The Soul of a Leader

The Soul of a Leader

Aaron Doerr / General Audience

Leading While Following Jesus // Leaders who are not honest with their soul and their desires will harm themselves and others. We must let Jesus redeem and transform our wants into His purpose through spiritual disciplines and Christ-centered community. That is where we find our purpose and our rest.

Key Passages: Psalm 23 // John 1:38

Sources: The Holy Bible, ESV © 2001 // Barclay, William; The Gospel of John, Vol. 1 © 1975, 2001 // Mattson, Jeff & Terra, Shrinking The Integrity Gap © 2020

Today we’re three weeks deep into our series Leading While Following Jesus. Learning how to lead is critically important. Everyone is in a position of leadership at some level. Whether it’s your family, your friends, your co-workers, or a country, the world needs leaders of integrity. Rick set us up two weeks ago, describing the selfless, leadership of Jesus who turns what it means to have power and to lead on its head by emptying Himself in obedience and humility to the will of the God the Father. Then, last week, Jen gave us a profound insight into what it means to take on the yoke of Rabbi Jesus; to be a humble life learner as one of His disciples.

And that provides a great launching point for what we’ll be focusing on this week: Letting Jesus shepherd your soul as a leader. Some of the most costly leadership failures in history are connected to leaders who focus all their skills, gifts, energy, and time toward leading others, while they neglect their own soul. And as the integrity of their soul erodes inside, the sphere of influence they lead becomes a hollow, brittle, vulnerable shell that eventually collapses in on itself, damaging the lives of everyone the leader influences. If you need a visual for what this looks like, just YouTube “Sinkholes.”

Jesus knows this, and throughout the Gospel accounts, we see Him repeatedly examining the the soul of the people He encounters. He does this by asking questions that get to the very bottom of what drives us — our want, our desire. Where is our wanter focused! Why? Because we follow and worship what we most desire. Jesus is on a mission to find people willing to follow and worship Him in full surrender. He knows that the key to our soul’s integrity is to get us to be brutally honest in front of His unbroken gaze with what we truly want, and then to let Him shepherd that want toward His will.

So today we’re going deal with the question that Jesus asks us. What do You Want!

Let’s pray.

If you have a Bible, or Bible app, please look up John 1:35-39a We’ll be spending time in a few places today in the Bible to examine this, we’ll revisit Psalm 23 that Jack just in a bit, but first we’re going to revisit the Rabbi Jesus that Jen talked about last week and his first encounter with two disciples.

▶️ John 1:35-39a

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.”

There is so much going on in these 4 verses!

First of all, kudos to John the Baptist. He has a following, and yet he knows what he is here for. To prepare the way for Jesus and the point people to Him. He publicly brings attention to Jesus and two of his own disciples leave him.

Second, while the disciples start following Jesus, from the order of the narrative, it’s likely that they were following at a distance, either out of respect, or just because they didn’t have a fully baked plan yet. (Story about following ice cream truck)

Third, Jesus turns and sees them. Jesus is responsive to our interest, however distant or unsure it may be at first. He meets us on our journey toward Him.

Fourth, Jesus asks them “What are you seeking?” (Zeteo, desiring, after, zealous for). AKA What do you want! This was an important question in that day. There were many rabbi and many different schools and motives for following a particular rabbi.

Were they legalists, looking for heady, meaty discussions about nuances of religious life and law like the Pharisees (seeking control and security through legal authority), were they power-interested influencers, looking for an advantageous follow, like the Sadducees (seeking significance or power through influence), were they politically-minded, fixated on finding a political messiah to overthrow the existing secular power and establish a new political rule like the Zealots (seeking freedom and identity through ideological victory)

We all probably spend in all of these three camps on a regular basis (control/security, power/influence, freedom/identity)

Jesus wanted to know what they were after? This is the crux of what Jesus wants to know about anyone interested in Him. Including us! What is our zeteo? What drives our desire, our ambition, our fear, our love? What are we after?

Are we seeking to make Jesus a means to our own end, or is He our ultimate end?

Fifth, the would-be disciples call Him Rabbi and ask where He is staying? This is their way of conveying respect and saying that they aren’t looking for a quick answer. They are looking for a relationship with a master teacher. They want to be His disciple by going to where He is staying to have a longer time to talk and learn.

Sixth Jesus answers with an invitation “Come and See!” This is the same answer Jesus gives to people interested in what it means to follow Jesus today. “Come and See”. Jesus could have just given them an address and then walked away. That’s a simple answer to the question “where are you staying?” Jesus answers not with information, but with an invitation.

It’s sections in the Bible like this that amaze me at how brilliantly and beautifully God’s Spirit directed the Biblical authors. Not only is it the authoritative, inerrant word of God, it’s the most remarkable piece of literature in history.

The Point:

Before we can lead while following Jesus, He needs to know what our soul really wants.

Why is our want connected with the condition of our soul and our health as a leader?

Because to be in want is to be unsatisfied.

We are drawn, pulled toward the longing of our heart like gravity pulls anything within its reach. Like a ball in a gravity well, we remain in motion, circling the center of our want until we finally rest, completely pulled in. If the center of our want is not God, our orbit will be distorted and chaotic. We will fight resting in him rather than finding rest in him.

Let’s go back to Psalm 23 one of the most famous passages in the Bible, that Jack read earlier today to look at the picture the Bible paints of a life that is no longer in a state of want, but has found a state of rest in relationship with God.

▶️ Psalm 23

1  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2  He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3  He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5  You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

That opening statement should be the hook you hang your life on as a leader. It puts God His proper place as the one in charge. The one responsible for your care. It puts us in a position of rest. Totally satisfied. No longer in want. The rest of the first third of this Psalm all give us pictures of God carefully tending to us. Making us lie down. Leading us by still waters and right paths. Restoring our soul. It is about us being lead by God. In the center of the Psalm, we learn that freedom from want does not mean freedom from shadow and the presence of evil. It means we are confident in God’s protection and discipline when evil threatens. In the final third we see the picture of God publicly approving and resourcing us. Then, in verse six, there are two critical statements:

First “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…”

What follows you? Wait and consider that for a bit. Does your life leave a wake of casualties or cultivation. As a leader, ask this question regularly. What is following in my wake? Am I leading with integrity where I live out the values that I say I believe, or am I allowing darker wants driven by fear to drive my decisions?

Jeff and Terra Mattson just launched a book on leadership called “Shrinking the Integrity Gap” that deals with this very subject. It’s filled with grace for leaders, but it’s also a reality check on 10 symptoms of integrity gaps that we should all be on the watch for. They look at things like compartmentalization, narcissism, past trauma, blind spots, arrogance, etc. can affect leaders, and what the antidotes are. It’s definitely worth a read. All the integrity gaps they analyze are symptoms of leaders who are responding out of compulsion rather than contemplation.

We live in a Compulsive world that asks for immediate, compulsive responses. This creates compulsive leaders. This is not the way of Jesus.

The late philosopher and Christian spiritual formation author, Dallas Willard was once asked what one word he would use to describe Jesus:

▶️Relaxed

Not lazy, but the opposite of uptight. Driven, but not hurried, or anxious. Determined, but not desperate. Jesus’ world-changing life was lived out in a crazy, compulsive, legalistic, divisive world.

We need to be contemplative people and lead from a place of honesty and integrity in the watchful shepherding of YHWH. We need to be able to have Jesus take us all the way to the dark valleys and shadows of death where our ‘wanters’ live. Jesus will lead us through there. He will turn our wanter to want only Him. To trust Him in the face or our fear and compulsion.

Beware the control monster that wants to develop God’s plan rather than lean into His character. The Golden Calf didn’t get made because the people were okay chilling out for 40 days while God gave Moses blueprints for the tabernacle up on Mt. Sinai. Anxious doubt and hurry definitely played a part in Israel’s rebellion from God’s plan and timing. And it led to them changing who they worship.

Leaders who are doers, watch carefully that you aren’t using your gift of taking action as a means to cope with worried waiting by attempting to control your reality. Channel your action into redemptive work that feels like it is peacefully acting within God’s purpose and God’s pace.

Leaders who are thinkers, watch carefully that you aren’t using your gift of strategizing as a means to cope with your fear of failure by escaping from action. Channel your evaluative thinking into redemptive plans that you and others can humbly act on, trusting God with the results.

Learn to tell the difference between medicating and refueling. If you feel numb and detached as you lead, you are probably medicating. If you feel edgy and restless as you lead, you’re probably medicating. If you feel pure joy, or compassionate sorrow, or self-controlled resolve, you are probably in a healthier place. Feeling and living the Fruit of the Spirit is an indicator of healthy recharging and healthy leading.

Practical Ways:

1. Being Immersed in the Bible within Community.

▶️rollinghills.or/men // rollinghills.org/women // rollinghills.org/community

2. Two directional prayer.

After reading a passage of the Bible slowly. Pray. First share your honest thoughts with God. Then, before you say ‘amen,’ listen for God’s response to you. If prayer is a conversation with God, this is the part where He gets to do the talking.

Second “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever…”

This phrase has a sister line in Psalm 27, where David, the one who wrote both these Psalms says “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” What was the one thing David wanted: to live with God in God’s house. How did the disciples that followed Jesus answer when Jesus asked them what they were seeking “Where are you staying?” They wanted to be with Jesus in the house where Jesus was staying.

Gospel Conclusion

There is a gap between holy God and unholy humans. When humans try to cope with this gap, we resort to pretending, or performing. Pretending is exceedingly dangerous. Lying, stealing, covering up, blaming. Performing leads to burnout. Losing passion and interest, detaching from vision and relationships. We’ve probably all experienced leadership like this. Either in ourselves or others. We don’t have to settle for either of these scenarios as leaders who follow Jesus.

God spans the gap. Communion with God. Dwelling with God in God’s House. If we set our zeteo, our ultimate want on this, we will lead from rest in God’s character and His work. God has made a way where there was no way for us to be with Him through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Wrapping up today, I want to go back to where we started in John 1, with the disciples following Jesus. But I want you to place yourself in this narrative. Imagine yourself as one of those disciples. You’ve heard enough about Him that you’re curious. You’re willing to follow to see more, but you’re hanging back at a distance. What if He doesn’t want you? What if He wants too much of you? What if following Him ruins your life. What if following Him saves your life? Then, He turns, He sees you following Him. He looks right at you, you can tell He is looking through your eyes to the deepest part of your soul. And He asks you. “What do You want?”

If today is the day you finally want to say, “Jesus I want more than anything is to know You, to know where you’re staying. I want to live with you. I want to live for you,” then I’d like you to pray this prayer:

Invitation Prayer

We need time to listen to God. To stand before Him and hear His voice responding, leading and transforming our wants. Take time during this next song Jess and Caleb share to be still, listen and surrender your wants to the heart of God.