Organizing the Inside – Day 115 Caution He Who Has Many Followers

December 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm · Filed under Leadership, Purpose, Relationship, Women's Ministry and tagged: Body of Christ, Christianity, Great Commission, Holy Spirit, Religion and Spirituality

22Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. 26Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. Luke 6:22, 23, 26

This is not a feel good kind of post. As long as you’re here you may as well go ahead and read it. It could be by divine appointment that you’re here.

Don’t let the “Mega Church” mentality fool you.
Don’t be deceived into supporting the assumption that bigger is better.  In my profession as an organizing expert, we teach people, less is sometimes more. Many Christians are misled into believing that if so many people are attending a particular church and believe it’s the “place to be” then it must be. Following the crowd is a misguided approach and it doesn’t factor in God’s divine will for you as an individual. Beware of thinking that God must really approve of this person because of all the followers he or she has. I’m not so sure anyone should get excited about having a ton of followers or raving fans anyway? Hum?

People rush toward the crowds.
This way of thinking is flawed at best. Consider the many woes of some mega churches whose leadership “fell from grace.” Many leaders or want to be leaders (if they were honest) are far, far too concerned with how many people are following and what all their followers must think. Social media and global communication through advanced technology make this “following phenomenon” easy to get sucked into.  You worry about how many members you have in your “group of followers” when what you should be concerned about is how having all these followers should put the fear of God in you. A lot will be expected from everyone who has been given a lot. More will be demanded from everyone who has been entrusted with a lot Luke 12:48c

Are you someone whom people should follow?
You can only ask this seeming troubling question if you are willing to strip away your ego and filter through any pride to hear your heart speak an honest answer. Many want more and more followers… but with all those folks following you, your responsibility to live upright is multiplied with each new follower.  “I can guarantee that on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say. Matthew 12:36 I see this to be a huge responsibility, which is heightened when you actually have followers who are listening to your words. I’m not suggesting that leadership is something to run from, although many are doing just that. Additionally I’m not suggesting the role of “leadership” is one to run toward, unless this is your God-given gift and divine assignment.

Self appointed and self promoting leadership is a dangerous way to live.
It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of wanting more followers, so much so that you lose focus on the real purpose of God’s calling and why you do what you do. Pride is something that creeps up; many don’t even know it’s there; until they wake up and realize they need intervention. Jabez asked God to expand his territory, but he did so wanting to glorify God, not to promote himself. (1 Chronicles 4:10)  God granted Jabez’s prayer. God looks at your heart not your numbers. A great way to prevent yourself from losing your focus is to put in place a system of checks. This is not a list of  dos and don’ts; this is a way of checking in with the Holy Spirit on where you are. In the book of Genesis after Adam fell he hid in the Garden of Eden. Although, God of course knew where Adam was, He asked him anyway, “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you?”  Genesis 3:9
God was asking the deeper question of Adam, and challenged him to check his own spiritual state. Create a practical way of “checking in” and incorporate it into your devotional time.

God put leaders in the body.
The Body of Christ consists of many parts. The body couldn’t function without leaders. Leaders have a critical role in the success of any functioning body, including the church. I’d like to open your thoughts to consider:  that as representatives of Christ and in the spirit of the Great Commission, as Christians we each have a certain leadership type role. If you have a bible study that you teach, or a Sunday school class, or a blog that you write or whatever you do that somewhere along the way you’ve picked up followers and friends, TAKE HEED of the life that you are living, make sure you keep your relationship with Lord as tight as you know how; not ritualistically but honestly. No one but you and God are in your prayer closet, and only He knows the truth; only He can give you the strength, grace and integrity to be a leader who others should follow. Don’t get caught up in how many followers you have; instead be more concerned about how you’re living before God and the few followers who are watching.

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