It’s election time, and all the candidates are talking about leadership. Leadership in the buzz word in business, organizations and there is no shortage of people talking about leadership in the church. I have half a dozen books within eye shot that deal exclusively with the issue of leadership. We talk about leadership a lot, but I want to talk about something a little different. Followership.
I heard from Chris Tomlin once where he was talking about leading worship. He talked about how often time worship leaders spend a great deal of energy trying to get the congregation to worship, until he realized that wasn’t his job. His job is to worship God in a way that others can follow him. He can’t make people worship, be can only be the example. He shifted his focus from being the Worship Leader to the Lead Worshiper. That really struck me.
I don’t want to be the leader. We have spend too much time trying to be in charge. There have been leaders all through out the Bible who lead people astray. The Old Testament is full of kings who lead the nation astray. The Pharisees were religious leaders, and they led a large group of people. Jesus wasn’t very complementary of the leadership, even if it was very successful.
As Christians who have been put in positions of authority, we need to learn from the negative example of the Pharisees. We don’t need to be leaders, we have a leader. We need to follow the example from Chris Tomlin, instead of being the leader, we need to become the lead follower. Yes, we need to be out in front, we need to be setting the example, but doing so by following Jesus. We need to spend time in prayer and studying scripture and getting direction. We need to talk about following, being disciples and submitting to the authority of Christ. We are not the Generals, He is. We are Captains and Sergeants, we lead the smaller squads in this mission, but He gives direction.
I often wonder if we took this model how much better would we get along? We have so many different ideas, going in so many directions and pushing for so many agendas. How much of this is our desire to lead, our need to be in charge, and how much is us following Christ? Do we take the pulpit every Sunday, filled with pride because a room full of people is hanging on our every word? Have we filled our rhetoric with speeches of how people need to submit to our leadership? Have we begun to think of ourselves as God’s Anointed, when that position belongs to Christ alone (Christ meaning “Anointed of God”)? Maybe it’s time for us to abandon the position of leader and take up the mantle of lead follower.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
The pastor of the UMC church I was a member of during my freshman year at A&M always referred to himself as the undershepherd. I really appreciated that approach.
sounds like you want to facilitate by inviting the congregation to be more active and to worship together ‘in community’ as a body . . .
if so, how would you encourage a more active unity in worship?
Christiane, I read something interesting about the “first follower”. Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ
I think this is how we encourage and create worship. We need to follow, and we need to show others how to follow.
I think God’s creatures can sometimes help us along by setting examples to follow . . . it can very humbling, too, when we realize this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRmLjv5BzSo
Thanks Greg. No one else gonna say anything?
perhaps ‘following’ is less a ‘word thing’ and more of an action lived
I agree with what Chris Tomlin said and have adapted my own worship ministry in the same idea. I like it because Paul said the same thing in 1 Cor 11:
1)PATTERN YOURSELVES after me [follow my example], as I imitate and follow Christ (the Messiah).
2)I appreciate and commend you because you always remember me in everything and keep firm possession of the traditions (the substance of my instructions), just as I have [verbally] passed them on to you.
3)But I want you to know and realize that Christ is the Head of every man, the head of a woman is her husband, and the Head of Christ is God.
I like it becasue it keeps the focus on Jesus. I like it becasue it keeps me honest. I like it becasue it has empowered my worship teams to know that though I’m the “worship pastor” (choosing the music, coordinating with the pastor, etc) on Sunday, we are all lead worshippers hoping the congregation joins us in praising God.
I think of preaching in the same vein when I did that: I preached to myself first. I held myself accountable to what I’ve seen in the Word AND I pointed out to the congregation in the sermon what I learned or hadn’t previously seen/known. I didn’t stand in the pulpit as the one great know-it-all and deliver a divinely delivered sermon, I stood and delivered the divinely delivered sermon as the FIRST RECIPIENT of many.
It is much easier to follow someone who exhibits the qualities of a follower of Christ than it is to follow someone who only tries to exhibit the qualities of a leader of man. Thanks Dan for the reminder!
Matt 20:20-28 and Mark 10:35-45
Note the phrase, “It shall not be so among you.” Then Christ turns leadership on its head and says that whoever would be first must be a slave. We get into too much trouble not doing this. And inasmuch as Jesus links this teaching to His own work on the cross, I suggest that this is the next best thing to an ordinance without being an ordinance.
There are natural leadership qualities like taking the initiative and being decisive. But we tend to judge leaders more on a visceral sense of their ability to lead. For example, if someone is passionate about their opinions we tend to think that they would be able to garner popular followership. However, we do so often neglecting to weigh the wisdom of the opinions they are passionate about. We even fail to distinguish between passion and a godly heart. Many people are passionate without having the right heart toward God in the matter. But passion just kind of feels like the person must be right.
Meanwhile, those who would be our most faithful leaders are busy scrubbing the proverbial toilets in obscurity content to serve in whatever facility God has for them.
Another dimension is this: church leadership can become so exclusive that discipleship suffers. What I mean is that men will tend to gravitate where they are needed. If they are marginalized in a church where people contend with each other for leadership positions in their area of giftedness, men will go elsewhere outside of church where they fit in better. Not being identified as potential godly future leaders, existing leaders will fail to disciple them on how to use their gifts in a godly way. I think churches lose a lot of men this way.
Agreed!
I know churches that have lost from not recognizing and discipling future leaders. For some, it is competition and they are afraid to train what they see as their replacement. This comes not from fear but an arrogant outlook that fails to recognize ones finite life.
Some may not know how to disicple and think that is what seminaries are supposed to do. I think there are also some who might fear to disipcle potential future pastors becasue it is frowned upon by the “movers & shakers” in the church.
This seems to go along with those who don’t becasue by tradition, the only “qualified” leadership are ordained and seminary degreed. For a pastor to disciple someone and give opportunity to lead, make decisions, preach, etc w/o the above qualifications can be a non-starter with some in the church; or maybe the pastor is the one who thinks that way.
Whatever the reason for not seeking after the Timothy’s in one’s congregation, it is a major loss to the pastor and congregation and disheatening to the one who feels the call with no support or encouragement of that call.
Yes, and not only pastors but missionaries, evangelists, apologists, Bible teachers, non-pastoral preachers, auxiliary musicians, technical support, security (we have men assigned to secure our preschool wing during times of high-usage, for example), grounds and building maintenance, ministry to single parents, visitation to shut-ins and people in prison, shepherds and Bible teachers for local schools, church media production and distribution, event organization, church decor design and implementation, visitor hosting… the list seems endless. There’s always more to do than people to do it and we’re bad – really bad – about not doing any Body building to turn fat into muscle.