A Lesson in Leadership

Introduction

When I was finishing up at seminary, I took a class entitled simply, Christian Leadership. When I started the class, I really didn’t know what to expect because a lot of the courses I’d taken up to that point were related to different aspects of pastoral ministry as well as to theological issues, not to mention a great deal of work in the original languages of the Bible. As with the majority of graduate level courses, this class, Christian Leadership, had a research paper. In the assignment I was required to search the Scriptures and choose one leader to research. After gathering the information and writing the research paper I to present my research to the rest of the class. The leader I chose was King Solomon, but others in the class chose people like Moses, Joshua, David, Esther, Nebuchadnezzar, and Deborah to name a few. When the time came to present in front of the class one thing I noticed about every single one of the leaders, be they good or bad, was the truth that they were always look to as an example by those who followed them. Examples are important aren’t they, especially for those who are in positions of leadership. One of the most important lessons a leader can give those who are under him or her revolves around the way they interact with other people, or in other words, their people skills. You might even be surprised to learn that when asked John D. Rockefeller said he would pay more for this ability in leadership than anything else under the sun! The fact is that your relationship with other people is often as important as know-how and intellectual ability. Paul knew this well and he spoke to it in the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians. In these verses Paul gives some lessons in leadership, not just for the people visible leadership roles, but for anyone who follows Christ. So, let’s read our text.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–12 NKJV

1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. 4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; 11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Prayer

A Good Witness Even Through Suffering & Insult

1 Thessalonians 2:1–2 NKJV

1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.

One of the things that can make living the gospel really tough is when persecution and insult comes your way. The apostle Paul knew this all too well and he also knew that his friends in Thessalonica had experienced persecution at the hands of his detractors. Paul understood the power of leading by a good example, or in this case the power of a good witness even through suffering and insult, and that’s important for us to get our minds around too!

Take a look at the first couple verses of chapter two. In verse 1 he says, “For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain.” That last word, “vain”, carries the meaning of something being empty or lacking in purpose. Paul’s point here is that when he and his companions preached the Word in Thessalonica, they didn’t come away from it without results, there was a purpose in what God was doing through them. The believers in Thessalonica were the fruit God had provided from their labors. However, the results had come at the tail end of some serious persecution in the city of Philippi. Remember, the missionaries had suffered a beating and imprisonment before being asked to leave the city. When they arrived in Thessalonica it wasn’t like there were crowds lining the streets cheering for their arrival. No, they were haggard, hungry, and worn out, and upon their arrival they didn’t realize that their exit from Thessalonica would be brought about by the suffering and insults they and the other church members would have to endure. However, with that said, take a look at how verse two ends, Paul says, “We were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel …”, and they did it in “much conflict”. The example set by Paul and his companion was a source of encouragement and strength for the Thessalonians, as would their example be for those who would come after them. Ask yourself if the example set by your witness to the gospel would encourage and inspire other believers, and would it do so all the more if they were facing persecution?

Traits Not Leader Should Want

1 Thessalonians 2:3–6 NKJV

3 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. 4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.

In verses 3-6 Paul talks about traits no leader should want. He lays this out with “three” negatives. (1) First, Paul says that when he and his companions came to Thessalonica, they didn’t come there with desire to deceive anyone (v.3).

Illustration: In the old west medicine shows were a popular thing and early on they were good way for conmen to make a quick buck off of unsuspecting people who were easily influenced. The medicine man would come rolling into town with a whole wagon load of supposed elixirs and cure-alls and he would often have staged people in the crowd who had been miraculously cured by using the products he was selling. Some of these products were said to be made from viper-oil which was believed to cure everything from cancer to arthritis. Over time these men came to be not so affectionately called “snake-oil salesmen”, especially when people really understood what they were up to.

Well, Paul’s point here in v.3 is that he, nor any of his companions, is like that! He’s not a “snake-oil salesman”! They’re not fakes, phonies, or frauds but what they’re plying is something that can cure a hardened heart, and it did because many of the people in Thessalonica heard the gospel and believed! (2) Second, in verses 4 and 5, Paul says that he wasn’t seeking to please people. In verse 4, Paul point blank says that his ambition was to please God and not men because it is God who does and ultimately will examine the heart along with all the motives behind it. Certainly, we should care whether or not we’re like by those around us, but not at the expense of truth, especially the truth of the gospel! Directly related to this, in verse 5 Paul says that he didn’t try to flatter anyone in order to win a convert. It’s here that I’m reminded of what Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians, he said, “… am I trying to win the favor of people or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were trying to please people, I would not be a slave to Christ” (Gal. 1:10). (3) Third, also in verse 5 and then on into verse 6, Paul lets us know that he wasn’t doing what he was doing because of greedy motives. In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul says, “… we are not like the many who make a trade of God’s message for profit, but as those with sincerity, we speak in Christ, as from God and before God.” Like I said before, Paul knew that God sees the motives of the human heart. Now, with that said there’s something we need to bear in mind when we think of greed. We most often associate it with monetary gain, but greed can encompass so much more as it can flame up into wanting what others have be it either their lifestyle or their accomplishments. Do you know what this causes us to be? A glory hound! Paul wasn’t a glory hound and we shouldn’t be glory hounds either, God gives blessings as he sees fit, it’s what we do with what we’ve been given that counts. What all of these negatives here in verses 3-6 show us is what we should endeavor to avoid in leading others, especially when it comes to how we share the gospel and our motives behind doing so.

Traits All Leaders Should Want

1 Thessalonians 2:7–11 NKJV

7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; 11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,

If in verses 3 through 6 Paul gives us the “negative” examples of traits no leader wants, now here in verses 7-11 he presents us with some “positives”, traits all leaders should strive for an want. (1) First, in verse 7, Paul talks about “gentleness”. He says, “… we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.” Let me just be frank here, you’re not going to win someone to Christ by beating them over the head with a Bible. Truth be told, there has to be an element of sensitivity when it comes to your presentation of the message. In fact, that’s exactly why Paul uses the example of a mother here in v.7. Have you ever watched a mom and how she handles a newborn baby? She does it with love and care giving of herself at times to see that the needs of her child are being met. Church, there’s a reason why NT describes new Christians as infants. It’s because they must be nursed with the milk of God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2). You can’t expect a brand-new Christian to be as spiritually mature as a 90-year-old saint on her death bed. A gentle word and attitude when it comes to the gospel goes a long way! (2) Second, in vv. 8-10, Paul talks about how much he and his friends cared for the Thessalonians. Care here also includes love and affection. In fact, this what prompted Paul and his friends to share their lives with the Thessalonians. Vv. 9 and 10 even tell us that Paul and his friends were willing to go the extra mile in order to not be a burden. Now, that’s true love, care, and affection all wrapped up into a bundle there. I think we often do a great job in our churches of showing the first two, love and care, to each other because these things we can often do at a distance. That last one, affection, is tough because it requires us to really know a person. Sometimes affection can be a scarce commodity in churches, especially in the Bible-belt south. Why is it that we are so afraid to share our lives with our brothers and sisters in Christ? It’s because we live in one of the most self-centered and individualistic cultures the world has ever known. The way most of our churches function would be so foreign to Paul I doubt he’d even recognize them. We come to church on Sunday morning for about two hours, then we scurry off to have our lunch at our favorite local restaurant, then for the rest of the week we put our Christianity on the shelf. Church, Christianity is meant to be a skin on skin, life on life faith! Friends the affection we show for one another in the church says a lot to the world about this Jesus we say we’re serving. (3) Third, and lastly, in v.11 Paul says that he and his companions did all of what they did like a father with his own children, they exhorted while at the same time comforting, and they also implored to stay true to the gospel even in dire circumstances. Friends, there are times when we all need a little affirmation and enthusiasm.

Illustration: I remember when I was playing high school football, we were in the middle of a real nail biter and I went down with a knee injury right before the halftime whistle blew. I’d had knee surgery the year before and my bad knee was naturally more injury prone. When the team trainer helped me off of the field my knee was hurting so bad it took my breath away. Since there was only about a minute left before the half, they took me on into the fieldhouse and got me up on the table. As I laid there with all of my teammates around me, I thought, “You know, I guess I’m done for the rest of the game!” About that time my dad came through the fieldhouse door and give me a good pep talk. It was just what I needed because it gave me the extra humph to get me back on the field to finish the game!

Sometimes we need the same thing when it comes to our faith don’t we. You see, these people in the church at Thessalonica had been bruised and battered for their faith and they needed a little pick me also, and Paul’s letter was sent to do just that. When was the last time you gave a fellow brother or sister in Christ a good pep talk? Sometimes all it takes is just a few words of affirmation and enthusiasm to get someone over the hump.

Where Does All of This Lead?

1 Thessalonians 2:12 NKJV

12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Now, with all that said, it brings up to v.12, and the natural question you might be asking is this, where is Paul header with all of this? He gives the answer in v.12. Paul says it’s so “that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” There’s your answer; the trajectory Paul is aiming for has to do with your walk, your Christian walk. When you stop and think about it, we’re all headed somewhere and in some way leading someone somehow in some spiritual direction. The question is how are you doing it? If you only read about the positive traits Paul mentions here in these verses like gentleness, affection, and enthusiastic affirmation and never try to make application of them to your life then you’re probably not going to point very many people to the cross, in fact, what you probably begin to eventually see is the negative traits like deception, people pleasing, and greed starting to take over. So, which way will it be for you?

Invitation

Prayer