Who speaks for you?
Dec 6, 2009 Discussion Topics, Leadership Lessons of Jesus
Posted by
The Edge
This lesson deals with the fact that for leaders to be leaders, there necessarily must be followers. To use a business management analogy, you can’t have “all chiefs and no Indians.” I know, this is politically incorrect, but it makes a great point.
Jesus had people following him: his disciples. His disciples, chosen by Jesus to carry his message to the world, in turn had followers of their own. They led, and people followed. There is a caveat, however:
1 Corinthians 1:11-14 – My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
The caveat is that a leader who is following the example of Jesus and his disciples shouldn’t be leading in order to amass the greatest number of followers to himself. He should be leading to amass the greatest number of followers to Jesus. When a leader’s “followership” becomes a cult of personality, it detracts from what should be the primary mission.
Rather than urge his followers to follow him per se, Paul urged them to follow his example:
1 Corinthians 11:1 – Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:16 – Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
Philippians 3:17 – Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.
So as Christian leaders, whether we’re leading an organization, a ministry, a family, or just a group of friends, we should seek to lead by example.
The book uses the example of John the Baptist as a spokesperson for Jesus who was trustworthy and loyal, never putting himself between the people and the leader he advocated for. Here are some questions to consider about the concept of “Who speaks for you?”
- Is it a worthy aspiration to want to have followers? What are the benefits and dangers?
- As a person who is going to lead people in any setting, do you need to care about what other people say about you?
- Why do others’ opinions of you affect your ability to lead? What are the dangers in caring too much about what other people think of you?
- There is a story about a politician who looked out his office window to see a parade going by in the streets below. He quickly interrupted the meeting he was having and told his staff he needed to get out in front of the parade because his followers needed him to lead them. What is the difference between a politician and a leader?
Tags: Leadership
December 6th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
[...] Who speaks for you? [...]
December 7th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Great discussion topic Kevin!
Most of those in the Edge Group have experienced a “leader” that was trying to amass followers to him not Christ from our own congregation. Not only is Christ not glorified but the local church is damaged because of pride and egotism.
To address the topic of “is it wrong to care what people think about you?” I don’t think it is, as long as one keeps it in presective. The question we need to ask ourselves is “I’m I repelling people because of the way I act and is that hampering my witness, or am I repelling people because I’m preaching truth?” And the flip side is,”Am I just drawing people in because I have a crismatic personality and I tell them what they want to hear?”
Also the question “Is it wrong to want to have followers” Again, “no” as long as you keep it in prespective. Are they following along with you or are the following just you. I lead a congregation, they come with me as we all follow Christ together. I am not the central figure nor do I wish to be. I have nothing for them but God’s truth. It is Christ alone who saves.
One of the biggest dangers of following a person is that people will disappoint, but our God never disappoints.
That’s my two cents worth!
December 13th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Yes, the cult of personality is such a huge problem with modern leaders. There is such a tendency to make it about them rather than about the message.