Janie B. Cheaney: Following faithfully

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, October 15th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. There’s a lot of talk right now about the next generation of Christian leaders. But WORLD Commentator Janie B. Cheaney says there’s something the church needs even more.

JANIE B. CHEANEY: Revival is in the air; we’ve been praying for it and hope that the movement of younger generations toward God and the church is more than a short-term fad. Good leadership may help determine its staying power. We need strength, vision, wisdom, perceptiveness—and with all that, humility. Does your local church have such a stellar individual? Yes, it does: her Head.

Well sure, you might say: Christ the Head is perfect, but who’s going to fill the pulpit, minister with patience, and set our direction? Get real!

But who’s more real than Christ? And what’s easier to forget than that we are all His followers, even our leaders? While the training, nurturing and appointing of good leadership is vital, it’s equally important to learn the principles of good followership.

We are rightly wary of blind following, after so many churches and Christian movements have derailed on false leadership. Give a charismatic man a platform, it’ll go straight to his head. Put unquestioned power in his hand, it becomes a weapon. Remember Jim Jones and other less extreme examples who abused their disciples’ trust. Blind following is what happens when personal autonomy is overrun or will is flattened, or when we don’t care enough to be vigilant.

But “followership” is a virtue built on other virtues. It’s positive not negative, active not passive. And it knows, or learns, where to draw the line.

What are those virtues? For one thing, wise submission. Not subjecting to someone’s whim, but humbling oneself under the mighty hand of God, who ordains authorities. Those authorities will not always be right. Neither will we. But where they do not compel outright disobedience to God’s word, our first consideration should be: What would Christ, my ultimate leader, have me do? Resist, or submit?

Another virtue: gratitude. Last week’s sermon may not have been stellar, but there were good reminders in it. I questioned the Bible teacher’s main point, but it made me think. When I doubt a leader’s decision the question is not, What can I tolerate, but What would Christ have me do? Complain, or commend?

Followership is the practical application of service. We call ourselves servants of God, but when it comes to serving Elder Jones, well . . . Does God know the man’s tendency to voice half-considered political opinions? Or his shaky views on the doctrine of Reprobation? Peter held a shaky view of the Atonement when his Master knelt to wash his feet. That example, and the command that they serve one another, was based on nothing but that they all claimed to serve Him.

Finally, good followership relies on trust—in the Head, not the man. If we are in Christ, we can trust His grace to cover honest mistakes. If our leaders take a wrong turn, He can correct them. Even if we throw away some good years following the wrong man, we can refocus on the perfect Man who creates good from evil. That’s His specialty—if we trust Him.

Welcoming new believers into the church means modeling good followership. There is a time to speak up, and a time to shut up. God will supply wisdom to discern when to do which, but the first question remains: What would He have us do? Follow Him.

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.