This is What I've Learned...About 'Follower-ship'

   I hear a lot of talk these days on leadership, and how to become an effective leader. From pastors and ministries on T.V. and podcasts, to secular authors and speakers with organizations that are dedicated to teaching effective leadership, and many of these programs are deeply impactful and motivational.  But what if they’re missing something, something way more significant and essential to the life of a believer?

   I had a conversation about a month ago with one of Tin Cup Ministries’ trustees, Deke, who’s a Marine, and central to my conversation with him was this question, that he been pondering for awhile. “Layton…how do we teach people to become followers, in this current landscape of constant chatter about becoming a leader?” 

   Well, I’ve thought a lot about “Deke’s” question as of late, with all that’s going on, and the truth is, you and I, all of us, are already pretty good followers. Following either something or someone. We follow friends on social media, we follow leaders of all kinds, ministers, politicians, you name it, we follow leaders that we tend to align our thinking with, that see things our way.  As followers, we buy into shared ideology, and vehemently disagree with others that have differing views of how things are or we think they should be. We do this systematically, socially, politically, economically, ...