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Standing with you on the frontlines

DECEMBER 1999......LOSING A CROWD, TO GAIN A FOLLOWING

There are two topics beginning with the word 'L' that's been spoken about so much in the church and yet modelled so litte - 'Love" and 'Leadership'. Coincidentally, they both go together. Check out John 15:13-14 where Jesus says it is love that motivates people to follow us.

Somewhere along the years, I know I have also been guilty of putting in my 2 cents worth on the subject. I like putting things simply (although most people who know me would disagree). For example, my definition of leadership, in a nutshell, is: To be leader, one must have followers. No matter what your leadership style is, you are a leader when people follow you. Simple logic. End of argument. Yet, the Lord has got me rethinking on this area in recent times.

IS THERE AN ANOINTING TO DRAW CROWDS?

I will begin by sharing a lunch conversation I had with a more senior minister a few years ago. He was advising me to 'build up an annointing to draw crowds'. Obviously, he believed that it was this type of anointing that rested on Jesus and enabled him to have crowds follow him. Having masses of followers apparently was a macho way of proving leadership. Don't get me wrong, I greatly admire leaders who have been given the grace of God to have influence over millions. But there is yet a greater test for the mantle of leadership.

LEADERS MUST LOOK BEYOND THE CROWDS

While visiting the ruins of Capernaum on the northern shore of the Galilee, I was struck by how strategic the town where Jesus set up his ministry base was. It sat right smack on the Via Maris, (the way of the sea), where He could minister to many Gentiles and Jews.

And indeed, Jesus of Nazareth was a household name in Galilee. The people of Capernaum were quite keen for Jesus to set up his revival tents in their town (Luke 4:42). Besides, staying in Capernaum made sense as it was a safe haven from the powerful religious mafia of Jerusalem. To reach the rest of the nation, Jesus could just send disciples from out of Capernaum.

If crowds were the idea, then Jesus should have just stayed in the Galilee. He should not have offended His followers with mention of His imminent death (John 6:66). Indeed, even perish any thought of it! After all, the crowds needed His leadership. When Jesus said that when He was lifted up He would draw ALL men unto Him, He was giving us the key to enlarge one's sphere of influence.

LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT PURPOSE!

When Jesus had finished ministering to the multitudes, He recognised it was time to operate in a greater principle. It was time to go to Jerusalem - to die! What goes on in a person's mind when he makes his last sojourn? John 12:27 tells us that Jesus struggled in His soul. Maybe He anguished about the crowds He was leaving behind - He did weep for them and pray for them. But there was no turning back: If as a leader, He really loved them, He ought to die for them. "For this purpose I came to this hour," He said. "It was better for you that I die," He tried to assure them.

The true influence of leadership can only be released when a leader has fulfilled his purpose. Would leaders today be willing to give up their crowds? Sometimes, I think we love our crowds too much to do so. We love them for the way they make us feel. The adulation they give us feeds our feeling of self-importance and magnifies our 'anointing'.

Yet, Jesus showed us that He was most influential after He was willing to lose His crowd and die. He lost a crowd to become a leader. There is simply no other way.

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