Jesus' Secret to Leading With Authority

I recently spoke with a young leader named Andrew about leadership and authority. More specifically, our conversation centered around the role of messages and messengers. Which is more important? His fascination with the topic stemmed from the story of an older, seasoned leader who affected tremendous change in one of his friends his with just a few, simple words.

"How do I get that in my life? He asked."

Great question, young man. We approached the topic from several angles and landed on at least one rock-solid reality: For a message to carry maximum authority, the message must become one with the messenger. It must "become flesh and dwell among us." Incarnation is the term we use at Christmas to describe "God with us." Perhaps this is Jesus' secret to leading with authority. He became the message. Everyone knows that becoming is the hardest part. We might say that "great messages are abundant, but great messengers are few."

How do you measure and multiply your authority to lead? How "weighty" are your words? What is your direct capacity to bring about change? How willing are you to become and acclimate to new levels of your life to carry authority? All great questions for leaders who want to influence the world in positive ways.

Jesus' words and leadership didn't carry the same weight as the religious leaders of His day. The Christmas message is the difference; incarnation. The humility demonstrated by Jesus is insane to most of us. He became God's message in the flesh and His "way" took him from a lightweight division to a heavyweight contender. Jesus knew that as leaders, we can't give what we don't possess and we can't take others where we've not been willing to go.

After contemplating Andrew's questions further, I decided that a mentor of mine Stephen Graves offers a unique perspective on leading with authority in his article about clout, called "What Kind of Boxer Are You?" He defines clout as "the direct, authoritative, cut-through-the-red-tape attitude and position necessary to produce results." Jesus certainly had clout if we're standing by this definition.

He says: "At the end of the day, clout is all about direct impact...Like Jim Braddock, you want to land a punch and land it on something worth hitting."

Can you land a punch?

Are you punching something worth hitting?

I want to be able to land a punch. I also want to make sure my punches are aimed at "something worth hitting." Jesus was a Man who could land a punch. Jesus was also clear on what he was punching. Robert Coleman in his brilliant book: Master Plan of Evangelism noted this: "His objective was clear: He intended to save out of the world a people for himself and to build a church of the Spirit which would never perish. No one was excluded from his gracious purpose. His love was universal – he died for all sins and all people;"

However, the becoming, the acclimating, the growing is not without struggle. Like I said before, we all know the hardest part of leadership is self-leadership.

I've discovered at least 5 barriers to leading with authority: (would you add anything to this list?)

1. A Tendency Towards Self Preservation

2. Lack of Self-Awareness

3. Lack of an Outside Perspective

4. Fatigue

5. Distraction

CS Lewis said: "The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this or exhibits this, or results from this."

Perhaps it's also true in our journey of becoming. Every other aspect of leadership prepares for our becoming, exhibits our becoming, or results from our becoming.

Three Questions For Reflection:

1. Are you intentionally growing your authority/clout as a leader?
2. If you can land a punch, are you punching something worth hitting?
3. How will you help others grow in their authority as leaders?