A leader inspires an eagerness 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 means the act or process of downloading data. As a verb, it means to copy data from one computer system to another, typically over the internet.
Download is also how a lot of training programs are set up. Normally, teachers come to class and download information to the students instead of leading them to receive the content with eagerness and curiosity. You see this when theology is taught–including in churches. In this environment, it sometimes feels like a leader’s theology is more important than the inspired Word of God. For example, in a megachurch setting in the US, a pastor often decides to preach 4-5 chapters of a book of the Bible in a 45-minute sermon. At the end of the sermon, you were not able to see the flow of the story as it was originally written. Instead, you get the pastor’s theology, or their thoughts about a topic supported by a few pieces of Scripture, downloaded on your hard disk.
So what should the main goal of leaders be, if we aren’t simply transferring all of our knowledge and conclusions to those we lead? We should help cultivate passion and a critical, thoughtful approach as they examine what we’re teaching them. Teaching them how to think is essential for the learning process. Beware though, because pride can easily get in the way. Sometimes we’re tempted to make sure those we lead think the way we do. But our teams ultimately win when everyone is allowed to eagerly and passionately examine the content and come to their own conclusions.
Christ-centered leaders possess strong conviction, a desire to share, and a heart to lead others to adopt their own convictions–instead of automatically downloading those of the leader.
Eduardo Mendes
Founder and President
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