I have a complicated relationship with Palm Sunday, and I suspect I’m not alone. We usually sing upbeat, joyous Hosannas, but I know the crowd will desert Jesus just a few days later. Somewhere along the way in my Christian journey, I’ve learned to see these people in a 2-dimensional caricature, shallow and fickle and insincere. But as I think about it, many in that crowd were probably genuine in their adoration and had good intentions, just like people today.

The truth is that I can quickly rush to judgment, labeling people as good or bad, allies or enemies. We all know that this is a false dichotomy. Almost everyone falls into the gray area between these two extremes. And if we don’t recognize this, we will ignore “bad” people who have great potential. Or we may trust a “good” person more than we should.

Consider someone that “transfers” their membership to your church. We tend to look at the church they’ve come from (“it has a good reputation”), the person’s profession (“she’s a senior-level corporate manager”), and some initial impressions (“his Bible looks well-used”). If they pass these quick tests, we will plug them into a hole in leadership. How often has that backfired on you?

If any of this rings true, how should it affect your leadership? It underscores the importance of not slapping a label on a person as soon as we meet them. We need to get to know their story. What is their spiritual journey to this point? What are their struggles? What has God been teaching them? Sure, this process is time-consuming, so you’ll need others to share this important work with you. Just remember that the time invested on the front end will pay many dividends in the future. 

There is actually biblical evidence that my simplistic labeling of the Palm Sunday crowd is incorrect. It’s tempting to point to Jesus’ trial as evidence that they were all “bad” people who turned on him and shouted for his crucifixion. But in Acts 1:15, a group of 120 is gathered in obedience and anticipation, waiting for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. I suspect that some of them were on that Palm Sunday road and were conspicuously absent in Jesus’ hour of need. Just as I suspect that some gifted people are ready do more in our ministry if we get beyond our 2-dimensional caricatures. 

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