MORE THAN AN EXIT: LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE ASCENSION

We don’t talk about the Ascension enough. It’s one of those events in scripture we tend to skim over: Jesus lifted into the sky, waving goodbye … and that’s it. Cue the next chapter. 

When we treat the Ascension merely as Jesus’ exit from his earthly life, we miss its magnificent implications for leadership, and for our work in Lutheran learning communities. 

Jesus was taken up while blessing them. Read that again. He didn’t leave with a command. He didn’t drop a guilt trip. He didn’t remind them of their failures or lecture them on their responsibilities. He lifted his hands in blessing … and then ascended. 

What a way to lead. 

The final image the disciples had of Jesus wasn’t his back disappearing into the clouds. It was his face – radiant, alive, victorious – and his hands outstretched in divine affirmation. That’s the model of leadership we’re called to reflect: not control, not perfection, not performance; but blessing. 

In our learning communities, we face competing agendas, tightening budgets, governance complexities, staffing challenges, shifting educational needs, and the invisible emotional load that comes with serving young people and their families. It’s easy to get buried in the bureaucracy and to measure our leadership by how many problems we solve, how much we know, and how hard we push. 

The Ascension invites us to ask ourselves: What if the greatest legacy of my leadership isn’t what I build, but what I bless? 

What if, in every meeting, every decision, every carpark conversation, you chose to leave people with spiritual encouragement – something of Christ’s grace lingering in your tone, your presence and your vision? 

Jesus didn’t stay to micromanage. He had spent time walking with his followers, teaching them, shaping their hearts, and revealing a Kingdom mindset. And then, with hands lifted in blessing, he entrusted the mission to them – not because they were ready in the world’s eyes, but because he knew what the Spirit would do in and through them. His departure wasn’t abandonment – it was activation. Or, as I like to call it, a divine handover. 

That’s the radical logic of the Ascension: Christ withdrew in body so his presence could live more deeply in his people. Leadership didn’t vanish; it multiplied. What was once carried by one would now be carried by many – not in their own strength, but in his.  

As leaders in Lutheran education, we are the people God trusts with sacred responsibility. Not because we’re flawless, but because we’re called, and because the Spirit fills the gap between what we have and what is needed. 

So, lift your eyes. The Ascension reminds us that leadership isn’t about holding everything together. It’s about pointing upward, leading with blessing, and trusting the Spirit to do what only God can do.