Leadership Lessons from Santa

In 1st John 2, we find a powerful and challenging Scripture passage that encourages us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus:
4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.   Not only has Jesus come to redeem us and to bring us into a relationship with God the Father, but He has empowered us to follow in His footsteps.   Our faith in Christ will be expressed in the way we behave.   He has come to give us the necessary principles to be His disciples and follow Him, and has given us powerful tools in order to do that.   And, He calls us, I believe, to be people of influence - to lead others into a saving knowledge of Christ and to be powerful examples of the power and love of Christ in and through us.

Jesus shared a timeless and effective principle of leadership as He intervened between two of His disciples who were jockeying for position in His sight:
(43)...whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant ; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

There has been plenty written about the big guy in the red suit who made his rounds once again this past Monday.    And, I came across some material online about some of the leadership principles that Santa Claus has actually put into place - I thought some of these could be instructive for us as we follow our leader, our Lord Jesus.

Employment expert and blogger Lindsay Olson, writing on the US News & World Report website mentioned:   

Create a formula and stick with it.


Santa hasn't drastically changed his game plan in ... forever. He's got rigorous processes in place for Dec. 25, and every elf knows his role. Rather than constantly trying to innovate...Santa knows what's tried and true, and he uses it to his advantage. This helps his elves know what to expect, and it helps them sharpen their skills so that they're constantly improving.

You know, in essence, God's game plan hasn't changed...He is intent on bringing glory to Himself, and He will execute a plan consistent with that aim.    In order to do that, He has offered us redemption through Christ, and provided us with the tools to win people to Him.   His mission is clear and change-less, even if the methods might change.

The Leadership Hub blog republished a blog by Jim Clemmer, who mentioned:

Leadership Can Come From Unlikely Places
Leadership is action, not a position. Rudolph saved the day because Santa was flexible and open to leadership emerging from unconventional places during the foggy crisis. He built a highly engaged team with a strong sense of commitment to each other and their mission.

God is the ultimate leader, and He has called and enabled us to share in His mission.   He uses people to accomplish His tasks and to glorify Him.   You might think yourself to be rather ordinary, but if we rely on God we can do extraordinary things.   We are part of His team, and if we are intent in encouraging others and allowing them to step up and foster a sense of community, we can accomplish great things for the Kingdom.

And, finally, the YouTube channel for the website, www.walkthetalk.com, offers this:

Nothing motivates employees more than knowing they're makin a difference

and

Leaders set the example - every leader needs to WALK THE TALK!

How true - 1st John tells us that we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

And, I would add one more morsel here on leadership, based on the Santa model:

Know and serve your customers.

Santa Claus is said to know when you're sleeping or awake, or whether someone has been bad or good.   He keeps a "naughty and nice" list and checks it twice.   His customers communicate with him - through his surrogates at malls and shopping areas, through letters and now even e-mails to Santa.    And, he is so unselfish that he doesn't even take a salary!    

Jesus talked about going the extra mile, and said that He did not come to earth to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.    He expressed the ultimate acts of love through the sacrifice of Himself.

No, I'm not even comparing God to Santa Claus - but some of these leadership characteristics are remarkably consistent to Scriptural principles, and can be helpful to us as we put others first and realize our mission and purpose in Christ.