December 9 - Follow the Leader

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Timothy 5,6; Titus 1-3

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Effective leaders must first learn the art of followership. 

I personally have loved getting older. As my hair began to magically disappear and that which remained turned grey, I suddenly gained more authority. People began to assume that I must be wise, like Yoda. But when I was a young upstart, I tended to strive for position and then flaunt my titles to get people to listen to me. “Hey, I’m a pastor, reverend in fact - I have a license to preach”  (really, that’s what my first Foursquare license said!).

Knowing this about young leaders, I reread Paul’s advice to his protégés, Timothy and Titus, with keen interest. He was urging both of them to be authoritative, especially with those who are divisive (6:3-5; 1:9-11; 2:15; 3:10). But implicit in his encouragement to them to exercise authority is the secret to gaining that respect. As a spiritual leader, the only way to gain authority is to be submitted to authority.

This idea of submission is counter-intuitive to most young leaders. Society then and now believes born leaders are those who cannot follow. Rules to the natural leader, some say, are made to be broken. It’s true that some of the students who gave us grief at PLBC eventually became very effective leaders, but, I would contend, only when they eventually learned the art of followership.

This idea of submission weaves its way throughout the text, and is applied to leaders (5:1;1:6-9), young women (2:4,5), young men (2:6-8), slaves (6:1; 2:9) , and all of us as citizens (3:1). This truth applies to me, even during my current years of “Yoda-like” wisdom (I speak facetiously!). “Lord, may Paul’s advice to young Titus become my prayer: Remind [me] to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”