Andy Stanley wrote, When the leader blames the follower for not following, the leader has ceased to lead. While this truth is quite simple and known by the most, I experienced the struggle of such a statement earlier in my work. I found myself complaining because various facets of the church wouldn't follow. It was a tough pill to swallow that the reason might be me.
Leadership is a living entity. It is not a solidified once-established fact, but a constantly moving and fluid activity. If we are leading we are in perpetual tension to know when to speak up and when to remain silent; when to take action and when to wait. Leadership finds itself assessing the need to make daily judgment.
The transition from being a good follower to a good leader seems to be in the realm of courage. There are moments when one can seem to be quite alone. Shall we drift with the herd of acceptance or enter the alley of loneliness by risking rejection? The latter is where leaders are birthed. Jesus was many things. His brutal rejection, though, lit up the world of leadership.
So, my word to you guys and gals out there on the front line: with humility in being fully aware of your deep flaws lead out in bravery. Souls are weary of trying to follow mediocrity. Give them a light to follow. They want to know the way to life. You may be their hope!
3 comments:
I love Andy's book, and have suggested it to several folks.
Great post today, bro!
DU
I have heard it said that if you say you are a leader, you are not a leader, you are just a man out for a walk.
On the other hand.
One leader, Peter, did remind younger followers that they needed to show respect to older leaders.
1 Peter 5.1-7
Larry Wishard
Terry,
Last week, you had a post about a boy who was being bullied. I have not been able to get it off my mind. I found a web site (theprotectors.org) that has faith-based curriculum teaching victims, bullies, parents, and by-standers about bullying and how to respond to it. I wanted to share it with you, because I think this is a problem that most of us have not thought much about and we don't know how to properly deal with it. I hope this helps. Thanks for your good work!
Terry L.
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