Do you remember saying that as a child? The game was called “Follow the Leader.” In the course of playing this game someone would shout, "Who wants to Be the leader?", then a leader would be chosen, and then each individual would imitate the actions and movements of the leader. That game was a blast! You could get your friends to do all kinds of stuff they would ordinarily never do. (I won’t go into details.) Wouldn’t it be something if leading the people in your local church was as easy as Follow the Leader? I know I’m being a little too simple, but think about it: there would be no complaining, arguing, or questioning. Everyone would simply do whatever you did because you were the “leader.” The Reality of Leadership The reality of it, however, is that people will follow you if you don’t hurt them, if you love them, if you care for them, and if you put trust in them. They will especially follow you when they sense that you are close to God. Some leaders make the mistake of expecting people to follow them simply because they are the “leader.” Some people may follow for a while, but the first time there is trouble, look out! Jesus found this to be true even in His ministry. Yet after He showed love to those who denied Him and patience to those who doubted Him, He had a group of people who would follow Him to the ends of the earth—and they did! They willingly gave their lives as a result of His leading. That, to me, is incredible. The Lesson from Jesus’ Leadership The most important thing I can learn from His example of leadership is this: you cannot force people to follow you, and neither can you expect them to follow when you are not willing to lead by example. I believe He would have us understand that once you have paid the price of true leadership, as He did, then you have earned the right and honor of having a few people say, “I’ll go where you want me to go and do what you want me to do.”

About Pastor James Smith

Pastor James Smith, Valparaiso, Indiana – Founder of PreachIt.org, OpportunityHope.org, and PastoralHelps.com. He equips pastors worldwide with sermons, leadership tools, and encouragement, while also caring for orphaned and at-risk children in West Bengal, India through OpportunityHope. Beyond the orphanage and school, OpportunityHope provides clean water wells, livestock, and other humanitarian helps to families and villages in need. Additional books, leadership training, and mentoring resources are available through PastoralHelps.com.