If you Google “the first rule of leadership,” you will find lines like, “Mission above ego,” “Everything is your fault” (ouch), “It’s not about you,” or “Lead yourself before others.” When it comes to Christian leadership what if it was, “A Leader must also be a follower.” That ties our last blog theme of discipleship, with this new season of blogs on leadership.

If leaders are also followers, does that make us leadowers? (that’s probably a better fusion of words than folders, ha-ha). As followers of Jesus, who lead other followers of Jesus – leadowers, I wonder if a shift in how we view the church is helpful.

Typically we have thought about the church as a bounded set. A bounded set has a clear boundary line. We know what or who is inside the line, and what or who is outside the line. Just like there are words inside this box and other words outside it. The church as a bounded set has merit – those who are in Christ Jesus are inside the line. That’s very important! But thinking about the church only as a bounded set has some problems. Could it lead to an “us and them” mentality? Is simply being inside enough? As leaders, how do we help people progress if getting in is the goal?

What if the church was more than just a bounded set, what if we also thought of her as a centered set. A centered set is focused on moving towards a middle bullseye. In the church’s case, that center bullseye is Jesus. The goal of discipleship is Christlikeness. Just getting in isn’t the goal. Getting to the center is. Christian leadership is the act of following Jesus as you lead others deeper into following Jesus. I suspect many of us have always thought like this to some degree. But I think digging deeper into the metaphor could be helpful.

Could it broaden our understanding of who we lead and how we lead?

I’m convinced thinking like this can reshape our leadership. All kinds of people, both “inside” and “outside” of the bounded set are moving toward Jesus in a variety of ways. It is our privilege and responsibility to walk with some of them. Sadly, there are sometimes people we consider “inside”, even at some point close to the center, who have acted in ways which move them away from Jesus. We are called to walk with some of them as well. This fuses evangelism and discipleship into one continuous journey. It’s both the journey of those we are called to be with, and our journey as well.

I said “walk with” in the last paragraph because our leadership style shifts if we are on the same journey. Instead of leading from a place of arrival, a place where we have all the answers; what if we led from a place with questions? What if our journey was marked by curiosity and searching? What if we followed the example of a question asking Jesus as we lead? You might call it Spiritual Direction or Coaching, but it is simply the art of asking questions that help others dig deeper into Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is the transformative power in our lives. He is the one who ultimately moves us closer to the bullseye. Questions create space. Space to be in the presence of God. Space to know Jesus more. Space to be open to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, both in our lives and in the lives of those we lead.

As I end this blog, here are a few great leadower questions:

Where do I (you) see God at work right now? How can I (you) join him?
What is the one thing God is inviting me (you) into today? Or asking me (you) to obey?
What is the thing I (you) could do now to create space for God to move me (you) closer to Jesus?
How does this decision/activity draw me (you) closer to Jesus, or push me (you) away from him?

Neil Bassingthwaighte
ServeCanada Director & Interim Prayer Catalyst