Jesus: Leader or Follower? By Heidi Jakoby

“Before you can lead, you must learn to follow.” (Dr. Woj, President Pratt Community College)Jesus was not only a leader but a follower. He was able to encourage people to do their best and to continue his teachings beyond his life. The last line of John21:1-19 is “Follow me” why would they continue to follow him? What did Jesus do? In Dr. Woj article he states, “Followership is an art in itself; it’s difficult to define, but it is essential in getting things accomplished. Followers get things done; leaders put them together to make something happen. Let’s examine followership more closely, for without that essential ingredient, success and progress are empty words. Follower is synonymous with disciple, partisan, supporter, advocate and pupil according to my Dictionary of Synonyms. Together, these words explain the characteristics and qualities of the art of successful followership.”

How was Jesus a follower? Are you a leader? Are you a follower? Are you able to flow from leader to follower and back?

If you choose to follow God how is your life different? Today I heard the story of James King the man who found the little girl Nadia lost in the swaps of FL. The headline reads “Nadia Bloom's Rescuer James King: God 'Led Me Directly to Her'”. What a powerful statement. On the interview I saw James said he was praying and God clearly guided him to Nadia. Was this a miracle or simply a disciple listening closely to what God was calling him to do? Check out the link to this story God led me to her . What do you think; was James just lucky? Was God involved? Four days alone and lost Nadia was found, hungry, dehydrated and with lots of bug bites. What a wonderful story of hope and possibilities.

The ability to listen, to communicate and to know when to lead and when to follow is part of our life’s journey. Leaders today need to be less autocratic and more inclusive of others in order to achieve their goals and the goals of the organization they are representing. Leadership today is about building understanding and fostering communication in order to come up with the best solutions to challenges. Do you agree or disagree? Have you noticed changes in the way individuals lead and follow? Have you noticed more people wanting to lead or wanting to follow? Leaders still take on the responsibility of success or failure, do people today avoid this responsibility or embrace it? Yes I know it depends on the individual and the situation but I was wondering if culturally things are changing.

When I first read the lesson for this blog I just kept coming back to the song “Life’s a Dance” by John Michel Montgomery. (video / lyrics ). The need to be flexible and to know that throughout life we grow and come to new understandings is life giving and forgiving. Please take a few minutes to listen to this beautiful song. Here are three versus as my closing thoughts.

Life’s a dance you learn as you go

Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow

Don’t worry ‘bout what you don’t know

Life’s a dance you learn as you go



The longer I live the more I believe

You do have to give if you want to receive

There’s a time to listen, a time to talk

And you might have to crawl even after you walk



Had sure things blow up in my face

Seen a long shot win the race

Been knocked down by the slamming door

Picked myself up and came back for more



How are you dancing? How is your journey going?

Please share your thoughts and comments.

When do I follow? When do I lead? Do I just walk beside? By Heidi Jakoby

What do the Grammy’s, the continued Haiti relief efforts, many new commercials, all have in common? They are all focusing on being in relationship. Face to face friendships, fellowships, and communities, helping one another to achieve success, to help those in need and to sell products. Is the next big trend to connect with others in person???? What a radical idea.

As I listen to my friends and read face book and twitter updates are we all talking more about our in person contacts? About wanting to get together in person? I wonder how Skype has increase the face to face contact in our world. I know I see more of my brother now with skype even though we live over an hour apart. Is this the new face to face contact?

In this story from Luke 5: 1-11 (NIV)  Simon said he was not worthy to follow Jesus, but Jesus does not listen and the men follow Jesus. This story begins with a crowd wanting to learn from Jesus and then a few took on the challenge of following Jesus and learning from him. What were their qualifications? What were their skills? What was their training? They did not know at the time but their time with Jesus would be short and then they would need to lead. Why did they follow?

When is it time to follow and when is it time to lead? Many leadership resources talk about the importance of creating relationships and knowing when to lead and when to follow. As the former Director of Leadership Development at Rivier College one of the things I tried to instill in all students was in order to succeed you need other people. People who can help you achieve your goals and people whose goals you can help them achieve.

As I think about Jesus leadership style I believe he focused on getting to know people, knowing his audience and then responding to their needs and at times accompanying them on their journey. This brings me to my wedding invitation and one of my favorite quotes:

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.

Just walk beside me and be my friend.-- Albert Camus

What does this mean for you? For me it means all relationships are a give and take. Each person is given an opportunity to lead and to follow. A lot has been written about being a good leader but what makes a good follower? What makes a good partner? Is it trust, faith, compliance, conflict avoidance? What do you think?

I know for me to follow I need to trust the person I am following, I need to know that they respect me and that they want to hear my honest opinion. Most importantly for me I need to know they sincerely care about me and my life, my success. This week President Obama was in Nashua, NH having a town meeting. The town meeting format seems to be a new trend in politics. Why is the town meeting format so popular? I think it is because there is in person contact with the people. This is one way for political leaders to come face to face with the voters and allow the voters to ask questions. This is a different level of relationship and a different way of leading.

This Sunday after the Super Bowl a new show is premiering called Undercover Boss: “Each week a different executive will leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their company. While working alongside their employees, they will see the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organization and get an up-close look at both the good and the bad while discovering the unsung heroes who make their company run.” (for more information)  .

Why would an Executive want to do this? As a leader it is important to know what the people who are following you are experiencing. Would you do this if you were an executive?

Finally I invite you to listen to a song by the Grammy award nominated group Leeland, the song is called Follow You enjoy and let me know what you think. (lyrics, listen)

Please share your thoughts and comments.

If you are in the Nashua, NH area Thursday Feb 4th join us at Panera Bread on Amherst Street at 7 for some relationship building and conversation.

Linking into "Bread for your journey"

If you weren't able to get to last night's bread for your journey gathering at the Crowne, you can experience it this way instead, if you like...

There’s conversation going on as you walk into this Crowne Plaza room set aside for by the way. You take a seat from a semi-circle row of chairs, noticing the colorful words of welcome on the screen in front of you. Others are still arriving as the group begins to get centered… a candle is lit, and you’re invited into God’s presence with some words of prayer.

You have some time to reflect on some readings chosen to go with the theme: Fan or Follower – Considering our Commitments. You can see the brief readings up on the screen, each in turn, followed by the lighting of a candle and some words of prayer:

1st reading: exerpts from “So Tough” by Freddie Foxx
How can I find who's the real divine
when everytime I take a book and take a look
my strong mind sees a new sign…
Who do I follow and who do I lead
do they really wanna help me or is it just greed
is everybody all for self to get wealth
the street wanna dust me off and throw me on the shelves…

prayer: God, the words of this song remind us that the world is asking the questions of who to follow and how to find you. Let us see a peek of you in this time together, or at least a look into who you are… and who we are… in relationship to you. In your name we pray… amen.

2nd reading: Luke 5:27-32
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205:27-32;&version=65

prayer: Loving God, in Jesus you went seeking for so many who didn’t fit the mold. Thank you that these stories of Jesus’ reaching out were preserved for us, so we have a chance to be found as well. Help us to hear your call to follow you… and to figure out what that might mean. In your name we pray… amen.

3rd reading: “All I Do” by St. John of the Cross
Forever at his door
I gave my heart and soul. My fortune too.
I've no flock any more, no other work in view.
My occupation: Love. It's all I do.

prayer: God, as you speak powerfully through poets like John, speak to us through the silence, through words of prayer, through the words of each other, through the bread we share. Occupy us with your kind of love, that we might be your loving servants and poets in your world. In your name we pray… amen

You are then invited to join in a discussion of the theme and the readings. Here are a few highlights…

Who do I follow is a pretty fascinating question, especially because of how Twitter and Facebook and My Space have connected us with old friends, new friends, famous people, groups, causes galore… which on one level is really great. But it can be hard to keep up with all we’re interested in.
~ Google “who do I follow” and you get a whole lineup of Twitter philosophies of how to decide who to follow.
~ Even rapper Freddie Foxx is asking the question, wondering if his followers/fans really care about him or just his wealth.

Who do I follow and what difference does it make?
Who follows me and what’s good about that?
Can I really be committed to all these people and causes?
Is it all just a blur of interests, or is there some kind of organizing principle, some way of focusing it all or sifting through what’s important and what’s not?

Not everyone is scattered and overextended and unfocused. Some are really intentional and focused, and have their acts together. Some are even hyper-focused in their fandom, knowing exactly what they center their lives on.

To go with that thought is a film clip from the movie Fever Pitch, with Ben (the obsessed Red Sox fan) introducing Lindsey (upwardly mobile workaholic) to his “summer family”, those who have season tickets in the same spot.
~ Being an intense fan can get you into something bigger than yourself, give you that exhilaration of being connected, even give you a “family” that won’t let you down (like Ben)
~ Having the Sox as his “organizing principle” only worked for Ben up to a point… then he and Lindsey had to figure out how their love could be at the center instead.

Next, we take a closer look at the story of Jesus and Levi, someone who seems to be a bit like Lindsey (wrapped up in his own successful career) and in another way like Ben (Levi’s “family” is made up of fellow tax collectors, because they’re all outsiders together and can’t get beyond that)

It’s important to know what leads into this story of Levi and Jesus (link above, 2nd rdg). See this poignant story of friends who care, and Jesus' response:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205:17-26;&version=65
~ After this awesome healing, Jesus is poised to have tons of fans… so now all he has to do is schmooze with the right people and he’ll have more fans and followers than he ever dreamed of.
~ But what does he do now to capitalize on his big success? He goes out and sees the least popular person he could find: a tax-collector (aka traitor to his own people and therefore an outsider freak, with absolutely no fans… except for one…)

Yep, it’s Jesus, who shocks Levi and everyone else by telling Levi to follow him. This has got to be a stunning moment for Levi. This Jesus must have incredible charisma, don’t you think? How else would it be possible for the next line of the story to read: “And he did – walked away from everything and went with Jesus.”

Take a look at this Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644) painting “The Calling of St Matthew” (Levi’s story under another name)
http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/European/1941.1.html
~ What do you think the painter communicates about the state of mind of the one called by Jesus…. to completely re-orient himself, away from his money, his shameful but profitable career…

The story doesn’t say how he felt about this incredible turn but it does tell us what he did next: He threw a party! a huge feast for all the tax men and all the other shady characters he could gather… feeling pretty ecstatic about his new focus.
~ Notice there’s no family there; just a bunch of work cronies
~ These tax guys had to watch each other’s backs; no one else would claim them… again, no one except Jesus.

Jesus notices the snooty people who are peeking into Levi’s house, saying, “What in God’s name is he doing?"
~ Jesus compared himself to a doctor: I’m hanging with the sick folks, the ones who need me because they had their priorities screwed up. and I’m offering an amazing kind of healing
~ You were amazed that I could make a paralytic walk! Why can’t you get into the healing of these outsider losers!

So now… if Jesus were to butt into your life like he did Levi’s, what could he possibly do (or be like) that would so thrill you, that he could ask you to walk away from your main focus, and to walk with him and have a new focus?
~ This gets you thinking about your own experiences of how someone reached out to you with a life-changing word or action... while others share their stories of this happening to them, .
~ Maybe if we’re really open to it, we could imagine many ways this has happened to us, that God reaches out to us to shift our priorities throughout our lifetimes (little or big ways)

Jesus calls us to put God in the center of all that our lives are made of… all our following, our major commitments and our shallow ones.
~ And through this story of Levi, Jesus calls us to consider that having God at our center is not a burden or a “should”, but an incredible gift, a release of tension and insecurity, a way of feeling like it all fits together somehow
~ That’s one reason people come together to experience God’s presence and power… to feel once again that things might make sense if God is the center, and to explore with others how that might happen in real ways.

Next you see just one more reading up on the screen. This time it’s not about us following God but about God following us.
~ Take a look at this poetry, especially at the final verse:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2023;&version=76
~ The word, “following” in the original language of Hebrew, literally means “pursuing” or “chasing after” which leaves us with quite an image: of God running after us, following us in hot pursuit, to give us the good stuff we need…

With the discussion drawing to a close, the group is now invited to a time of “open space” where we can experience God’s presence in a variety of ways: lighting candles, sharing bread, talking to one another or having time to ourselves.

We gather together for a few more minutes to share announcements of what’s coming up… and then we are sent out into the world once again.