As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
(Matthew 4:18-22)
Background
It was another big moment for Jesus.
Much of his time before had been spent in a woodshop. He honed his wood-making skills with tools. And with his hands. There were many valuable skills learned. But organizational development was not a big area of focus. It was time now to step into a new responsibility. It was time to recruit his team.
There would never be a more important team selection. Nor were the stakes ever higher. This cause was akin to a revolution. It needed to stick. For thousands of years. And to make matters even more complex, Jesus would only have just over 3 years to serve out the mentoring relationship before the baton would be passed. His team needed to be sponges. They would need to be doggedly committed. They would need to be fearless. They would need to be critical thinkers. There was little room for error.
It was time. The most important recruiting day in history. And Jesus headed down….to the fishing docks.
Two sets of brothers. Two requests. A similar response.
To Andrew & Peter – “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” They came.
To James & John (who was with their father) – A similar request. They came immediately. Note the word “immediately”. No discussing with their father and asking for more time. No wrapping it up and cleaning the nets. Nope. A bit rude? Maybe. Two guys who were later called the “sons of thunder” were decisive. They were all in. Committed. Let’s go. Now.
A day of recruiting at the fishing docks yielded quite the catch.
Reflections
Team selection – one of the most important exercises for organizations to enable success. Google. Apple. Microsoft. All masters at recruiting top talent. They know. A virtual business law has emerged over the years. Top talent enables top corporate performance.
The implication? Hunting down top talent is near the top of many company’s strategic priorities. The best employ a focused process. The top business schools. Relationships with the professors – early whispers of the top talent. The top companies. Lists of top practitioners – networks established with the top recruiting companies.
Jesus’ goals were big. And He pursued his top talent in the most unlikely of places. The fishing docks.
Fishermen. Their vocation had been kind in their preparation. Where preparation and mystery connect.
Preparation – Fishing success is often dictated by the details. To read the waves. To pay attention to the wind. To search the clouds. To study the insects. To get up early. To critique and prepare the nets. To work while others sleeping. To lower the nets. To wait. To raise the nets. To clean the fish. Maybe. To come back tomorrow. To do it again. To repeat. Day after day after day.
Mystery – Many times the preparation or signals yielded no correlation to the end result.
The qualities inherent in good fishermen. Resilience. Precision. Grit. Awareness. Patience. Hopefulness. Ahh, yes, perfect qualities for leaders building a church.
The upside-down kingdom perspective shakes down conventional wisdom. It looks below the surface and obvious. And in unlikely places. Jesus knew exactly where to look. The fishing docks were the perfect location to find four future all stars.
We often get persuaded to look in the same places as the world around us. We look at outward appearance. The work experience. The strong leaders. The eloquent. The talented. Those that appear to have it all together.
Our church has a lady that serves on our prayer team. She doesn’t like the limelight. And feels most comfortable behind the curtain. She doesn’t work to promote herself. And yet, she is both fearless and faithful in her pursuit of prayer. Week after week. Consistency. Always showing up.
Over the years I have had this strong inclination that heaven may value what she brings to the table perhaps more than many of the higher profile personalities in our church. A hidden all-star.
You might say an unlikely recruit. A fisherwoman of sorts.
A critical ingredient in building a church.
Lord, help me to more consistently view people through your filter. To not easily apply a popular cultural grid into people selection within my faith communities. Help me to see deep. And to catch a vision for what you deem most important. Help remind me that your best work is often done through the most unlikely personalities. And that you look at the heart. Continue to assert control of my heart. So that I can increasingly have greater insights on recognizing the same. I love you. Amen.
What if our church’s most valuable team players are similarly the most unlikely and the least visible?
What if we prayerfully sought His counsel to fill our teams with talent that reflected his kingdom values more so than some version of a popular cultural context?
What if... 