Leaders Follow

At a high school basketball tournament, I noticed a coach wearing a t-shirt that said:  Always Lead. Never Follow. 

Those four words tap into a popular mantra of the current culture. Everyone wants to be the captain of their ship. The sole determiner of their destiny. The center of the universe. 

But the cracks of this philosophy are readily apparent.  

For starters, doesn't the basketball coach expect his team to follow his lead? Or others to follow the advice on his shirt? 

And who is an expert at everything? Hopefully you regularly follow advice from those you trust in areas where you're the student or receiver.

Another question. How can we have leaders if no one follows? Isn’t the mark of a good leader that others choose to follow? 

But here’s the big one. Jesus said "Follow me".  

Doesn’t he expect us to...follow? I'm guessing the fisherman sporting the "Always Lead, Never Follow" shirt missed out that morning.

No one is born an instant leader. We must learn and humble ourselves over time before we earn the right to lead. Even then, we need to remain active followers of those wiser than us—whether in our neighborhood or from books written before we were born.  

To lead well, I need to follow Jesus well. I may put those words on a t-shirt one day. If I do, I'll make two copies. One for me and one for the basketball coach.

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