An accidental discovery

Pastor Max opens with Alexander Fleming's accidental discovery of penicillin in a forgotten petri dish. He then tells how, as a high school junior, he dared his class-clown friend Adam to run for vice president, promising to run for president if he did. Adam filed, so Max built a campaign team, gave speeches, and, to his surprise, won. In that moment he discovered that God had given him a measure of leadership.

If you follow Jesus, you are a leader

Throughout the Bible, when God wants to do something, He typically starts by choosing a leader: Abraham, Moses, David, Saul of Tarsus. Elan's vision is to raise up passionate disciples of Jesus who lead a global move of God that shapes generations to come, and leadership development is core to the church's strategy. Pastor Max warns against two extremes. One elevates gifted leaders without godly character, and "you cannot go higher up than your roots go down deep." The other retreats into a private Christian bubble that never influences the world. Jesus said to go and make disciples (Matthew 28), and you cannot make disciples without leading people to Jesus. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are a leader.

Leaders solve problems instead of complaining about them

In 2 Kings 4:1–2 a prophet's widow cries to Elisha that a creditor is coming to take her two children as slaves. Elisha does not freak out, gossip, or dismiss her. He asks, "What shall I do for you?" and takes responsibility for being part of the solution. Pastor Max recalls a couple in Elan's first year who repeatedly complained that the sound was too loud; when he invited them to join the Team and fix it, they declined and eventually left. The problems you notice in your marriage or workplace may be a sign that God wants to change you and use you as part of the solution.

God can do a lot with a little

Elisha asks what she has in the house, and she answers that she has nothing except a jar of oil. Like the loaves and fish before Jesus fed the 5,000, God can do a whole lot with a whole little. God works not with what you don't have but with what you do have, and when you bring it to Him He can supernaturally multiply it.

Leaders develop capacity, not dependency

Elisha does not ask God to drop gold from heaven or strike the creditor dead. He invites the widow to borrow empty vessels, shut the door, and pour, so she plays a part in her own solution. Pastor Max points to the United Nations' failed food dumping programs, which gave away free food and bankrupted local farmers, leaving countries worse off, and to the shift every parent makes from brushing a toddler's teeth to teaching the child to do it. Ephesians speaks of equipping the saints for the work of ministry; the goal of Groups and Sunday Gatherings is not to do all the ministry ourselves but to empower others. He encourages people to shift from "I need a good friend" to "I want to be a good friend," because then there will be no shortage of friendships.

Leaders prepare before God moves

In verse 6 the oil only stops when there are no more vessels. Elisha had said to gather vessels and "not too few." Leaders prepare in advance, before they can see what God will do. Pastor Max shares how God revealed his own journey one step at a time: quitting a consulting job in New York at 23 for Bible college in Australia, a staff job in London, meeting Juliet there, then his parents' basement, Nashville, and Florida before God said to plant a church in Chicagoland at Christmas 2020. God rarely hands out a thirty-step road map; He reveals the next step only when you take the one in front of you. If God made you a CEO tomorrow, you would need to have done the unseen work in advance to handle it.

Where do you need to make room?

God is never the limiting factor; we are. Pastor Max closes by asking where you need to make room for God and prepare in advance. You may not need physical jars, but God is doing something in your life, and if you bring what you have and prepare now, you will be ready when He turns the oil on.