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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, Eng-
lish Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Pub-
lishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates. Inc.

THE  LEADERSHIP  STYLE  OF  JESUS

Copyright © 2013 by Michael Youssef
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Youssef, Michael.
The leadership style of Jesus / Michael Youssef.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-7369-5230-9 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5231-6 (eBook)
1. Leadership—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Jesus Christ—Example. I. Title.
BV4597.53.L43Y68 2013
253—dc23
2013007367
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording,
or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the
publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 / VP-JH / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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 To my wife, Elizabeth,
and my children, Sarah, Natasha,
Joshua, and Jonathan

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 Acknowledgments

I wrote an abbreviated version of this book back in 1986.

Since then it has been read by millions around the world
in twelve of the world’s most spoken languages.
I am confident that this expanded and much enlarged
book will help many leaders and aspiring leaders to fol-
low in the leadership style of Jesus, the greatest leader
who ever lived.
For this I want to thank Harvest House Publishers for
their vision and the diligence of Wolgemuth and Asso-
ciates. Above all, I want to thank my very able compiler
and editor, Jim Denney.

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 Contents

Part 1: The Beginnings of Leadership

1. The Need to Be Confirmed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Acknowledging Those Who Have
Gone Before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Part 2: The Qualities of Leadership

3. The Leader as Shepherd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4. Man’s Rules Versus God’s Principles . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5. Courage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6. Gentleness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
7. Generosity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
8. Truthfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
9. Forgiveness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Part 3: The Temptations of Leadership

10. Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
11. Ego. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
12. Anger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Part 4: The Problems of Leadership

13. The Lonely Calling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
14. Doubters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
15. Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
16. Molehills and Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Part 5: The Future of Leadership

17. Where Leaders Come From . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
18. Turning Followers into Leaders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

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 — Part 1 —

The

Beginnings
of Leadership

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 1 The Need to
Be Confirmed

A friend once gave a talk to a group of children. Robed like

    a character from Bible times, he said, “I have something to
tell you—something I’ve never told anyone else before.” He pulled
open the robe to reveal a big S on his T-shirt. “Kids,” he said, “I’m
Superman!”
The children laughed. One child called out, “If you’re Superman,
fly up to the ceiling!”
My friend went on to explain that many people make claims
about who they are, but not everyone can offer proof. “The prob-
lem,” he said, “is that once I tell you I’m Superman, I have to prove
it.”
Leadership works the same way. Whenever anyone says “I’m a
leader,” that person will be put to the test. He or she must back that
claim with proof. What kind of proof ? Well, the most obvious kind
of proof that a person is a leader is that he or she has followers. If you
don’t have followers, you are not a leader.
Followers are people who believe in you and trust you enough
to follow in your footsteps. They endorse your leadership by saying
to you, “I recognize your leadership ability. I trust you. I want to be
like you. I want to learn from you. I want to go where you lead me.”
A leader is, by definition, a person who works through other
people to achieve a goal or a vision. A president sets a vision or direc-
tion for the nation, then commissions his staff and his cabinet to
achieve that vision, works with Congress to enact that vision, and

11

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12 The Leadership Style of Jesus

inspires the citizenry to embrace that vision. A corporate CEO casts

a vision for the company, works through the management team to
implement that vision, and motivates the workforce to fulfill that
vision at every level. A pastor articulates a biblically based vision for
the church, and works through the church board, the elders and
deacons, the teachers and youth workers and volunteers, and all
the members to transform that vision into Christ-centered ministry.
The ultimate role model of effective leadership is Jesus Christ. Dur-
ing his earthly ministry, Jesus worked through people to achieve the
vision called “the kingdom of heaven.” He began by calling to him-
self a circle of twelve people from assorted temperaments and back-
grounds, including fishermen (Simon, Andrew, James, and John),
antigovernment political extremists (Simon the Zealot and Judas
Iscariot), and a pro-government collaborator (Matthew the tax col-
lector). Jesus mentored these followers, taught them and challenged
them, and united them into a unified force focused on a single
goal. Then he pushed them out of their comfort zones and dele-
gated important tasks to them, and ultimately founded his church
through them.
Jesus worked through the Twelve to establish a church that has
endured for two millennia and now circles the globe. Jesus inspired
trust and followership in the people he met. As they followed and
watched his life, they became witnesses, confirming that he truly was
the Messiah—the leader promised in the Old Testament, anointed
by God, descended from David, and sent to save his people.
Jesus also shared his vision with a wider circle of disciples and
with the masses, and he inspired confidence and enthusiasm about
his vision of a coming kingdom. In the process of casting his king-
dom vision and teaching in parables, he enabled people to see his
vision for themselves, and he drew many people to his vision. Jesus
the Messiah created a community of people who were focused on
his kingdom vision, and by leading, teaching, motivating, and
inspiring those people, he changed the world.

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 The Need to Be Confirmed 13

As we see in John’s gospel, Jesus offered seven basic proofs, seven

distinct confirmations that he was truly the Messiah, God’s anointed
leader. After we examine those seven proofs, we will see how to apply
the lessons of the leadership style of Jesus to every leadership arena—
governments and corporations, churches and schools, military units
and sports teams, and the most intimate leadership arena of all, the
home.

First Witness: The Father

The first proof Jesus offers to confirm his leadership role is the
witness of God the Father. He told his hearers, “And the Father
who sent me has himself borne witness about me” (   John 5:37a).
What did Jesus mean? He was speaking about the Father’s stamp of
approval—an affirmation that God issued publicly, immediately
after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. In Matthew’s gospel
we read:

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up

from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened
to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice
from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom
I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).

In the presence of John the Baptist and many other witnesses,

God the Father openly announced his eternal relationship between
himself and Jesus of Nazareth. Here we see a stark contrast between
Jesus and every other so-called “messiah” who claims to come in
the name of God. For example, Joseph Smith, the founder of Mor-
monism, claimed he was all alone at night on a wooded hill when he
was visited by an angel; that angel, he said, revealed a new religion
to him out of a book of golden plates. Muhammad, the founder of
Islam, supposedly entered Jerusalem by night and claimed to hear
the voice of God speak to him while he was alone.

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14 The Leadership Style of Jesus

Go through the history of various religions and you hear repeated

claims of “in the middle of the night, when no one else was around,
God spoke to me.” But Jesus did not have to make unverified claims
of a revelation by night. God the Father openly confirmed his Son
as the anointed Messiah.
On a less public occasion, Jesus took his three closest disciples,
his executive committee as it were, to a mountain (later known as
the Mount of  Transfiguration). What these three disciples witnessed
that night is recorded in Mark’s gospel:
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James
and John, and led them up a high mountain by them-
selves. And he was transfigured before them, and his
clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on
earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them
Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And
Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.
Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses
and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say,
for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them,
and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved
Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they
no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only (Mark
9:2-8).

The messiahship of Jesus was confirmed as Jesus conversed with

Elijah and Moses, and as the voice of God said, “This is my beloved
Son.” Jesus was not a self-proclaimed, self-anointed leader. His right
to be called Jesus the Messiah was proclaimed by God the Father,
and that proclamation was heard by many witnesses.

Second Witness: John the Baptist

The opening chapter of John’s gospel reveals the testimony of a
second witness, John the Baptist:

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 The Need to Be Confirmed 15

And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from

heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did
not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water
said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and
remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the
Son of God” (   John 1:32-34).

As Jesus later said of John the Baptist, “You sent to John, and he
has borne witness to the truth” (   John 5:33). John the Baptist, who
called himself “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,” was a
forerunner and a witness for Jesus, a man sent by God with a unique
ministry to confirm to the world the identity of Jesus the Messiah.

Third Witness: Jesus Himself

It may seem strange that Jesus called himself to the witness stand
to testify to his own ministry as God’s anointed Messiah. But after
referring to the confirming witness of his Father and John the Bap-
tist, Jesus said, “But the testimony that I have is greater than that of
John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the
very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father
has sent me” (   John 5:36).
Later, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (   John 10:30). His
hearers understood exactly what he was saying, and they picked up
stones to stone him to death. They justified their intention to kill him,
saying, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but
for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God” (   John
10:33). On another occasion, Jesus told the people that because they
had seen him, they had seen God the Father (see John 14:7).
Jesus didn’t merely claim to have a unique and eternal relation-
ship with God. Everything about his life backed up this claim.
Through the evidence of his life, Jesus made it clear that he was a
leader to be followed.

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16 The Leadership Style of Jesus

Fourth Witness: The Holy Spirit

As we have already noted, the Holy Spirit gave his blessing and
confirmation at the baptism of Jesus by descending on him like a
dove and remaining on him. Even though the story is presented to
us beautifully, in symbolic language, there are undoubtedly depths
to the witness of the Spirit in the life of Jesus that we don’t fully com-
prehend. But we do know that the Holy Spirit confirmed the min-
istry and leadership of the Lord Jesus. The presence of the Spirit
gave Jesus the authority to preach the gospel and perform a vari-
ety of miracles.

Fifth Witness: Scripture

The Old Testament confirmed the leadership of Jesus. Prophets
foretold his coming, his messianic ministry, and his death. Some of
the most explicit prophecies about Jesus were written by the prophet
Isaiah. He pictured the birth of Jesus (Isaiah 9:6), the suffering of
Jesus (Isaiah 53:4-10), the servanthood of Jesus (Isaiah 42:1-4), and
even the announcement of Jesus by John the Baptist (Isaiah 40:3).
Many other messianic passages, such as Psalms 22, 69, 110, and 118,
speak vividly of Jesus’s life, ministry, lordship, rejection by Israel,
death, and resurrection.
As the Lord Jesus told the corrupt religious leaders who perse-
cuted him, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in
them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (   John 5:39-40).

Sixth Witness: Miracles

The ministry of Jesus was confirmed by the miracles he per-
formed. John’s gospel refers to them as “signs.” Though John cites
fewer miracles than any of the other gospel writers, the signs he men-
tions bear witness to the purpose, power, and leadership authority
of Jesus.

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 The Need to Be Confirmed 17

It’s important to understand that Jesus did not perform these

signs as an act of showmanship. An attention-seeking showman
would have performed magic tricks to amaze and attract the crowds.
Jesus often performed his most amazing miracles quietly, out of
public view, and he frequently told witnesses to tell no one. His
reluctance to perform miracles in order to play to the crowd con-
firms his words, “I do not receive glory from people” (   John 5:41).

Seventh Witness: The Disciples

The disciples traveled with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry.
They saw what he did, heard his teachings, and believed. When the
religious leaders persecuted Jesus and he spoke openly of the hard-
ship of following him, many would-be disciples turned away. Only
a few continued to follow him.
Those who persevered with Christ included Simon Peter, who
said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life” (   John 6:68). In saying that, Peter didn’t merely mean that Jesus
knew the rules of life or could explain how life should be lived; he
meant that Jesus himself was the Source and Giver of eternal life.
The author of the gospel of John was himself a follower of Jesus.
In the next to last verse of his gospel, John says, “This is the disci-
ple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written
these things, and we know that his testimony is true” (   John 21:24).

Today’s Leaders
We who are involved in leadership today can hardly claim to pos-
sess the unique qualifications of Jesus the Messiah. But by observ-
ing his life, we learn this important leadership principle: The call to
leadership must be confirmed.
What if someone walked into your office and said, “I have come
to lead you into truth”? First, such an approach would be so strange
that you’d probably call security to have that person removed.

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18 The Leadership Style of Jesus

But suppose something about this person’s manner made you

want to examine his claims. How would you know who he was?
How would you test the validity of his claim? How would you know
if this person could lead you to the truth or not? You would undoubt-
edly ask a few reasonable questions: “By what right or authority do
you speak? What are your qualifications or credentials? Could I see
your résumé? Do you have any references?”
A person cannot simply come out of nowhere and expect to be
followed as a leader. A leader must prove himself or herself compe-
tent to lead. This is true whether one is a leader in the religious realm
or the secular realm.
A pastor of a church must overcome a number of hurdles to
achieve a position of leadership. Normally, a pastor is first trained,
then ordained (formally recognized as someone called by God as
a spiritual leader). Anyone can train for leadership, but only God
calls people to spiritual leadership. Pastors generally serve appren-
ticeships that allow them to grow into leadership, to become intel-
lectually, emotionally, and spiritually more mature. Throughout
this process, church leaders and members have an opportunity to
observe and recognize the pastor’s unique gifts and abilities.
Authentic spiritual leaders are also confirmed by people outside
the church. The apostle Paul, when giving instructions to his pro-
tégé, Timothy, on the subject of ordination, said that an authen-
tic spiritual leader “must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he
may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:7).
This rule of confirmation applies in secular leadership settings as
well. Whether in business, government, the military, academia, or
even the home, people must earn the right to lead. I may believe that I
have been divinely appointed to head Apple Computer, but if I walked
into Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, and announced,
“I’m here to take over,” I assure you they would not usher me into the
CEO’s office. Most likely, I would be ushered to the parking lot.

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 The Need to Be Confirmed 19

If I would like to become the CEO of a major corporation, I will

have to go through a process of confirmation. I will have to start at
the bottom and be patient. I’ll have to listen, learn, be mentored and
instructed, demonstrate initiative and creativity, acquire skills, make
friends and influential connections, and gradually move up the cor-
porate ladder. At each level of my career, some individual—or more
likely, a group of individuals—will have to examine my work, assess
my character, and say, “Yes, he’s ready. He has earned a chance to
move up to the next level.”
Many would-be leaders lack the patience to climb that ladder.
Full of hubris and the arrogance of youth, they don’t even know how
much they don’t know. So they vainly insist that they have what it
takes to lead.
I have learned over the years how to separate in the interview
stage the leadership contenders from the pretenders. The most obvi-
ous sign of a pretender is a candidate who tells you that your organi-
zation is desperate for someone with his ability and he will save your
organization. That kind of arrogance is always a red light.
I remember one candidate for ministry who was turned down by
a church and told to wait until he had gained more experience and
maturity. His embittered response: “You are going against God’s
will.” The people on the committee were all friends of his. They
wanted the best for him. But they were also committed to confirm-
ing God’s call on his life, and at that point, they simply could not
do so in good conscience. They saw too many character flaws in this
man, and his impatient and prideful reply only confirmed that they
were right about him.
I have also seen, in both the Christian and secular worlds, people
who looked great on paper, who had impressive résumés, but who
proved incapable of leading once they were hired and placed in the
hot seat. They didn’t have the aptitude to lead, and they lacked the
confirmation of other people.

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20 The Leadership Style of Jesus

All authentic leaders must be confirmed in order to lead. This

brings us to the first leadership principle we learn from the life of
Jesus:

Principle 1
Even Jesus received confirmation as a leader.
We too must be confirmed as leaders.

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