Developing Others as Leaders

6.1 Devotion. Assignment Peter

Getting Started

Jesus gave His disciples specific instructions to carry on after His crucifixion and resurrection.

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:15-19

Matthew 16(new tab)  describes Jesus calling Peter a rock and stating that He will build His church on Peter. Jesus goes on to tell Peter that He will resource Peter with the keys of the kingdom of heaven and will give him authority both in heaven and on earth. Jesus gives Peter the responsibility, authority, and resources to get the job done.

But somehow, in the chaos of Jesus’s trial and crucifixion, Peter loses sight of what Jesus has asked him to do, denying Jesus three times. After His resurrection, Jesus reinstates Peter in John 21:15-17

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

What we witness in  John 21(new tab) , is that it is never too late to start doing the right thing. No matter how you have led in the past, you now know how to lead better, and there is nothing preventing you from doing so. Just as Jesus reinstated Peter as a leader, His call to the Christian leader still stands.

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Integrate faith perspectives with personal development and professional practice as a leader.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.

2. Review the information in the Getting Started section.

3. You may want to refer to your personal Bible for a preferred translation.

4. Write a half-page reflection paper (Word document) that shares your insights on the following questions:

a. How might Peter’s example serve as an encouragement to you to start from where you are?

b. How has this devotional series over the past six weeks of this course influenced your understanding of what it means to follow Jesus? Develop others?

c. What did you learn that you didn’t already know or what was unexpected?

d. What, if anything, do you intend to do with any new knowledge that you have gained?