Lesson in Leadership

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The twofold ministry of the disciples described in Luke 9:1-17 were to drive out all demons and to cure diseases (v. 2). Many leadership principles can be learned in this passage. They include planning, organizing, directing, problem solving, and teamwork.

Jesus had put a lot of planning into His ministry because there was a need to carry out the works of the ministry after His death. He organized the ministry with twelve disciples to carry out the mission. Then, Jesus delegated power and authority to the Twelve to preach the gospel and to heal the sick.

The disciples reported back to Jesus their leader. This time there was a problem of being able to feed five thousand people who had followed them to listen about the kingdom of God. The disciples then followed the instructions of Jesus as He gave directions to solve the problem.

For many of us, the demands of our day seem much greater than our supply. We all have a limited amount of time and resources but we can find help from each other. The family unit is set up as a way to give each other help. Just like Jesus depended on the Twelve for assistance, individuals within a family contribute to support each other.

This day with God, we are thankful for this lesson in leadership found in this passage. We pray for ideas in our society to help families meet their needs and ways to share these ideas. Just like in today’s passage as Jesus distributed the workload to the Twelve, help us all participate in being a part of fulfilling the needs of God’s family by feeding souls.