A Leader Inspires a Desire to Learn

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Acts 17:11

"Download" is a computer term that has two meanings. As a noun, it refers to the act or process of downloading data. As a verb, it means to copy data from one computer system to another, usually over the internet.

Download is also how many training programs are structured. Usually, teachers show up to class and download information to students, rather than leading them to receive the content with eagerness and curiosity. We see this when theology is taught — including in churches. In that environment, it can sometimes seem as though a leader’s theology matters more than God’s inspired Word. For example, in a megachurch in the U.S., a pastor often decides to preach four or five chapters from a book of the Bible in a 45-minute sermon. By the end of the sermon, you haven’t been able to see the flow of the story as it was originally written. Instead, you received the pastor’s theology, or his thoughts on a subject supported by a few Scripture passages, downloaded to your hard drive.

So what should the main goal of leaders be, if we are not simply transferring all of our knowledge and conclusions to those we lead? We should help cultivate passion and a thoughtful, critical approach as they examine what we are teaching. Teaching people how to think is essential to the learning process. But be careful, because pride can easily get in the way. Sometimes we are tempted to make sure those we lead think like we do. But our teams ultimately win when everyone can examine the content with eagerness and passion and come to their own conclusions.

Christ-centered leaders have strong convictions, a desire to share them, and a heart willing to guide others to embrace their own convictions — instead of automatically downloading the leader’s.