We often wonder how to get along with a group of people who have very different personalities and backgrounds. Should we surround ourselves with people just like us so we can feel safe and unchallenged? Many leaders choose only those who agree with them. My friend Clint Hurdle shared why you must have different voices in the room or every meeting is a narcissistic waste of time. Here is Clint’s comment.

“I would tell my staff that I could simply surround my desk with bobbleheads and tap their heads if I wanted blind agreement in the room. I would offer my plan and the bobbleheads would nod yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I’ve been that guy nodding while my heart shouted no! I’ve also had colleagues agree with me hoping to gain my favor instead of helping me make the best decision. I can’t be surrounded by bobbleheads. I need people who are going to tell me the truth. This was the consistent mantra in the room when I was the manager.”

“Tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.”

Clint is releasing a new book on February 11th entitled Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball. I highly recommend you purchase and enjoy the wisdom of my friend as he tells stories of life and faith.

So what should we do when putting together a leadership team? I think we have a pretty good leadership example in Jesus as He chose his Apostles. I always tended to rush through the list of the names to get to the stories. Last week I dove into the unique group of men Jesus assembled to follow Him.

These are the twelve he chose:

Simon (whom he named Peter),
James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”),
Andrew,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Thaddaeus,
Simon (the zealot),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). (Mark 3, NLT)

The first observation is that Jesus completely obliterated our tendency to be drawn to people of power, financial status, and educational prominence. If you were launching a crucial three year training program to spread the Word of God would you pick ordinary and unrefined followers to make up your team? That is who Jesus is. His choice was not defined by their status but their hearts and willingness to follow Him. He needed a different and unique skill set from each one in the group. The choice of Judas Iscariot seems so wrong but Jesus knew that the Father’s plan needed to be finished. Let’s look at the other eleven to see the how challenging this room might look without the unifying love of Jesus.

Peter: Passionate. Impulsive and often unable to keep his mouth shut when he should. Jesus loved His heart and made this often frustrating follower a key element in the building of the church.
Andrew: An early disciple of John the Baptist who became the first to follow Jesus and willingly introduced his older brother Peter to Jesus.
James and John: They were sons of Zebedee who were known for their intense passion that sometimes played out as pride and anger. Wonder why Jesus tagged them the Sons of Thunder? This might be a clue.

He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. (Luke 52-55, NLT)

Jesus looked past the impulsive mouth of Peter and the ungodly anger of the James and John. He saw their hearts. He loved them. And they got to witness the miracle of the Transfiguration outlined in Luke 9:28-35. By the way, that was another time that Peter popped off awkwardly.

Phillip: Not much is known about him but he knew that this was the Messiah the prophets had foretold and he shared that with Nathaniel.

Nathaniel: He dissed the community of Nazareth (John 1:46-51, NLT) yet Jesus recognized his heart as a man of complete integrity.

Matthew: How about this addition? A man hated by the Jews for abusing his fellow countrymen with unfair taxation and loyalty to the Romans. Again, pretty sure that would not happen if I were assembling a team but Jesus saw his unique potential to spread the message of the Gospel.

Thomas: When you bring in a person nicknamed “Doubting Thomas” you have obviously not secured a bobblehead. His tough questions and seeking of truth were invaluable to the trust of others.

James the Less: Probably not the title I would desire but He was chosen by Jesus. We will find out some day exactly the impact this humble servant had.

Simon the Zealot: A passionate activist is the kind of person that many of us avoid today. Jesus knew if he transferred that passion to the message of redemption and forgiveness he would be an invaluable asset.

Judas, Son of James: We don’t know much about him except he grew impatient with the Lord sharing His truths (John 14:22) with the Apostles and not more openly with the world. I am sure he figured it out after the Resurrection.

What a group! Would you think this odd mix of men would be the kind of leadership team that could lead well and make a difference for eternity? My view from afar would be absolutely not. What caused this ragamuffin group to begin the revival that is still changing the world?

The love of Jesus.

And the unity they shared when they saw God’s plan for salvation completed with the trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. These common men unified by Jesus proclaimed the Gospel fearlessly.

Jesus showed us how to love and get along with a challenging group. You need honesty, trust, love, the willingness to listen, and accountability. That is incredibly difficult without a point of unity. Paul told us what that point of unity must be.

“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”
‭‭(1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

We have that ability to be unified in Christ. Can those of us who differ on some issues focus on that? I wonder what a difference we could make. Those eleven (plus a later addition) made a pretty good difference.