Followership

I've discussed the obsession with leadership in other posts, but today I want to delve into another subject: followership. Followership is defined as the state or position of being a follower. To put this into practical understanding, the true measure of a leader is in his/her ability to encourage true followership. This begs the next question: who or what are you following? When it all shakes out, GOD won't judge you on who you know or how well you parroted what they've said, you will be judged on who you are and how well you followed what He says.


Now, because I know where many reader's minds will automatically go, followership is not blind obedience to your leader. In fact, followership—in the context of our discussion—goes right past our human leaders to the Source of all Authority: GOD. Because far too many individuals have only cursory interaction and understanding of the Text it becomes all too easy to simply obey everything their selected leader says without ever filtering the instruction through the Word of GOD. The narcissistic leader then misuses the Text, obedience is better than sacrifice [1 Samuel 15:22], thus creating followers of himself rather than followers of GOD. The only obedience that is better than sacrifice is obedience to GOD and His Word. In the context of 1 Samuel 15, Saul was not being reprimanded for disobeying GOD's prophet, he had disobeyed GOD's commandment concerning pre-war sacrifices. Sure Samuel was the mouthpiece of GOD, but Samuel wasn't flavoring or adding to GOD's words, he was simply repeating what GOD had given him to say. If the leader isn't saying what GOD says obedience is not required.


Do a quick study of the job of the watchman that GOD placed on the wall. You'll find that the watchman was only to say what GOD had specifically told him to say. He was not to add to it nor take away from it, simply repeat it.


I listened to a sermon recently in which the minister made abundantly clear the notion that his words from the pulpit were just as vital, and necessary, and GOD-breathed as those of the Old Testament prophets or the New Testament writers. To paraphrase another point of his sermonizing, if the members of his congregation didn't obey his instructions explicitly, they were disobeying GOD. The major problem with all of this is the fact that almost everything that he was preaching wasn't based in the Text, it was all his opinions (or more accurately, the opinions of the individuals he himself had chosen to follow; and thus the degrees of separation increase exponentially). I know this an extreme example of misusing the pulpit for personal credenda, but this is becoming more the norm than the minority.


How often is the goal of my lesson or sermon to create followers of me rather than followers of GOD?


Be honest, it feels good to challenge people's thinking or to drop that nugget in their lap. It's easy to become addicted to the accolades. But is this truly what GOD called His mouthpieces to be: credit seekers or demagogues? Our purpose as ministers of His Good News is to point the way to Him, not to our opinions about Him. If—as a minister in a pulpit—you've ever saddled the congregation with your personal convictions or opinions about the Text you're guilty of trying to replace GOD in the hearer's lives. If we were honest, we've all done this in some way or another, but now that we see the error of our ways, we must avoid it at all costs.


Someone said recently of a local congregation that is experiencing attrition, "For months they [the ministry] encouraged the congregation to read and study the Bible every day. Then, when the congregation had dropped by more than a third, they never said that again." Is there a connection to this congregation's attrition and their studying the Text? Why would studying the Text encourage attrition? What did those who relocated to another congregation see in the Text that was contrary to what was being taught and/or preached? When Peter gave the instruction that ministers should feed the flock [1 Peter 5:1-3], he wasn't empowering us to choose the feed; we have to feed the congregation what has been left by the Good Shepherd. It's interesting to note that in verse three of this Text, Peter instructs that this shepherding (or feeding) is not be administered through domineering over those in your charge but by example.


To foster true followership of GOD we have to stop trying to dominate the congregation and begin leading by example. Paul told the Community at Corinth that they should imitate him in the same manner in which he imitated Christ, or simply because he imitated Christ [1 Corinthians 11:1]. Something to point out here is the fact that when a New Testament writer referred to Jesus as Christ, they were emphasizing His Messiahship. Messiah can be interpreted as the Salvation of YHWH. Another way of looking at Paul's instruction is like this: imitate me as you see me imitating Salvation; when I stop imitating Salvation, stop imitating me. But, for this admonition to become something more than just skilled rhetoric, there is a major responsibility placed on the shoulders of the congregation. All of us have a responsibility to not only read the Bible, but to also study the Text, to become intimate with GOD's thoughts and Character. If we don't, we'll never know when we're being led astray.


Mark Batterson made this statement: my job as a preacher is not to interpret the Text for you, my job is to teach you to properly interpret the Text yourself. What a declaration! This is a minister who has discovered his responsibility as GOD's mouthpiece.


How often is my life as a minister not imitating Salvation?


How often are my words not Salvation's words?


How often do I keep the responsibility and joy of understanding the Text from the people I'm serving?


Perhaps we should adopt this credo:

• As a minister of GOD's Good News, I commit to only shepherding His people with His Words.
• As a minister of GOD's Good News, I commit to never saddling GOD's people with my personal preferences.
• As a minster of GOD's Good News, I commit to strive for godly followership rather than narcissistic leadership.

I would be willing to wager that very quickly the attrition would stem.