Introduction:
A. Today’s sermon begins a two sermon focus on church leadership.
1. Today’s sermon will focus on the relationship between spiritual leaders and spiritual followers.
2. The second sermon will focus on elders and deacons, and their qualifications and selection.
3. That second sermon will be delivered on the first Sunday of May, and will launch a process for the evaluation of our present leaders and the potential selection of additional elders and deacons.
4. This will be an important and exciting time. We will be calling upon the church to fervently pray for this process and God’s guidance and blessing.
B. Years ago, a father was filling out a college entrance form for his daughter who wanted to attend a prestigious university.
1. One of the questions on the form was, “Is your child a good leader?”
2. Well, in all honesty, the man’s daughter was not a leader, but he knew she probably would not get accepted to the university unless she was a good leader, so he didn’t know what to do.
3. Finally, he decided to just be honest, so he wrote, “My daughter is not a good leader, but she is a very good follower.
4. The father was relieved and surprised when he received this reply from the university: “We are happy to inform you that your daughter has been accepted as an incoming freshman, but we feel that we must forewarn you that she is the only follower among 700 incoming leaders.”
5. Obviously that was not true. I’m sure there was at least one other good follower among all those leaders.
6. What is it about us that makes us afraid to be classified as a “follower”?
7. What’s wrong with being a “good follower” or even a “great follower”?
C. Let me tell you what our lesson for today is in a nutshell…it’s the title of the sermon… “Leaders and Followers are on the Same Team!”
1. Leaders and followers are partners, not competitors or opponents.
2. Leaders and followers will not accomplish very much without each other.
3. By definition you cannot be a leader if you don’t have followers, and you can’t be a follower if you don’t have a leader.
4. Therefore, leaders and followers need each other to be successful.
5. That is true whether you are talking about businesses, or the military, or the church.
6. Consider how this truth is illustrated in football.
a. Who is more important the quarterback (leader) or the lineman (follower) who blocks for him?
b. What happens if they don’t work together and value each other?
D. Ultimately, I believe that followers really want leaders and leaders really want followers, but both groups want good ones.
1. Followers want good leaders, and leaders want good followers.
2. Success is achieved when both groups fill their roles well.
3. So when it comes to the church, both followers and leaders should want the church to grow and be successful.
4. But that will only happen when the church is made up of the right kind of leaders and the right kind of followers.
5. Let’s spend some time today considering what good followers should be able to expect from good leaders, and what good leaders should expect from good followers.
I. What Good Followers Expect From Good Leaders
A. First of all, good followers expect character from their leaders.
1. In the New Testament, we see that God has clearly specified the character qualities necessary for someone to be a good leader.
2. The good leader must be upright, godly and sincere.
3. He must be able to lead and manage his family well and be of good reputation with outsiders.
4. We will talk more specifically about some of these in the second sermon.
5. Why is the character of the leader so important? There are many reasons, but two are primary:
a. First, character is vital because of the challenges that leaders will face.
b. Second, character is vital because of the temptations leaders will face.
6. A leader without character is a danger to himself and to everyone else.
7. Good followers have a right to expect that their leaders will display godly character.
B. Second, good followers expect their leaders to show caring concern.
1. Good followers have a right to expect their leaders will be sensitive and interested in them and their needs.
2. Any leader who is more concerned about himself than he is about those whom he is leading is disqualified from spiritual leadership.
3. Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son, goes down in history as a leader whose big mistake was insensitivity to the needs of his followers.
a. At his inauguration as king, the people approached Rehoboam and said, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” (1 Kings 12:4)
b. Rehoboam told them to return in three days and he would give them an answer.
c. Meanwhile, Rehoboam asked the old men who had counseled his father what they thought he should do.
d. They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” (1 Kings 12:7)
e. Rehoboam then sought counsel from his young friends who told him, “Tell these people who have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter’ - tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ” (1 Kings 12:10-11)
f. After three days the people returned for an answer and Rehoboam answered them harshly, following the advice of his young friends, and so the kingdom divided and some rejected him as king and made Jeroboam their king.
4. The good leader will be sensitive and caring toward their followers.
a. The good leader will have the attitude of a servant and seek to place the good of the people first.
b. The good leader will seek to be loving and kind, even when confrontation or correction is necessary.
C. Third, good followers expect their leaders to show conviction.
1. Good followers want to see and feel conviction from their leaders. They want to sense that their leaders are “all in” and are “giving their all.”
2. Listen to these quotes about the importance of conviction:
a. “Let him who would move and convince others be moved and convince himself. Strong convictions precede great actions.” (J.F. Clarke)
b. President Lyndon B. Johnson: “What convinces is conviction. Believe in the argument you’re advancing. If you don’t, you’re as good as dead.”
3. When Nehemiah led the group of Jews in rebuilding the temple, they faced opposition from their enemies, and as they faced that opposition they looked to Nehemiah for conviction.
a. When the people feared being attacked, Nehemiah said, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome…” (Neh. 4:14).
b. When the enemies threatened Nehemiah’s life, he said, “Should a man like me run away? I will not go!” (Neh. 6:11)
4. When the apostles Peter and John had been arrested and commanded not to teach about Jesus anymore, they said, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)
5. People will gladly follow leaders who have real convictions and are willing to boldly stand up for them.
D. Fourth, good followers expect their leaders to change.
1. Good followers expect to see growth and flexibility in their leaders.
2. Because times change and needs change, good leaders must be in a constant state of growth and change.
3. When I say good leaders must change, I’m not talking about being willing to change in ways that God would not approve of. Obviously, we cannot change from or against God’s ways!
4. Thomas Jefferson said, “If you would be happy in life remember two things: in matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.”
5. Consider this illustration: in 1930, the Swiss made 80% of all the watches in the world.
1. However, in the 1950s, the digital watch idea was presented to the Swiss, but they rejected it and the idea was sold to Seiko.
2. In 1992, when I read about this report, it said that 80% of watches were digital and because the Swiss had rejected the digital idea they employed 75% less people in the watch industry than they did in the 1940s.
3. The Swiss had refused to change in spite of the fact that change was inevitable.
4. With the advent of the cell phone many people don’t even wear a watch any more.
6. Great leaders are not restricted by the way things have always been done.
7. Great leaders are on a continuing search for the best way, not the familiar way.
8. The enemies of growth and change in people are pride and laziness.
9. Good leaders continue to grow and change as they lead.
E. So let’s summarize what we have said so far.
1. Good leaders need good followers and vice versa.
2. What good followers should expect from good leaders includes: character, caring concern, conviction, and a willingness to change and grow.
3. Now let’s explore what good leaders should expect from good followers.
II. What Good Leaders Expect from Good Followers
A. First of all, let’s begin where I left off with leaders, good leaders have a right to expect their followers to be willing to change.
1. Good followers should be flexible enough to change when change is necessary.
2. And good followers should be continuously changing and growing in their walk with God.
3. Paul had that attitude in his own life. In Philippians he wrote, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…” (Phil. 3:13-14).
4. Let me mention again that the enemies of growth and change are pride and laziness.
B. Second, good leaders have a right to expect cooperation from their followers.
1. Leaders have a right to expect that followers will follow, meaning they will cooperate and will obey their godly leadership.
2. God’s commands for His people include commands for followers to obey their leaders.
a. Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”
b. Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
3. Without the cooperation and obedience of followers, leaders cannot lead.
4. Consider the gridlock of our leaders in Washington – Republican congresses don’t want to cooperate with Democratic Presidents, and vice versa.
a. So what gets accomplished? Nothing!
5. Picture a train whose cars won’t cooperate with the engine.
a. If a number of the cars put on their brakes, then the engine will not be able to pull that train
6. In the same way, if a number of the followers in our congregation won’t cooperate with the leaders or with the other followers, then very little will be accomplished.
7. So, good leaders must expect good followers to cooperate.
C. Third, good leaders have a right to expect a contribution from followers.
1. When I speak of contributing, what I’m talking about is not simply financial, but also personal.
2. Good leaders should expect good followers to be involved and invested.
3. Our Scripture reading from Ephesians 4 includes the words, “…the body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.” (Eph. 4:16)
4. If every part has a work (and it does or should), then every part must do its work, otherwise something is missing or not getting done.
5. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 12, that God has arranged every part of His body, the church, just as He wants it, and that means that every one of us have a role to play.
6. If we don’t do our part and make our contribution, then the body is handcuffed or handicapped.
7. As good leaders attempt to lead the body, they need everyone’s contribution and they should expect that every Christian will want to do their part.
D. Finally, good leaders have a right to expect credit from their followers.
1. Good leaders expect good followers will give them the credit they deserve.
2. Paul wrote, “Give everyone what you owe him…if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” (Rom. 13:7)
3. Concerning elders, Paul wrote, “the elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” (1 Tim. 5:17)
4. What we are talking about here is not the worship of leaders or some “pat on the back,” but we are talking about giving leaders the confidence, trust, respect and honor they deserve.
5. It is so important for good followers to approach their leaders with respect.
6. Good leaders cannot successfully lead unless followers treat them with proper respect.
E. So let’s review what we have learned about what leaders should expect from their followers.
1. Good leaders should expect good followers to be willing to change, they should expect that they will cooperate, and contribute, and give credit where credit is due.
F. Let’s make an important observation: If you look at what followers expect from leaders and what leaders expect from followers, then it becomes obvious that it is impossible for someone to become a good leader until they have been a good follower.
1. In fact, good followership is a prerequisite to good leadership.
2. If a person hasn’t proven themselves to be a good follower, then they should never be allowed to be a leader.
3. And then, even after someone has become a leader, they still have to continue to be a good follower of God.
4. Leaders must continue to be in submission to God. They must continue to be good followers of God.
Conclusion:
A. Today, I hope we have been reminded that leaders and followers are partners.
1. They are on the same team and they must work together to be successful.
2. Those of us who are leaders want to have good followers.
3. Those of us who are followers want to have good leaders.
4. The wonderful thing about being in Christ is that we can all grow in our ability to be leaders and followers.
B. I like what one man said as he considered his failure to reach the summit of Mt. Everest after making three attempts.
1. He said, “I speak to you, Mt. Everest, in the name of all brave men, living and those yet unborn. You defeated us once, twice, three times, but we shall defeat you some day, because you can’t grow any bigger, but we can!”
2. The problems that Satan puts in our paths cannot grow bigger, but we can!
3. The Bible says on several occasions that all things are possible with God.
4. Paul said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13)
C. So, let’s strive to be the good followers and good leaders that God wants us to be, and with God’s help that is what we will be…good followers and good leaders…playing on the same team to accomplish God’s purposes…for God’s glory!
