By Chad Hershberger

Recently, I’ve been doing some research on the twelve disciples for a project that I’d like to use at camp. As I’ve been reading up on these early followers of Jesus, I’m seeing some distinct leadership characteristics that we can learn from them. So, I thought I’d blog about some of the twelve and what we can learn from them and their leadership styles.

One of the three in the core group of Jesus was Peter. He was born in Bethsaida, and he lived in Capernaum. As we look at his leadership style, he served as the one who was out in front of the other disciples and often served as spokesperson. I see him as the “board chair” of the group of twelve. He got things ready (like preparing the Upper Room for the Last Supper); he took the lead in replacing Judas after the betrayal, and the Catholic Church looks to him as the first pope.

I also understand that his temperament was ruled by his emotions. I wonder if that served him well. Did he get emotional about decisions, or did he rule with his heart instead of his head? He did strike Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane which probably was not a good emotional decision. But I wonder if Peter also made decisions thinking about how those decisions affected others. I wonder if he was compassionate.

We can also learn a lot from Peter about changing course as a leader. He
denied Jesus three times right before the crucifixion but was restored by Christ in one of the post—resurrection appearances. And, as we all know, Jesus renamed him from Simon. Peter means “The Rock” and Jesus built the church on him, despite his public denial. So, he made a mistake but rebounded by committing himself to the mission and moving away from his mistake.

In his last final act, Peter asked to be crucified upside down. He told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus had died. He knew Jesus’ place—and he knew his.