Leadership

My kids were playing a computer game together the other night.  One kid on a computer in another room, the other in the front room.  They use the telephones like walkie-talkies to coordinate their moves.  But there was a problem.  My more experienced son kept running off and leaving the new-to-this sister floundering on her own.  Both of their voices held tension, blame and impatience as they spoke.  Frustration grew with each passing moment.  We brought the game time to an end and called them together to find the source of the breakdown.

When I asked my son why he kept running off, he said that he thought that his sister would just follow him.  This gave us a wonderful teachable moment about leadership.

I started by telling how a following car can lead a car in front of it.  The car behind would need to slow long before an approaching turn and use the turn signals earlier than normal.  The car in front needs time to read the signs and respond before the ‘lead’ car ever has a chance to make a turn.

Jesus came to serve. But he is our leader.  We can learn to lead by being last, bringing up the rear to assure that no one is left behind. 

There is a false idea that one can only be either a leader or a follower.  It is quite possible to be neither.  Someone who's running off to wherever assuming that others will (or want to) trail along and keep up is not a leader at all.  Neither is one whose sole act of ‘leadership’ involves giving orders or corrections.  Just because he is unwilling to follow doesn’t not automatically make him a leader.

A true leader has a heart for the individuals and the group as a whole.  His is a difficult job, being ever watchful of dangers from the outside and problems on the inside.  He must be last in to be sure no one is left behind, and the first to step into the unknown.  He loves his people too much to risk any one of them.

There is a reason why there are more lone wolves and followers than there are true leaders.  It is not an easy job.  But it is a noble one when it is Christ that the leader follows.