Perhaps the least likely candidate for a submissive leadership role found in the Gospels would be the Apostle Peter (also known as Cephas and Simon Peter).
Jesus chose Peter as one of his most trusted disciples and he’s mentioned more frequently than all the rest of the 12 disciples combined.
Peter was a fisherman by trade, an uneducated man, who often reacted impetuously. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he promptly defended Jesus by taking a swipe with his sword at Malchus, a slave of the high priest, and promptly removing one of the man’s ears.
Jesus calmly picked up the severed ear, placed it back on the slave’s head and miraculously healed the wound.
Yes, there was the time Peter also briefly walked on top of the waves in the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm as he observed Jesus in the distance coming toward the disciple’s boat!
He was a proud man, yet through his journey with Jesus and the others, we can see glimpses of the true potential of a submissive leader.
After denying Christ three times in the early hours following His betrayal, God started working on Peter’s proud heart.
Fifty days after the resurrection of Christ, during the observance of the Feast of Pentecost, Peter and the others in one place were filled with the Holy Spirit and the crowd of people were able to understand the disciples in their own languages.
Acts 2 gives the full account of this miracle along with the powerful message of salvation preached by Peter, which led to more than 3,000 being baptized in the name of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit was certainly working mightily in the life of this uneducated fisherman.
Let me share a few verses I recommend you seriously consider memorizing as we all enter these last days.
As written in 1 Peter 5:6-9:
“Humble yourselves therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
Let me share my thoughts on those final two verses. As followers of Christ, we need to be able to call on words like these exhorted by Peter to his fellow believers in the First Century.
And they are certainly as valuable today. I consider them to be another critical ingredient of the Submissive Leder’s Secret Sauce!
What I find most valuable in this ongoing discussion on submissive leadership is this: God remains intimately and intricately involved in all aspects of our lives.
Yes, even before our inception He already has a beautiful plan in place. Our task is to draw near to Him and allow Him to work out that plan day by day.
To God be the glory!