Following the Leader

image from here

 

Five years ago, I blogged about my struggles as a leader. Was I a good leader? How did I know? My people were capable and easily able to perform their functions without my guidance. Our team's goals were clear . . . so what was my job, other than helping them with administrative matters and protecting them from distraction or dysfunction? As I said then, leadership is humbling, messy, lonely, and difficult to gauge effectiveness. I knew leaders were necessary, but I was trying to articulate how and why. The past few weeks have given me new insight.

In a nutshell, leaders are important because people follow them. The above image, taken from Disney's Peter Pan, is while they're singing 

Following the leader, the leader, the leader
We're following the leader

Wherever he may go

I've had that stuck in my head for the last week. We follow leaders- wherever they go. If the leader demonstrates character, people will emulate. If the leader demonstrates true concern for others, so will the followers. If the leader is fair and just, so go the people. But if the leader spouts nonsense, the followers will, too. If the leader (say) makes outrageous or unfounded claims, the people will parrot it. And if the leader goes off a cliff . . . many will go with him.

We've seen it many times in history- people follow the leader, for better or worse. It highlights the importance of a leader's character. Character matters tremendously. In the recent election, some (many?) were displeased with both major candidates, and thus focused on platforms while ignoring character. That can be disastrous. Character is important- because people emulate the character of their leaders. And character, in a way, is policy, as it shows what a leader truly believes through how they behave. Both behavior and belief matter. 

The Bible demonstrates this often. To the Christian, Jesus is our ultimate leader- the head of the body. In the Bible, it's clear that Christians are to be followers of, and not just believers in, Jesus. Even the demons believe in God, and so Christians are commanded to show their allegiance to the Lord through their conduct (see James 2:19-20). Consider the many times Jesus told people to follow Him (just a handful shown below):

Matthew 16:24: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

Matthew 19:21: Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 8:12: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 12:26: If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

John 21:21-22: When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Following Jesus means obeying and emulating Him. Belief and behavior. In Romans, after Paul spends eleven chapters explaining what the Christian must believe, he turns to application- how they must behave as a result- and opens with this:

Romans 12:1: I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Why? Because Jesus, too, was a sacrifice (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and Mark 10:45). And we are to follow Him, being holy as He is (1 Peter 1:15-16). And not only was he a sacrifice, but he is fully God and fully man, made like us in every respect so He knows our temptations (see Hebrews 2:17-18 and 4:14-15). The perfect leader- he life demonstrated perfect obedience, perfect love, and perfect identification with the difficulties His followers face. May the Christian always follow Him above all else.

Here's the point: we follow leaders- we imitate their conduct. We are called to submit to authorities in this world, both governing authorities (see Romans 13) and church authorities (see Hebrews 13)- unless they contradict the commands of God ("We must obey God rather than men."- Acts 5:29b). We follow Jesus above all else, but we also follow earthly leaders. So as we submit to various earthly authorities, let us be mindful of whom we follow- for we will start to defend and imitate their qualities, for better or worse.