Follow the Leader

Remember when you were preschool and kindergarten and you got to be the leader? It was a big responsibility to be at the head of the line, and a great honor that you took very seriously. I'll never forget the first time Elizabeth got to be the leader. She was literally vibrating with excitement when I picked her up. She talked the whole way home about leading her classmates all the way from the classroom to the chapel--a half block's distance--and not getting lost!

There was only one problem: Fred, the class clown, tried to act out at the back of the line. But, Mrs. Denke (at that time, the 28-year veteran of the kindergarten class) kept Fred in line. I continue to remain in awe of Mrs. Denke who led with grace and law (she was a Lutheran!).

More recently, however, I've also been pondering followership. Following can take different forms, and not all are healthy or helpful. Barbara Kellerman, in her work on Followership, identifies five types of followers:

1. Isolates care little for their leaders and do not particularly respond to them.
2. Bystanders disengage from the organization, watching from the sidelines almost as an observer. They go along passively but they offer little active support.
3. Participants care about the mission and try to make an impact. If they agree with the leader they will support them. If they disagree, they will oppose them.
4. Activists feel more strongly about the mission and leaders and act accordingly. When supportive, they are eager, energetic, and engaged.
5. Diehards are passionate about an idea a person or both and will give all for them. When they consider something worthy, they becomes dedicated.

In scripture, followership begins with the heart.

In Matthew 16, Jesus invites the disciples (us!) to follow him. The word he uses combines a prefix indicating union with the word meaning path or road, sometimes translated as journey or voyage. So when Jesus says, "Follow me" he is saying join me in my path, my journey, my life voyage. It's the idea of journeying with Jesus, being in union with him. It's highly relational, but with the clear understanding that Jesus is the leader! Jesus is setting the course; we are the followers.

So what does it mean to follow Jesus? This is the most basic command that encompasses all the others. If we follow: we love, forgive, and serve. To be a Christian is to be united to Christ, to walk with Him, to imitate him. Everything else flows out of following Jesus. Do you want to simplify your Christian life? Follow Jesus. Do you want to live in God's will? Follow Jesus. Do you want ultimate meaning and purpose? Then follow Jesus.

Our tendency is to want to live according to a list or by a set of rules. We can get so caught up trying to follow Christianity (the religion) that we forget to follow Jesus the Christ. And when it's about religion, rules, and lists, more than about relationship, communion, and discipleship, we will focus on doing, rather than on following.

Following Jesus is more that just believing in Jesus. Following Jesus means following the path of the cross. If anyone who would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Matt. 16:24). Following Jesus is our death sentence: to die to ourselves and the ways of this world. In this world, the three primary sources of power remain: military, financial and intellectual. Jesus didn't reference or appeal to any of these. He accomplished his work through the cross: through emptying. And so must we, if we are willing to follow him. If we are not willing to take up our cross, we cannot be Christ's disciple. The cross is the path of humility, weakness, selflessness and suffering. It is also the path that leads to resurrection - to life.

What kind of follower are you?

In Christ,

Debbie Rundlett

General Presbyter 

Holy Habit: Followership

Prayerfully read Matthew 16: 21-28

Take up your cross. The cross of Jesus' day was not something a person wore around their necks. It was an instrument of torture, used to keep the people in line. It was reviled and feared. So the question must be asked: What am you afraid of?

What in this world is instilling fear within you and exerting control over your life, even if in hidden, subtle, manipulative ways? What is preventing you from freely following Jesus as his disciple? What am you afraid of? It takes a tremendous amount of honesty to face our fears, and to acknowledge that what we often fear the most is losing what we have and losing who we think we are-losing our money, our possessions, our status, our family, our place, our lifestyle, our identity. Losing control over our own lives and the lives of others, a control that brings us a sense of security in this world. In other words, fear of losing what we have and who we think we are motivates us to try to save our lives. Yet Jesus said, this is precisely how we lose our lives. This is how we lose our souls: the deepest, most vital, most God-connected part of who we truly are. Jesus invites us to take up our cross and follow him. Don't be afraid! His love is stronger than our fear!

Through the Beautiful Gate: A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 

PC(USA) Announces Registration for Big Tent 2015

July 30 - August 1, 2015, University of Tennessee Conference Center, Knoxville, TN

Big Tent 2015 registration is up and running and everyone is excited about what it will bring!

Please consider including the Big Tent video (https://youtu.be/xShTbAESJj8 ) and the Big Tent web site link (http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/big-tent/ ) on your presbytery web site or in other promotional opportunities.   The video is just 1 minute long and gives a quick overview of what makes this Big Tent unique and would be a great minute for mission at a presbytery meeting!

Thanks so much!

Tom

Thomas D Hay

Director of Assembly Operations

Associate Stated Clerk

Office of the General Assembly

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)