Disclaimer: I would like to start at the beginning to clarify that this is not a man-bashing discussion. Everything I have to say goes for both men and women. I just hear men voicing (women just think it) the offending statement the most often. Now, don’t get me wrong. I know many men who are active, Godly leaders in their families, churches and businesses; I applaud and admire them all!
As I’ve been pondering the statement recently heard in conversation, I’ve had many thoughts. The offending statement goes something like this: “Not everyone is called to be leader, someone has to follow!” At first blush, this statement has a ring of truth. A society can’t only be made up of leaders, it would explode. My mother would often comment, “Too many Ba Ba’s in the kitchen.” I never quite understood that statement, but it illustrates the point. You have to have designated leaders and those who follow… duh… we all agree.
Now, here comes the sticking point. Often those who say such a statement aren’t talking about leading and following. They think they are, but they aren’t. They are talking about activity and passivity. What they are saying really is – “I reserve the right to be passive!”
In order to be a good follower, one has to be active. The same goes for leadership. One cannot succeed in either enterprise from a passive stance. Following does not equal passivity; it equals submission, recognizing who the leader is, and doing everything possible to assist him in his goals. But, leadership does not equal activity. I’ve known several very active people in leadership positions who thought they were good leaders just because they were active. Not True! They were terrible leaders – no one can follow a headless chicken. It is extremely active, but it hasn’t a clue where it’s going. On the other side, I’ve known people who thought they were good followers, but they were really just passive. Leading them was like dragging a mule behind you. If it happened to be walking in the same direction you wanted to go, GREAT! If it didn’t – sorry, nothing was gonna happen.
Consider, the Biblical hierarchy goes something like this: God > government>Father>Mother> children, along side a similar hierarchy: God>Church (Pastor>Deacons>SS Teachers> etc and so on)> Father > Mother> Children. We can fuss over the exact categories and what else should be included or discluded, but I give those hierarchies for illustrative not definitional reasons. Notice, every human falls under the authority of God. So, EVERYONE is already a follower. Anyone who leads, is an underleader (whether they know it or not). One has to be a good follower in order to be a good leader. The more actively someone goes about their following, the more ready they are to step up and lead when that opportunity arises (in a family, at work, in a church, community, etc). Everyone on those hierarchies is responsible to lead those below them, and influence those above and beside them.
Therefore, the real issue is not whether people everyone is supposed to lead, the issues is: The issue is not WILL you lead, but WHO? Are you actively following God and the leaders he placed in your life? Are you leading in the areas He has called you to lead? Are you following so actively that leadership can just happen like the change of a hat? Or would getting you to lead be more like push starting a train?
