Table of Contents

The Minister As A Lifelong Follower-Leader

Sidebar: Effective Leadership

By Gary R. Allen

"The Bible says comparatively little about leadership and a great deal about followership. Jesus did not invite Peter, Andrew, James and John to become leaders immediately. He said, ‘Follow Me.’ " –Leith Anderson, A Church for the Twenty-First Century

Remember the neighborhood game "follow-the-leader"? It provided an opportunity for every kid to have a chance to be a leader. It was thrilling to look behind you and see others following you through exciting places you normally would not venture. Being the leader made you feel special.

Even in our early years, leadership styles were being formed and demonstrated. Some of the kids could hardly wait for their turn to lead, while others were nearly petrified at the thought of leading. Some in my neighborhood were great leaders, leading and guiding us through places we never would have gone on our own. They led us on the edge of destruction along the top porch rail or through some dark, damp basement. Others were average leaders, taking us on treks through familiar places, or on the safer path through a neighbor’s garden. Yet, others were reluctant leaders who hardly seemed to know where to lead the group or what to do. Creativity eluded them and they seemed content to follow the others. Deep down inside, though, they probably wanted to lead the most daring and dangerous excursions.

The most adventurous leaders often struggled with following. They challenged the leader and asked why he was going here as opposed to going there. They thought the event was too easy and under-challenging; it would be much more fun if they were leading. This only reinforced the insecurities of the reluctant leaders who already were not sure they wanted to even try to lead. But being willing to follow was one expectation for everyone participating in the game.

Even though we are adults now, the aspects of following and leading have not changed. The responsibilities have increased and the consequences of our decisions and actions are more critical.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF FOLLOWING AND LEADING

Biblical examples of following and leading are based on submission to God’s missional focus. Examples include:

• Joseph became a leader after God placed a vision in Joseph’s heart to preserve His covenant people.
• Moses became a servant leader when he obeyed God’s call to go to Pharaoh and deliver this message: "The Lord says, let my people go."
• Gideon never would have been a leader if he had not followed God’s mission to deliver the tribes of Israel from the Midianites.
• David became a king when God, through Samuel, anointed him king. He humbly followed God’s plan and assumed the throne of Israel. He did not seek it.
• Isaiah became a prophet leader when God called him to take a message of hope and judgment to the people of Israel.
• Nehemiah became a remarkable leader when God commissioned him to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.
• Esther became a leader when God, through Mordecai, called her to stand before the king to protect the remnant of God’s people.
• Peter became a leader in the Early Church after Jesus commissioned him and the other disciples to make disciples of all peoples.
• The apostle Paul led a clear mission to extend the boundaries of God’s grace to those outside the Jewish faith.¹

Dominant, natural-born leaders risk getting ahead of God’s plan or operating in their own power. Peter had to be restrained when he took the lead and severed the high priest’s servant’s ear (John 18:10,11). Saul of Tarsus had to be smitten to the ground and blinded for God to get his attention when he was leading a crusade against the Early Church (Acts 9:1–9).

Reluctant leaders risk not seizing the moment of opportunity or taking action too late. They often need to be prompted and encouraged by God and those around them.

Abram went out from his homeland in simple obedience to God’s call without knowing where he was going (Genesis 12:1–4). Moses was called to lead from the obscurity of the desert when he was most reluctant (Exodus 3,4). When God selected Joshua to succeed Moses, God needed to assure Joshua that he would have God’s divine presence, just as Joshua had witnessed God’s presence on Moses (Joshua 1). Yet, God told Joshua to "be strong and courageous," indicating the need for Joshua to take decisive action.

God calls and uses all personality types and leadership styles in His service. He is concerned more about attitudes and motives, than abilities and skills. When the proper attitudes and motives are present, ministry abilities and skills will develop in the process of spiritual maturity.

Discipleship is the process of spiritual and emotional maturing in our personal relationship with Christ and with our fellow believers. The goal of discipleship is to effectively minister to others, introduce them to a personal relationship with Christ, and start them on their own spiritual journey of discipleship that involves both followership and leadership.

FOLLOWERSHIP

Much has been written about leadership. Leadership training is the current emphasis in the workplace and in the church. Leadership training has greatly benefited the church. Many of the skills learned in the workplace are transferable to the church. They can be partnered with biblical principles to develop healthier local church leaders. However, being a follower is a prerequisite to being a leader. Before one assumes the privileges and responsibilities of leadership, he or she must be a good follower.

Followership is defined as: 1. The act or condition of following a leader; adherence. 2. A group of followers; a following.²

Jesus intended that His disciples follow and lead. He asked the disciples to follow Him, and He would cause them to become fishers of men (leaders). Following is a willful act of obedience and submission. Leading is the intentional influencing of others to help accomplish a purpose. Jesus was first concerned about the attitude and motive of His disciples. Once they became followers, He could teach them the skills to lead others.

Jesus was the ultimate example of a follower-leader. He clearly understood that His mission was to obey the will of His Father who sent Him and to train His disciples to make other disciples. From this understanding emerges the servant-leadership model. Jesus’ symbol of leadership was the towel. Servanthood is about attitude and motive; leadership is about abilities and skills.

As a pastor, I observed that those who came into the local church with great leadership skills, but did not have a servant’s heart, could do more harm than good to the congregation. However, those who came with a servant’s heart could usually be trained in the abilities and skills necessary for effective ministry and leadership.

Some followers know what to do without being told. In fact, one study indicates that 80 percent of the success of any project is due to the followers and only 20 percent to the contribution of leaders.3 Followers are not usually as obvious as leaders. Yet, without faithful, supportive followers, leaders would not be leaders.

Followership Styles

Five followership styles have been identified in the workplace that can be transferred to the local church. These can also help us better understand our own followership style and the style of those whom we lead:

1. Receptive follower

• Adheres to instructions and deadlines.
• Prefers to work with clear directions from leadership.

2. Self-reliant follower

• Prefers to work without constraints.
• Has his or her own ideas and enjoys the opportunity to develop them with minimal intervention.

3. Collaborating follower

• Has many ideas to contribute.
• Enjoys the collaborative decision-making process and prefers progressive over conventional methods.

4. Informative follower

• Likes to be involved in decision-making, but accepts the final decision of the group, even if it is contrary to personally held views.

5. Reciprocating follower

• Not afraid to speak up and is undeterred by status.
• Responds less well to direction and persuasion.
• May be stubborn, but is task-oriented.⁴

What Is Learned From Following

Following is an attitude and lifestyle that has value as a teaching process. It teaches us:

1. to have respect for the ideas and opinions of others.

2. to do things for the sake of the group even when we prefer doing something else.

3. to value life experiences that we might never experience if left to our perceptions and perspectives.

4. to submit to the leadership of others.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is influencing others to accomplish a purpose. Leadership is essential in any social group or organizational structure. Leaders need to examine various leadership styles so they can be more effective leading the various types of followers.

Basic Leadership Styles

Four leadership styles have been identified that, as with the followership styles, can help us better understand our own leadership style and how we can better influence and motivate followers:

1. Telling Style — A very directive style because this leader produces a lot of input, but a minimum amount of relationship behavior. An autocratic leader would fit here.

2. Selling Style — Another very directive style, but with a more persuasive, guiding manner. The leader provides considerable input about task accomplishment, but also emphasizes human relations.

3. Participating Style — In this style there is less direction and more collaboration between leader and group members. The consultative and consensus subtypes of participative leader generally fit here.

4. Delegating Style — This leader delegates responsibility for a task to a group member and is simply kept informed of progress.⁵

Pastors need to use wisdom and spiritual discernment to determine the situation and context of the followers to know what is the best leadership style to employ to advance the will of the Heavenly Father and His missional purpose. (See sidebar "Effective Leadership" by Reggie Chandra.)

THE MINISTER AS FOLLOWER-LEADER

The minister has the unique role of being both a follower and a leader. We do not progress from being a follower to a leader, never to follow again. As ministers, we are lifelong follower-leaders. Jesus was always in subjection to the will of His Father while He was establishing His leadership role with the disciples. Jesus gave all authority to His disciples and yet, they were subject to their Lord.

A local church will eventually take on the personality of the pastor. If the pastor is brash and harsh, likely the followers of his or her ministry will be brash and harsh. If the pastor is loving, kind, yet firm, the followers will be loving, kind, and firm in their demeanor. When both leaders and followers are Christlike, they will influence each other to remain Christlike.

The Minister and the Exercise of Power

The minister must lead with a proper understanding of his or her personal leadership power. The personal power of a leader can be exercised by control, authority, or influence. There are times when control and authority are appropriate, but if they are a leader’s primary style, followers may become discouraged and disheartened. The best exercise of power in leadership is influence. With influence the leader sets the tenor of the environment and demonstrates attitudes and behaviors that, when emulated, will become the lifestyle and leadership style of the followers.

Positive influence is more effective over time than control and authority. Control and positional authority will aggravate people and eventually diminish the image of the leader in the minds of the followers. Influence operates from the idea of modeling, mentoring, and coaching. Influence identifies the leader and follower together to build a partner relationship.

The Minister and Personal Accountability

Personal accountability is a significant aspect of followership. Christians are accountable to everyone in the community of faith, both leaders and followers. It is wrong to assume that leaders are only accountable to their leaders. They are also accountable to those to whom they minister and serve.

The Minister and Partnering

Partnering is a key element in the followership-leadership role in the local church. For the church to have a more effective ministry to reach its community, there must be the partnering of the pastor and local church leaders. Each age, cultural, ethnic, and social segment of the church has something to contribute to make it more effective. The diversity of spiritual background, relationship skills, and life experiences enables the church to reach every segment of its community.

LEADERSHIP-CENTERED OR FOLLOWERSHIP-CENTERED MINISTRY

For years, a statement often heard in the Navy was: "The Marines take care of their people; the Navy takes care of its ships and equipment." Unfortunately, this was all too true. The Marines were structured around a "fire team" concept that was their survival in combat. The Navy, on the other hand, appeared to use people to simply man its ships and operate its equipment. Deployments were long and morale was low. Eventually, the Navy began to focus on the value of each person and provide better personal-development training and family resources. Personal productivity and reenlistment increased, and morale improved.

The focus of the local church will determine the emphasis of its ministry. If the local church focuses on leadership and neglects followership, it will eventually lose most of its followers. A leadership-centered church can become too task-oriented, while the followership-centered church can become so people-centered that it loses sight of its mission. For the local church to be healthy, there must be a balance between leadership and followership; between task and people.

Jesus remained people-centered as He went about His Father’s mission. The church must consistently be both mission- and people-centered; developing leaders and followers, and remembering the mission of the church is really people.

CONCLUSION

As ministers of the gospel, we never cease following and leading. There is always someone to whom we are responsible and accountable. If we are not in a specifically assigned role of leadership, there are always those whom we are influencing. God expects us to intentionally follow and lead well.

The local church should understand the dynamics of leader-follower relationships and intentionally work toward developing both roles in their people through discipleship training.

Gary R. Allen, D.Min., is executive editor of Enrichment journal and national coordinator of the Ministerial Enrichment Office, Springfield, Missouri.

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