Biblical Leadership and Followership by, Chris Thomas

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, NIV). â€œAnd God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” (Genesis 1:20, NIV). It is rare you see a comparison between the animal kingdom and the concept of leadership. However, a deeper analysis of God’s creation reveals a much deeper sense of leadership than any other writings on the subject. God, the ultimate creator and leader, created the heavens and the earth, light and dark, the beasts of the water, field and sky, and everything each of those creations can touch, taste smell or think about.

First, accepting the fact God is the ultimate leader, let’s examine where God’s heart is. God created man in his own image. (Genesis 1:26). In fact, the text states, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky...”  Why did the ultimate creator refer to the pronoun “Us” in this passage? If you refer to John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the Beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” 

God and his son, Jesus, were there from the beginning when everything was created. God created man in his own image. This way he can intimately know each person as he knit each of us together in the womb. So this God, who created all the universe, intimately knows each of us as well. Scripture states He knows each of the hairs on your head yet He can bring down the foundations of the Earth. 

What does God and the Bible have to do with leadership? Why does any of this matter? Here is a simple illustration of God’s example of leadership. Illustrated in the photo above, the Canada Geese population migrate up to 3,000 miles each season. They have been known to cover up to 1,500 miles in a single day. As they migrate, they are typically seen in the “V” formation. This formation is most efficient due to the aerodynamics involved. The lead position (the tip of the “V”) is the leader of the group and requires the most energy due to taking on the full drag of the air in front of them. In this formation, all of the geese behind the leader take a follower role. In this role the individual goose can recover from the stresses of the lead position and provide support to the current leader through followership. As God has created these amazing creatures, he built in his innate sense of leadership and followership. These geese follow God’s blueprint without the burdens of ego or ambition.

Put into the human context, we often tend to miss the mark in our daily lives. Why is that? Put simply, it is disobedience. When God created us, he created us to be obedient to his perfect plan. However, we rebelled in the Garden of Eden and brought the curse of sin to the world. We have rebelled ever since. We also rebel against our fellow humans. â€œI want to do this my way.” Sound familiar?

So, the Canada Goose has the plan down pat but we don’t? How is this possible? As leaders, we have to be able to rapidly switch back and forth between the roles of leader and follower. Our ego and ambition, which geese do not have, can be overwhelming forces to truly being a good follower. Regardless of your organization, there is a command or power structure in place. Every boss has a boss. Some individuals are ambitiously climbing up that structure, others may not want that. Regardless, each of us have to be able to follow a leader, when appropriate, with the only internal motivation being meeting of the mission. Can you do the work and enjoy watching the team get the credit? If not, you will never successfully migrate. 

In God’s model, followership is foundational to leadership. Leadership is foundational to any organization or movement having success.

Jesus is the ultimate example of leadership. Jesus, God’s son, was sent to the world for a specific purpose. He was to live in human flesh, remain sinless, and to atone for mankind’s sin. Jesus handpicked his twelve disciples based on his omniscient knowledge of each of them. He mentored, taught, built up, empowered, corrected, and most of all loved each of his disciples despite their inadequacies, failures or character flaws. Jesus led the most important movement in all history. He led from the front and refused to ever compromise in the face of danger or ridicule. 

Jesus already knew the failures of each of his disciples yet he still chose to keep them in the circle. He knew Judas would ultimately betray him yet he still kept him close, why? Although Jesus is God, he is the son of God simultaneously. As the Son, he is under authority. Throughout New Testament scripture, Jesus prayed to the Father. Jesus had the authority to wipe out all of his enemies with one breath, yet he didn’t. He had the ability to change anything he wanted instantly. However, he was always obedient to the Father’s will. He knew when to be the lead goose and when to move back in the formation and give the Father the head spot. He gave the Father the glory, refusing it for himself. 

Jesus chose to carry out much of God’s will through his people. This was not for his own benefit but for the benefit of his people. We are expected to be a reflection of God in our thoughts and actions. 

Biblical Leadership

Going back to the example of the Canada Goose migration, God created each goose to follow and to lead. When one leader falls back, another steps in seamlessly to meet the mission of the migration. Each goose fills an integral part of the team providing aerodynamic shelter for the others, leading, following, and watching out for each other. That is the model God created. 

God, the ultimate leader, is in control of every atom in the universe. However, He gives his people the gift of choice. He gently nudges, pushes, and sometimes sternly corrects us, but we still have the choice to follow or not. Through Jesus, the Holy Spirit, his creation, and biblical guidance, He has given us every tool for us to become good followers. Good followers are not blind followers. Good followers engage, learn, grow, and thirst for personal growth and development. Good followers do right always and never compromise. Good followers know how to lead others and know the importance of supporting those above you.

The night Judas betrayed Jesus, Jesus knew He was to be captured, tortured and murdered. As a good follower, He submitted to the Father’s will in prayer. The Father’s will was for this crucifixion to take place to free mankind from the bonds of sin and rebellion. Jesus asked Him, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus could have ended the whole ordeal under his own power right there, but he submitted to the will of the Father. Jesus was a biblical follower.

Throughout his teachings, Jesus poured himself into all of those people around him. He rebuked those needing correction, he often answered questions with questions, spoke in parables, and dealt with situations with supernatural wisdom. This is mentoring. He led the disciples through love, mentorship, personal development, correction, and by example. He never compromised his morals and always did right. He protected, healed, prayed for and with the masses to bring them into the migratory formation. Jesus was a biblical leader of perfect proportion. Although many scholars have conducted research and written books on leadership, yet Jesus made it so simple. 

• Know your mission inside and out
• Give clear direction
• Live it out
• Pick your team wisely
• Never take the credit for a win
• Always take the consequence for failures
• Never compromise-EVER
• Always do right
• Pour yourself into the team Mentor, teach, develop
• Trust them
• Protect them
• Correct them
• Promote them
• Champion them
• Fall back in the formation when you need to
• Let the point man lead!
• Always stand in the other person’s shoes
• Show your followership through your leadership
• Second only to honesty is humility

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The poor in spirit are those with genuine humility. Here Jesus gave a clear expectation of his people and lived it out. In his final human moments on the cross, he asked the Father to forgive those who condemned him for they didn’t know the totality of what they were doing. In his final act of followership, humility and obedience, he cried out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). The good news is God raised him from the dead three days later to assume his divine appointment at the right hand of the Father. Jesus will forevermore lead all humanity from the throne in Heaven.  

He has laid out clear directions for us. Follow me, believe in me and I will adopt you as mine. Above all else, love. Live poor in spirit. Be a peacemaker. Put no other god before me. Trust me. Follow me.

He leads from a position of great power and authority. He leads from a position of perfection. He created all the universe yet he knows you intimately. He will never betray you or break a promise. He will grow you, develop you, mentor you, protect you, and love you as his own. His mission is attainable, incremental, and His yoke is easy. Jesus built the birds of the sky to follow his example. Don’t worry about the scholarly theories and studies. Follow the leadership model of the creator. His model is as simple as the Canada Goose migration.