How Christmas Changes Your Leadership

One of my most memorable Christmas gifts was a brand new Xbox 360 when I was in sixth grade. My dad, who lived in a different state from me, got me the Halo 3 edition, the envy of all of my friends. It served me well for many years. Then, in high school, Call of Duty: Black Ops was released and consumed nearly all of my free time. Among the hundreds of hours I put into that game, my favorite memory was when my dad got his own Xbox 360, so that he could play online with me.

He was terrible at it. He didn’t have a microphone to talk. He didn’t know how to aim or shoot. I eventually put him in a game with computers on the lowest difficulty so that he could at least have a chance. Looking back, it is easy to see why this was so memorable for me even to this day. He became like me so he could be with me. Under normal circumstances, he would have never bought a video game console or played online, but he took on my hobby and interest in order to spend time with me. This is the wondrous truth of the Christmas story: that Jesus became like us to be with us.

This transformational truth is called the Incarnation, which means the Son of God took on flesh. By the conception of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the virgin Mary, He took on a human nature, in addition to His divine nature, and all of the pains, hunger, temptations, and weaknesses that come with it, yet without sin (cf. Hebrews 4:15). John 1:14 explains why: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” First, in affirmation of the name “Immanuel”, meaning God with us, He takes on flesh to dwell among us. Second, He takes on flesh to reveal God to us. Without compromising who He is, Christ became like us to be with us and to show us who God really is (cf. Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:2-3).

INCARNATIONAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP

While this truth has enormous Christological implications, it also has important implications for leadership, especially in youth ministry. Leadership in youth ministry must be incarnational. Incarnational leadership involves coming to the student’s level, speaking a language they can comprehend, and being genuinely involved in their lives. It means knowing what problems they are facing, understanding it from their perspective, and empathizing with their struggles. It means being genuinely interested in what they are interested in, not just for the opportunity to share the gospel, but out of genuine love for them. As the Apostle Paul says to the Thessalonians, “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

Incarnational leadership does require change, but never compromise. Jesus took on humanity without compromising His divinity. Jesus lived, and still lives, an embodied life like us, yet without the sin that plagues our earthly experience. Therefore, to be truly incarnational is to maintain the spiritual standards of a qualified leader. We must not step into foolishness or sin, making friends with the world, in order to win or share life with our students. Jesus’ holiness and power in the midst of a sinful world are what so powerfully communicated the holiness of God. In a similar way, our convictions before God and others show what matters to God and invite our students to orient their lives around those things. When we are willing to compromise our walk to show Jesus, we actually stop truly showing Jesus. 

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR INCARNATIONAL LEADERSHIP

So, how does following the example of the Incarnation of Christmas actually work in the day-to-day of student ministry? First, we must be willing to become like students to be with them. Perhaps, like my dad, you plug in the Xbox and play online with your students. Maybe you start studying up on college football so you have something to talk about on Sunday morning after a big game day. Like Jesus, be willing to go to “their world,” rather than always asking them to come to “your world,” the church. Let them see what it looks like for a Christian to cheer on a football team or play pick-up basketball. Show them what a person captivated by God’s grace looks like at their level.

Second, we do not have to, and must not, compromise who we are in order to share our lives and God with them. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to become a teenager to relate to teenagers. You don’t have to wear the latest trendy brand. You certainly do not need to become immature, wear inappropriate clothing, or make inappropriate jokes to be like them. You can be “you” and still be relatable. This requires us to be very intentional about the things we take on in order to be relatable. Referencing a trend they like may get a quick laugh, but is it an inappropriate trend? An easy way to gain trust is to complain about their parents, but does that help them learn how to honor their parents even when they do things that are dishonorable? While we must be sacrificial in how we become like them, we must also be picky, letting God’s word guide our decision-making.

As you reflect on the wonder of the Incarnation this Christmas season, remember that it showcases Christ’s humility. A humility that we can take upon ourselves if we are willing to adopt the mind of Christ. It may not always be comfortable, but it shows that we are not looking out for our own interests, but the interests of our students (Philippians 2:4). We must be willing to leave our comfort zone, what is safe, in order to show the incredible love of God in Christ. To close, let us reflect on this incredible Christmas passage, which shows us the lengths to which Jesus was willing to go to glorify God and rescue us:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:5-8

Share your thoughts with others in our YM360 community:

1. Can you think of anyone in your life who became like you to be with you?
2. What are some ways that you can get out of your comfort zone to relate to students?

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