A lot has been said about leadership - how to lead, how to become a leader, how to be a successful leader, and more. Everyone wants to be great, but how about being a member or a follower, or a subordinate? Is it a bad thing to be one?
I believe that just as leadership is important, so as membership. One cannot be a leader without people to lead. I am for achieving greatness and all, but really, what type of leader would not want to have members? Although there are great leaders who started standing up for what they believe even without followers, there are people who decided to follow them along their journey.
Someone once said, "A leader without followers is simply a man taking a walk."
I am not talking about twitter followers, nor any spcial media account followers. They may or may not be real followers, but in my opinion, they can be classified better as fans. (Kyle Idleman has a very interesting point on that matter in his book, "Not A Fan.") I am talking about followers who know exactly WHO they are following and what it is for them to follow.
As a follower of Jesus, I understand that He requires giving all and that sometimes it feels like more than what I can. But because I know who I am following, I know He is truthful when He said He will never let anything beyond what I can to come my way (1 Cor 10:13), and that He is with me to the ends of the age (Matthew 28:20). I know this not just by reading, but by experience. God is true to His Word.
Jesus' principle of leadership and greatness is really different from what the world teaches.
“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26-28 NKJV
He demonstrated what He meant by His life here on earth as a man.
So here are some of my humble suggestions on how to be a good follower:
1. Keep in mind that you are a follower of JESUS. This is an essential. One may never be a good follower without first deciding that he is a follower of Jesus.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 NKJV
When this is clear from the very beginning, everything else will follow.
2. If you truly believe that your leader is your leader, let him/her lead you. This is the most basic principle. If you don't really look at him/her as your leader, then just leave. Staying under the leadership of someone you do not look up to as a leader will not only hurt the leader, but ultimately, the member. Imagine going to places you don't like with someone you don't like. Don't get me wrong, Jesus asks this at times, but that's exactly the point - because we FOLLOW Jesus and we know Him and we desire to please Him, our decision to follow him comes from Him and He enables us to do whatever He asks us to do. I let my leader lead me because God's word assures me that He places leaders in their position and that He loves me and that I should submit to authorities. Bottom line, let your leader lead you.
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (Romans 13:1 NKJV)
3. If you really consider your leader as your leader, do not go behind his/her back planning on going against his plans. Discuss matters with your leader when you have the chance, but never go behind his back. Let there be genuine responses during discussions. Request for another meeting, if the matter has not yet been finally decided. In the end, if you are planning something against your leader, you are actually planning to hurt the entire group, which naturally includes yourself.
“While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Acts 5:4 NKJV (emphasis added)
4. If you want to start leading another group that has the same purpose as your current group, start from new people. Do not start by convincing members of your current group to join you in this new group. Whether they admit it or not, leaders get hurt when their followers/members leave their side for reasons or things that are also offered under their leadership. Unless of course it is a branch which will be under your current organizational structure. In that case, ask for your leader's blessing.
It's a different story when you are going to put up a new one. Maybe that works and completely acceptable in a worldly setup, but for a Christian organization, there is a God who taught us to honor authorities.
If you have made up your mind before letting your leader know about your plan of leaving, don't approach with, "I really want to stay, but..." That's a plain cowardice of admitting that you know what you're doing is wrong, because if you want to stay, and no one is stopping you from staying, then just stay. If someone convinced you to make that decision, admit it when asked. Be honest. You owe that to the God who used that leader to contribute to the kind of person you are now. If you ask me for a solution, it's honesty. It takes away pain when you're honest about your reason for your decision.
5. If you want to make a point, do it with respect. There's a lot of movies, tv shows and even short video posts that has "resistance" as its theme. The point where the current authorities are shamed, ridiculed, and humiliated are some of the highlights of these types of stories. This should not be the case for us Christians. Our goal is to always "build up one another" as stated several times by the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Ephesians 4:12, Romans 14:19, and more). Needless to say, shaming our leaders is not the way to build up one another. I am not saying that leaders need no correction or rebuke, they do. I'm saying we can always do it with respect, building up one another, not humiliating.
“Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.” Proverbs 26:20 NIV
“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.” James 4:11 NIV
6. If you request for something, be prepared for both favorable and unlikely response form your leader. They are not there to please us. They are there to please God. Sometimes, doing just that would mean deciding against what we want as members. Let us support them.
“Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” Hebrews 13:17 NIV
7. Pray for your leaders. What is the best way to reach out to your leader in a way that no one can stop you? Through prayer.
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV
As God hears the prayers of His people, He can change the course of a leader's journey, should we ask of Him through genuine prayers. Of course we do this with pure intention, letting God's will prevail.
“In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.” Proverbs 21:1 NIV
It is when Saul (Apostle Paul) had an actual encounter with Jesus that his ways are changed dramatically without turning back.
“Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.” Acts 9:4-8 NKJV
To us Christians, he is a LEADER who understands how it is like to be a FOLLOWER. For himself, Paul is just a follower of Jesus, the least of all apostles.
“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” I Corinthians 15:9-10 NKJV
It is good to have friends in Christ, but if that's our only reason for staying in, we might want to re-evaulate our relationship with Jesus.
When all that we consider "fun" in what we do for and with Christ as new believers end, reality is revealed - genuine followers remain, non-followers keep distance to find new things to consider "fun."
Jesus said,
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
John 15:5-6 NIV
Anything good begins and ends with God. A genuine encounter with Him is the start of a truly wonderfully blessed journey. Any great leader somehow began as a good follower. With Jesus, guidance and learning never stop, so no mater how far we may go, we will always be His follower. That's a fact. The best way to bless Him is to be a good follower - one whom He desires us to be.
