Holy Week

It is almost Holy Week as I write these words and so my thoughts naturally turn to Jesus Christ. Volumes have been written about Jesus as a leader and will continue to be. I want to focus on one aspect of his leadership since it is a vital part of all great leadership. That aspect is the repairing of lives.

Now, we Christians believe that Jesus repairs lives mainly by destroying the power of sin and by restoring the human soul through scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit. I appreciate my non-Christian readers hanging in with us here, because I want to explore Jesus’ repairing of lives at an almost natural level.

Like most leaders, Jesus pulled together a team, invested in them over several years, and fixed what needed fixing so that his team could take over when he was gone. He had some tough things to deal with. His accountant was stealing his money. Several of his team members were preoccupied with where they stood in the succession plan. One thought he knew far more than he actually did and corrected Jesus whenever he saw fit. Others abused their authority, distorted the core values, and proved cowardly when challenges came. None of them got it right. A few openly revolted against Jesus. One even tried to engineer a takeover.

Jesus had to repair the lives of those he planned to entrust with leadership. He gave them assignments. He corrected their mistakes. He told them individually about tendencies that would lead to failure. He taught constantly and pointed out what wasn’t working in the leadership styles of people in the news.

Most of all, he had a clear understanding of what his team members could be. He could envision them in their greatness. This was inspiring. It permeated everything he did with his team. It was behind even his harshest training sessions. They stuck with him both because they believed he was a great man and because he in turn believed they had greatness in them.

Jesus fixed the lives of his team members. Most of us will have to do the same. Good teams don’t come ready made. They have to be built. So, we have to envision what our team can be and impart confidence in this vision to each one of them. We’ll have to nip and tuck—cut away the arrogance one day and tighten up the sloppiness the next day. We’ll have to know each team member and be clear-eyed about their strengths and weaknesses.

And we’ll have to be courageous. We’ll have to be bold. No handwringing. No hoping someone else does the hard stuff. We’ll have to fix what’s broken. That’s what leaders do. We lead ourselves first, and then we lead our immediate team. If we do this well, our team will lead everyone else. This will happen only if we repair what must be repaired to the best of our ability.

Here’s an image that will help us in this. The ancient Greeks used a word for “equip” that was also used for the place at which a broken bone fuses back together. Apparently, when a bone heals fully, it is stronger where it has fused back together—where it has healed—than anywhere else. In other words, the point of the repair becomes the point of greatest strength. In using this image to explain “equip,” the Greeks were saying that we are strongest where we’ve been fixed.

We should keep this word picture in mind. People will be strongest at the point of their repair. If no one dares to repair what needs repairing in the lives of future leaders, those leaders won’t be the best they can be. They’ll be deformed. They’ll have debilitating weaknesses. They won’t live and lead in their greatest strength and power. That requires repairs. It means pain and tension and seasons of incomplete healing. This is part of the price we pay to build effective leaders.

Here’s the lesson for you in this Holy Week. Do what Jesus did. Do the tough work of repairing what you can in the lives of those you lead. Do it gently if you can, firmly if you have to. Do it with each team member’s potential in mind. Do it with confidence that the wounds you might inflict will transform into the most powerful parts of your team members’ lives and leadership.

Remember this, too. Cowardice is your enemy. Compassion is your guide.