Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Followership?

Leader, leader, leader, who has the leader? Not that I'm a great leader, nor will I ever be, but I am tired of the constant talk about leadership. I am currently in a leadership class, which I find myself frequently standing in disagreement. I have been listening to the leadership discussion that has been ongoing for a while now (of course this is according to my subjective experience and limited knowledge), and I have been thoroughly unimpressed.

While everybody is talking about leading and what a good leader really is, I am not so sure that they would actually submit themselves to truly great leadership, (biblically defined leadership of course). We listen to and read a myriad of leadership paradigms, from the CEO methodology, to the leader as a behind the scenes facilitator, and numerous other methods that Christian writers baptize with Christian ease. Truly everyone wants to be a leader and respectfully we are all going to lead someone, or something, even if all we ever lead in is mediocrity.

Instead of worrying about leading, who is or who isn't a leader, or what are the best qualities of a leader, why don't we write some books about being followers of those leaders? Why don't we actually learn to follow, rather than perpetuating this constant drive for everyone to be a chief? Rather than majoring in independence and freedom, why don't we major in dependence and servitude to our master and Lord, Jesus Christ? He said, "follow me." So, let us learn to follow.

2 comments:

LittleWomen21 said...

amen, brother.
Take up your cross daily and follow Me - that is the hardest thing of all to do.

mike gorski said...

It's true. All this talk of leadership creates a two-tiered system. Leaders are looked up to and get respect and attention. Followers get the 'privilege' of sitting under great leadership. No wonder why everyone wants to be a leader.

I can think of two possible solutions. The first is that we start teaching and preaching that every man does the greatest service possible to the Lord, and other christians, when they joyfully act out the vocation (in and out of the church) that God gave them. Content serving the Lord as a sheep or shepherd.

The second is that we create a nationwide network of 'Followership' cells that will be fueled by a series of regional conferences, culminating in a tri-annual, nationwide conference featuring teaching by the biggest names in 'Followership.'

I'm recruiting cell-group leaders as of this moment.