever ask, "Why God, are you asking me to do this? I don't see what the result will be." Perhaps that total stranger you go up at the urge of the Holy Spirit needs to hear "Jesus loves you," because he's not heard anyone claim they loved him in a very long time. And perhaps he may go even so far as to scream profanities at you when you say it, leading you to think you made a big mistake. But that doesn't mean he won't accept Christ a week later, a month later, five years later... and you were an active participant with those three simple words. Jesus understood the big mission when He walked on the earth. He demonstrated this with examples such as Lazarus and with His own death and resurrection. He understood what needed to be done in the overall scheme of things: Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials
arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the
father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Simon Peter didn't understand the overall mission. He drew his sword and attacked, thinking the right thing to do was protect Jesus. Jesus orders him to sheathe his sword, for Jesus had to go with the detachment. The Cross was ahead. This is one of those cases where Peter probably didn't understand. I don't think any of us would, had we been in his shoes. Jesus may have tried to hammer into them that His death on the Cross was necessary, but they didn't get it. It didn't seem to make sense. I'm pretty sure I'd have reacted the same way as Peter if I could have welled up that much courage. With that said, as Christians we have to keep the mission firmly in mind. We lead in the direction of Christ. He does the rest. As we're called to perform the smaller missions, that'll help us when what we're doing doesn't seem to make sense. The Father has an overall plan. We don't see all of it. But we understand the objective and we can faithfully carry out our roles. Mission first. For Christians understanding this is imperative. |