The Leadership ChallengeSample

  

Challenge 33

THE DISCIPLES: BEING A GOOD FOLLOWER

READ: Matthew 4:12—5:2

Before the simple fishermen Andrew and Simon Peter were leaders in the church, they were Jesus’s disciples. The Greek word translated as disciple means learner. In the Gospels and Acts it becomes a term for Jesus’s followers. The disciples followed Jesus as their master 24/7 for three years, sharing life with Him. He taught them. He coached and mentored them as they imitated His work of service. They experienced what it was like to be led well. Whether or not they realized it, they were learning what they needed to continue Jesus’s mission once He was gone. Good leaders are first good followers, and Christian leaders are called to be followers in two ways. First, we are to be Christ’s followers, His disciples. We are to be identified with Him in His mission, teaching, and character. Second, we are to be good followers by living out Christ-like character in the context of the teams in which we serve.

Another passage that reveals more of Jesus’s interactions with His disciples is Luke 10:1–24. Two other biblical cases of leaders and followers are Joshua and Moses (see, for example, Exodus 24:13 and Numbers 27:18) and Elijah and Elisha (including 1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2).

What do we learn about being a follower from the example of Jesus’s disciples? What quality of a good follower does the Greek meaning of the term disciple suggest to you? How can you demonstrate that quality as a leader?