The Leadership ChallengeSample

Challenge 41

JESUS, MOVING THE MIDDLE

READ: Acts 4:1–37

Jesus’s disciples were not social movers and shakers. Our text highlights the astonishment of the Jewish religious elite at the boldness of Peter and John before the council defending their public teaching about Jesus. The leaders are amazed that these “uneducated, common men” are so eloquent and self-assured (Acts 4:13). Ironically, they see the reason for the discrepancy: “they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” This made all the difference! Jesus continues to delight in using ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Leadership writer John Maxwell suggests that 99 percent of leadership happens in the middle of an organization. A natural principle for organizational success is that the more you can move the men and women in the middle of the team, the greater your impact. Leaders don’t focus only on high performers, they encourage the development of the gifts and abilities of the people in the middle of their teams, helping to ready them for what God wants to do through them.

Can you find other resources in Acts 4 that God can use to transform ordinary people into extraordinary leaders? What steps can you take to encourage and equip people in the middle of your team?