mentorship – Amancio Rosas | My Faith Journey

When we read the Gospel of Luke, we primarily encounter Jesus as our Lord and Savior: the Son of God who came to seek and save the lost. Yet as we follow His ministry, we also discover something about the way Jesus led people.

Jesus had a mission. He developed disciples. He gave others responsibility. He confronted issues of character and commitment. And when the pressure surrounding His mission intensified, He remained dependent upon the Father.

Reading Luke through the lens of leadership challenged me to think beyond leadership as simply having a title or position. Jesus demonstrates a form of leadership centered on mission, development, empowerment, character, and spiritual dependence.

Here are five leadership principles that stood out to me.

1. Stay Faithful to the Mission When Rejection Comes

Luke 4:18–29

Early in His ministry, Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth and read from the prophet Isaiah. He announced that the Scripture was being fulfilled in their hearing.

Yet the response eventually became hostile.

The people questioned Jesus because they knew Him as Joseph’s son. As the encounter continued, their skepticism turned into anger and rejection.

Still, rejection did not redefine Jesus’ mission.

That presents an important challenge for leaders: How much does the approval of others determine whether we believe we are successful?

Leadership inevitably brings different opinions. Some people will understand the mission, while others may question it. There will even be moments when rejection makes us question ourselves.

Jesus reminds us that faithfulness cannot ultimately be built upon approval. Christian leaders must continually return to what God has called them to accomplish.

That doesn’t mean leaders should refuse correction or ignore wise counsel. Rather, it means opposition by itself does not determine whether the mission is worth pursuing.

Our foundation must remain deeper than applause.

2. Develop People Intentionally

Luke 6:12–19

One of the most interesting things about Jesus’ leadership is the size of the group He chose to develop closely.

Jesus ministered to crowds, but He invested deeply in a smaller group of disciples. Before selecting the Twelve, Luke tells us that Jesus spent the night in prayer.

Jesus was intentional about who He would develop.

This challenged my thinking about mentorship. Leaders sometimes feel responsible for personally developing everyone around them. Depending on the size of the organization, that can quickly become unrealistic.

Jesus demonstrates another approach: invest deeply in people who can eventually influence others.

I see this principle even while working with students. When managing a group of more than fifteen students, every student brings different personalities, perspectives, attitudes, and needs. Trying to personally lead every student at exactly the same depth can become overwhelming.

But what happens when a leader begins developing a smaller group of student leaders?

Those students can begin influencing the culture around them.

Leadership development then becomes multiplication.

3. Give People Responsibility and the Authority to Carry It Out

Luke 9:1–10

Jesus didn’t keep His disciples beside Him forever.

Eventually, He sent them.

Luke records that Jesus gathered the Twelve, gave them power and authority, provided instructions, and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and heal the sick. Later, they returned and reported what they had done.

Notice the progression:

Jesus called them.

Jesus developed them.

Jesus empowered them.

Jesus sent them.

Jesus received their report.

Jesus understood something every leader eventually has to learn: the mission becomes limited when everything depends upon one person.

Healthy leadership requires delegation, but biblical delegation involves more than handing someone a task.

People need preparation.

They need responsibility.

They need appropriate authority.

They need opportunities to practice.

And they need feedback afterward.

Churches sometimes become so focused on filling volunteer positions that we forget the importance of developing the person filling the position.

Imagine someone responsible for displaying lyrics during worship. It may seem like a simple responsibility, but that person needs to understand the software, lyrics, timing, pace, and transitions. Without preparation, mistakes can distract the congregation from participating in worship.

Giving someone a position is not the same as developing them for the position.

Jesus didn’t simply need workers. He developed disciples who could participate in His mission.

4. Character Matters More Than Charisma

Luke 18:18–23

When a ruler approached Jesus asking about eternal life, Jesus eventually confronted something deeper than outward obedience.

“You still lack one thing.”

Jesus identified something that challenged the man’s commitment. His wealth had become a barrier he was unwilling to surrender.

The encounter reminds us that leadership development sometimes requires uncomfortable conversations.

Someone can be passionate and still need development.

Someone can be gifted and still need accountability.

Someone can desire influence without being prepared for the sacrifice accompanying it.

This is especially important in ministry.

It can be easy to desire opportunities to preach, stand on a platform, lead worship, hold a title, or receive recognition. But what happens when discipleship involves correction? What happens when leadership requires serving somewhere nobody notices? What happens when someone identifies an area of our character that needs to change?

Charisma can attract attention, but character sustains leadership.

Healthy leadership cultures therefore cannot merely identify people’s gifts. They must also create environments where people can be discipled, corrected, challenged, and developed.

5. Leadership Requires Dependence Upon God

Luke 22:39–46

Eventually, Luke brings us to one of the most vulnerable moments of Jesus’ ministry: Gethsemane.

Jesus knew what was approaching.

He experienced tremendous anguish. Yet rather than pretending the situation was easy, Jesus prayed.

His prayer included the words:

“Yet not my will, but yours be done.”

There is something deeply important here for Christian leadership.

Jesus does not model leadership as emotional invulnerability. He does not pretend pressure doesn’t exist. Instead, He brings His anguish before the Father and remains obedient to God’s purposes.

Leadership will bring moments of pressure.

There may be misunderstanding, disappointment, difficult decisions, rejection, or even betrayal. Those moments expose the limits of leadership techniques.

Sometimes we don’t need another strategy.

We need God’s strength.

Prayer therefore isn’t an accessory to Christian leadership. Dependence upon God must remain at its center.

A Pattern of Leadership in Luke

When I put these passages together, I noticed that they form something of a progression:

1.) Mission

2.) Development

3.) Empowerment

4.) Character

5.) Perseverance

Jesus knew the mission.

He selected people to develop.

He entrusted those people with responsibility and authority.

He confronted issues that could hinder genuine commitment.

And through suffering and pressure, He remained dependent upon the Father and faithful to His mission.

That gives us a powerful picture of leadership.

Leadership isn’t merely about starting something.

It’s about knowing the mission well enough to remain faithful when rejection comes.

It’s about developing people instead of doing everything ourselves.

It’s about trusting others with meaningful responsibility.

It’s about caring enough about people to confront character issues.

And ultimately, it’s about recognizing that we cannot fulfill God’s purposes through our own strength.

The Gospel of Luke reminds me that Jesus didn’t merely accomplish a mission.

He developed people who could participate in it.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest questions every Christian leader should ask:

Am I simply accomplishing the work in front of me, or am I developing people who can carry the mission forward?

Starting well is important, but finishing well reveals much about the leader we have become.

This was one of the strongest convictions I walked away with while studying the leadership of the Judean kings. Throughout their stories, a troubling pattern emerges: leaders can begin faithfully, experience success, and even leave a positive legacy, yet gradually lose their dependence on God.

Their stories caused me to think beyond leadership as a position. Leadership includes how we respond to correction, whose voices we allow to influence us, whether we know when to rest, and how intentionally we prepare those coming after us.

Starting Well Is Not Enough

One lesson I learned years ago through preaching and teaching is that introductions and conclusions deserve intentional attention. It is possible to capture people’s attention at the beginning of a message but fail to bring everything together at the end.

Leadership can work the same way.

King Asa began his reign with trust in God, but that trust deteriorated toward the end of his leadership. Fear influenced his decisions, he rejected prophetic correction, and the conclusion of his reign looked considerably different from its beginning.

That challenged me to consider something personally: How do I respond when someone corrects me?

I recently experienced correction from pastoral leadership concerning gestures and behaviors that needed greater explanation. Although the correction was delivered more forcefully than I would have preferred, I recognized that I still had a responsibility to listen. The issue was primarily methodological rather than a rejection of my character or calling.

Leadership requires enough humility to recognize that even small matters deserve consideration.

Perception can turn something seemingly insignificant into something much larger when understanding, accountability, and vulnerability are absent. Sometimes maturity means being willing to listen even when we disagree with someone’s delivery.

The danger is not simply receiving incorrect advice. Sometimes the greater danger is becoming too arrogant to believe we need advice at all.

Who Has Permission to Influence You?

That question became even clearer through my interaction with classmates.

One discussion centered on Rehoboam, whose leadership demonstrates the consequences of listening to the wrong voices. He rejected the wisdom of experienced counselors and instead followed advice that ultimately contributed to the division of the kingdom.

Yet the solution cannot simply be, “Listen to people.”

Leaders must develop discernment.

Seeking counsel is valuable, but Christian leadership requires bringing that counsel before the Lord. Not every voice deserves equal influence, regardless of how confident, familiar, or persuasive that voice may be.

This creates an important tension:

We must remain teachable without becoming directionless.

We need people who can challenge us, correct us, encourage us, and expose our blind spots. At the same time, our ultimate dependence cannot rest upon human voices. Faithfulness to God helps us navigate the noise surrounding leadership.

The stories of Rehoboam and Joash demonstrate this from different directions. Rehoboam rejected wise counsel. Joash flourished under the mentorship of Jehoiada but later departed from faithfulness after that influence was gone.

Together, their lives remind me that mentorship matters, but mentorship must also produce leaders capable of walking faithfully when the mentor is no longer present.

Mentorship Should Build Bridges Between Generations

Another discussion challenged me to think about leadership succession.

Eventually, every leader’s season ends. Someone else will carry the responsibility forward. Therefore, leadership cannot merely concern what I accomplish during my lifetime. I must also consider whom I am preparing to lead after me.

As someone passionate about discipleship, I believe this requires building intentional bridges between generations.

But I also believe mentorship can work in both directions.

Older and more experienced generations possess wisdom that younger leaders desperately need. They have practical experiences, theological journeys, successes, failures, and lessons that cannot simply be downloaded from the internet or learned from a textbook.

At the same time, younger generations possess knowledge and tools that can strengthen those who came before them.

Technology provides a simple example. Churches increasingly use digital systems for registration, communication, social media, events, and ministry administration. Someone who grew up using these tools may navigate them almost instinctively, while another faithful and experienced leader may struggle with them.

Neither generation needs to dismiss the other.

The younger generation can provide new tools while the older generation provides tested wisdom.

Healthy leadership culture creates room for both.

Mentorship, therefore, should not simply be understood as information traveling from old to young. It should become a bridge where wisdom travels forward and innovation travels backward.

Strong Leaders Also Know When to Stop

Leadership development, however, cannot only concern productivity.

King Amaziah’s story challenged me in another area: rest.

His life demonstrates what can happen when dependence upon God’s strength gives way to dependence upon our own. That principle forced me to evaluate the rhythm of my own life.

There are seasons when life simply does not slow down. Responsibilities continue. Work continues. Ministry continues. Relationships require attention. Education requires discipline.

I understand that tension personally. Between working two jobs, serving in ministry, preparing for marriage, and finishing my master’s degree, rest can easily feel like something that interrupts productivity rather than something necessary for healthy leadership.

I have had to rethink that assumption.

I am naturally productive, so even something as simple as taking a nap once made me feel guilty. It felt like wasted time. Over time, however, I have learned that small periods of rest help relieve pressure and allow me to return to my responsibilities with greater clarity.

I am also learning the importance of withdrawing weekly. Adjustments in my work schedule have created more flexibility and given me weekends back, creating an opportunity to establish a more intentional rhythm of rest.

Rest is not the abandonment of responsibility.

It is the recognition that I am not sustained solely by my own strength.

Leadership Begins With Leading Yourself

Perhaps this is where all these lessons intersect.

Leadership is not confined to what happens behind a pulpit, inside an organization, or underneath a title.

Leadership involves how I receive correction.

It involves whose voices I permit to shape me.

It involves whether I can distinguish wise counsel from distracting noise.

It involves whether I am developing people who can eventually lead without me.

And it involves whether I can stop working long enough to remember that God’s kingdom does not depend entirely upon my productivity.

The Judean kings repeatedly demonstrate that yesterday’s faithfulness does not guarantee tomorrow’s faithfulness. Leaders must continually cultivate dependence upon God.

That changes the question from simply, “How do I become successful?”

A better question becomes:

“Who am I becoming while I lead?”

I want to become a leader who listens without surrendering discernment, receives correction without allowing pride to dominate, rests without guilt, learns from those ahead of me, contributes to those who have gone before me, and intentionally prepares those who will come after me.

Starting well matters.

But ultimately, I want to lead in such a way that when the conclusion is written, faithfulness is still part of the story.

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