Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

“Soooooo, what’s next?” My friend ambled her way to my side as I finished putting the last flier into a bag for later distribution.

Grinning, I said, “I’m not in charge, so I’m not sure. Shall we go ask?”

As we worked, we chatted generally about the roles of leadership and followership and what it means to be a good follower. Because we’ve both worn the mantle of leadership in various areas of our lives, we know the value of a strong team filled with people who can be focused on implementing rather than envisioning.

I hadn’t considered the importance of good followership in terms of pastors and other spiritual leaders until I read today’s verse, but many of the same concepts apply to being a healthy member of a faith community.

Good followers are thoughtfully committed to the same vision as their leader. This is not a blind following but a conscious choosing to work toward a common goal.

Good followers engage in healthy conflict resolution. If we are frustrated or uncomfortable with a leader, we go to them directly and discreetly before pulling others into the disagreement. We also acknowledge that there are often several perfectly reasonable ways to go about the same task and accept that our leader might go about it differently than our preferred way, and that’s okay.

Good followers work toward finding and building unity between the larger team and leadership rather than sowing seeds of discord and division through murmuring and gossip.

There are times and seasons in which I cannot serve as a leader, but I’m grateful to know that I can still be part of God’s kingdom-building team in equally important ways by being a committed and servant-hearted follower. God doesn’t always call us to leadership. And, truly, even those in leadership roles are—first and foremost—followers of Christ.

We aren’t tasked to be world changers and kingdom builders alone; isn’t that a relief? The moment I finally realized I can change the world in my followership, a weight lifted that I didn’t know I was attempting to carry.

Julie

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Where are you called to be a committed, excellent follower? In what ways could you apply some of these concepts of good followership within your team?