My husband and I were talking about leadership recently. It seems people are either clambering to be in the driver’s seat or reluctant to be in any kind of leadership position. Like it or not, we are all leading in some way or another. And, like it or not, we are all following in some way or another. Whether leading in a position at work, parenting a child, or living a life others desire to emulate, as a Christian leader, we must first learn to follow. Maybe instead of counting our followers we ought to spend our time making sure we’re folllowing Jeus well.
We follow friends and “friends” on various social media sights. We follow pop culture. Style. Spiritual leaders. Buisness gurus. Sports teams. Famous people. Political parties and news teams. Blogs and podcasts. Weather, clocks and calendars. As we follow, others follow us.
The question for you and me is this: If we could follow only one – who or what would it be? Be honest. If you had to lay everything else aside, would you be satisfied following Jesus? Jesus may not ask us to lay everything aside, but in order to follow Him there is a cost.
Jesus makes this clear in the book of Luke:
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Luke 9:23
I often hear people say they are a follower of Jesus, but I have yet to hear anyone say they are a denier of self. To follow Jesus we must deny the idol of self.
When we follow others, even the most dedicated of Christians, our eyes must be on Jesus. If someone we’re following gets off the path or takes a detour, we must choose to still follow Jesus. The apostle Paul made it clear to his readers that if he, an angel from heaven or anyone else were to preach a gospel other than the gospel of Jesus, there would be serious consequences for the one preaching (Galatians 1:6-9).
The good news of Jesus desperately needs to be preached. Great leaders are vital. But we must not forget that leadership is found in following Jesus.
What an awesome and tremendous responsibility! We will stand before the Lord someday and be held accountable for how we followed Him and how we led others. No, it’s not about works. Jesus doesn’t make it difficult to follow Him. He doesn’t play games or try to trick us. We are neither robots nor puppets on a string. We aren’t led like a prisioner in a chain gang.
We have the gift of free choice when it comes to following. Everyone who says “yes” to Jesus gets a front row place in following Him. What is neccessary is being fully attentive. Fixing our gaze. Tuning our ears. Keeping our hearts soft. Staying close. Remembering that others are following us as we follow Jesus.
Jesus often uses the foolish things to confound the wise. The ordinary and unschooled can be amazing leaders as well as those formally trained. His Kingdom is an upside down kingdom. We die to live. We serve to gain. We follow to lead.
Paul wrote much of the New Testament, but let’s not forget he was human just like you and me. Paul had a life altering encounter with Jesus while on his way to persecute Christians. Although blinded for a time, he became a follower of Jesus rather than a follower of self or a follower of the tumultuous culture of his day.
Paul followed Jesus so closely that he was able to write:
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1
And later Paul wrote:
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9
What about you? How effectively are you leading? How closely are you following Jesus? I’m praying for myself and for you to be aware of anything or anyone we follow more closely than Jesus. May He have our full attention.
