Follow The Leader
1 Corinthians 11:1
Happy Father’s Day. Today I want to talk about being fathers AND being leaders or “having influence” in the lives of others in the Church. Because it’s Father’s Day, I want to talk to the fathers as leaders “in the family,” including birth fathers, step-fathers, and those in father roles in the family.
But I also want to talk to those who have influence in the lives of others in the Church, and actually, all these truths also apply equally to mothers. Mothers in the family role, and women who have influence in the lives of others in the Church. But since it’s Father’s Day, I’ll focus on fathers. The influence of fathers as leaders “in the family” and the influence we have on those who look to us in the Church.
Years ago, our son David gave me a detailed explanation of the role of the point man on patrol in the Marine Corp. David did two tours in Afghanistan as a Navy Corpsman (medic) with the Marines. He explained whenever a squad goes out on patrol in enemy territory, the squad walks in a single file line, all following the point man.
In Afghanistan, because of the high rate of IEDs, the point man walked with a minesweeper. He has a rifleman right behind him to protect him because his focus has to be entirely on the path. The point man knows that every step he takes, the men who are following him are going to take that same step. Every turn he takes, every man in the squad is going to take that same turn, and so, there’s a huge responsibility on the point man to make his path “straight” and his way “clear.” It’s because the lives of those who are following him depend on him choosing the right path. It’s a life and death version of Follow The Leader.
Men, if you are in a father role in the family, or if you are in a role that has influence in the Church, you are a point man and… someone is following you. And where you step is where those who are following you are going to step, and the path you walk is the path they are going to walk. YOU are the point man in this life-setting version of Follow The Leader.
The point man takes the responsibility at the risk of his own life to say, follow me as I choose the path, and I will make the way clear for you. And whether you are a leader as a husband and father at home or are in a role that has influence in the Church, you are in a direction-setting version of Follow The Leader. You are the point man, and someone is following you.
And one thing is for absolutely sure, in any combat zone, you will never hear a point man say, “You may see me go THIS way, but I want you to go THAT way. The point man will never say, “Do what I say, not what I do.” The point man is not talking. He’s focused on where he is going to step and the next step. And he knows that his actions are going to determine the steps that the people behind him take. And so, when he takes that step, he’s taking it for everybody in that squad. Your family or those in the Church ARE following your actions – not your words. They are walking where YOU walk.
We have to understand we have that level of influence. We have that leadership responsibility. God’s given that to us; that is what he made us for. And, honestly, we should rejoice in it and embrace it. Lord, you called me to such a high calling, and you gave me the responsibility of lives that are being influenced by my life and by my choices, either at home or in the Church, or both.
Here is the goal – it’s for you to understand that you are the VISIBLE point man, but there is another ultimate Point Man.
And so, for the sake of those who are following us, we’ve got to be following the true and ultimate Point Man. Look what Paul says in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 11.
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)
1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Jesus is the ultimate Point Man, but the people following you – see YOU. And you want them to see Jesus, but they see you. And they are following you. And so, you as a leader, you as an “influencer” in Church or at home, you have got to know that you’re following the ultimate Point Man, that Jesus is in front of you, and as he walks – you walk knowing that there are those behind you that are walking as you walk, as you walk as he walks. Perfectly clear. Follow me as I follow Christ, and I’m going to stay close to Christ like my life depends on it, and you can trust to follow me as I follow him.
Jesus is the true and ultimate Point-Man. Because of his omniscience, Jesus Christ must be in front of us with the ultimate mine sweeper because he knows where every mine is, where every danger is, and he knows the ONLY guaranteed SAFE path. He can walk you through the minefield of this enemy-entrenched world. He can walk you step-by-step through the battlefield.
And so, we’ve got to have our eyes firmly fixed on him, and where he walks – we walk, for the benefit of those who are walking where we walk.
You are a point man. And men, you need to see yourselves as a point man. You’ve got to see yourself in that position, and you’ve got to understand that you are in a life-changing version of Follow The Leader. Because the way you go as a leader is going to change someone’s life who’s following you. If you’re a husband and a father, those who are following you are your wife and children. And one of the enemy’s most effective strategies is to remove fathers from leading their families because if the enemy can remove the point man, then that family might wander around aimlessly in the minefield of this world and sometimes to their own destruction.
And if you are in a role of influence in the Church (notice I am not saying “leader”), then one of Satan’s most effective strategies is to get you to be a stumbling block for the person who is following you.
This life-changing version of Follow The Leader is happening in your home and at Church. We’ve got to accept this, and we’ve got to choose our steps carefully because someone is walking the way that we walk and living the way that we live.
Philippians 3:17–18 (NLT)
17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.
18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
You have heard the quote, “Your actions speak so loudly, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.”
THAT is what Paul is saying here in verse 18.
I say it with tears in my eyes . . . there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
HOW do you avoid being that person?
How do we become the person that we want those following us to follow?
Turn over to the Book of Micah. Much of the prophecy in Micah focuses on the sinful and self-centered leaders of God’s people. Everything from idolatry to moral, civil, and spiritual failures – it’s all there in the leaders of Israel. In Micah, Chapter 6, the Lord brings his indictment against the leaders of Israel. And then, in verse 6, the leaders respond to God by saying (basically) what can we do at this point? Is there anything that can bring us back to God?
And then, in one famous verse, God summarizes what is required of his leaders. The Lord is speaking to the leaders of Israel. AND he is speaking to the leaders of our home and those with influence in our Church.
And in Micah 6, verse 8, God tells us:
Micah 6:8 (NLT)
8 No, O people (Literally, O MAN), the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: (1) to do what is right, (2) to love mercy, and (3) to walk humbly with your God.
If you are leading in the home or in the Church, THIS is what the Lord requires of you.
1). Do what is RIGHT
2). LOVE MERCY
3). WALK HUMBLY with your God
Instead of living in your old life, be born again to a new life of doing what is right.
Instead of living in your old life, be born again to a new life of loving mercy.
Instead of living in your old life, be born again to a new life of walking humbly with your God.
Become a point man who can safely lead those who are following you through the minefield of the world by allowing the new life of Jesus Christ to live in you and through you.
That is the only way to BE a Christ-like leader.
We can’t “Do what is right before God” until we “Become right WITH God” by faith.
We can’t “Show God’s mercy” until we have received God’s mercy – by faith.
We can’t “Walk humbly with God” until we have crucified our “self-life” through faith in Christ.
For us to be able to say, “Follow me, as I follow Christ,” we must first have a complete and total surrender of our own lives to Jesus Christ as our “Point Man.”
In this summary (in Micah 6:8) of what God requires of leaders, to do what is right has the sense of justice. Do what is just and right before God. And those who are following you will see you do that.
And this word translated mercy in “love mercy” is one of our favorite Hebrew words – HESED. It means “to show steadfast, faithful kindness.” “Love showing others steadfast, faithful, loving-kindness” and those who are following you will see you do that.
And “to walk humbly with your God” means walking with God with no thought of self. Ture humility is NOT thinking of SELF. It’s surrendering your own ideas and actions and taking on God’s ideas and actions, and those who are following you will see you do that.
Isn’t it amazing that God would summarize what is required of a leader both in the home and in the Church in just three commands?
1). Do what is RIGHT
2). LOVE MERCY
3). WALK HUMBLY with your God
If you will allow the power of God to transform you in these three areas, you will be able to BE that point man in this life-setting version of Follow The Leader.
You don’t have to be perfect – no one CAN be.
BUT – When someone is following us – God calls us to:
1). CHOOSE to DO what is right, especially when it is hard.
2). LOVE to show steadfast, faithful kindness to others (mercy)
3). To WALK HUMBLY with God – with NO thought of SELF
Because IF – by the power of Jesus Christ living in you – you will walk in these three summary requirements from God, then those who are following you will safely navigate the minefield that the enemy has set up for them in this world.
A long time ago, at a Promise Keepers event, Dennis Rainey taught a lesson – by example – that we should never forget. He set up twelve huge traps on the stage, including the biggest large-animal trap made (it took four men to set), and they were all SET – ready to take off a limb of anyone who wasn’t careful enough. And he talked about how dangerous this world is for teenagers to navigate on their own, and in the process, he sprung a few of these huge traps (with a 2x4) to show the very real danger.
Then he brought a dad and a thirteen-year-old son on the stage. He put the dad at one end of the traps and the son at the other, and he explained that he was going to have the dad tell the son HOW to walk through the traps (in other words, “Do what I say”). And then the dad got really nervous when they asked his son to take off his shoes and then blindfolded him. And so, the dad started to tell his son how to move forward around the first trap.
And then, suddenly, the dad just yelled to his son, “Freeze! Don’t move! Stop right where you’re at!”
And then, the dad walks across the stage and tells his son to put both hands on his shoulders and stay behind him, and tells him to stay behind him and carefully follow him every step of the way. And all across the stage, the son stepped ONLY where his dad stepped, and he easily made it through ALL the traps (as the stadium erupted in applause).
If you are a father today, make sure you are building a relationship with your children that will enable them to put their hands on your shoulders and follow you closely, walking the WAY you walk AS you lead them through the minefield the enemy has set up for them. And this is just as true for those who have influence in the lives of others in the Church.
WHEREVER you are leading and
WHOEVER you are leading
TAKE your God-given responsibility to lead them safely BY your example through the enemy’s trap in this world.
But I also want to talk to those who have influence in the lives of others in the Church, and actually, all these truths also apply equally to mothers. Mothers in the family role, and women who have influence in the lives of others in the Church. But since it’s Father’s Day, I’ll focus on fathers. The influence of fathers as leaders “in the family” and the influence we have on those who look to us in the Church.
Years ago, our son David gave me a detailed explanation of the role of the point man on patrol in the Marine Corp. David did two tours in Afghanistan as a Navy Corpsman (medic) with the Marines. He explained whenever a squad goes out on patrol in enemy territory, the squad walks in a single file line, all following the point man.
In Afghanistan, because of the high rate of IEDs, the point man walked with a minesweeper. He has a rifleman right behind him to protect him because his focus has to be entirely on the path. The point man knows that every step he takes, the men who are following him are going to take that same step. Every turn he takes, every man in the squad is going to take that same turn, and so, there’s a huge responsibility on the point man to make his path “straight” and his way “clear.” It’s because the lives of those who are following him depend on him choosing the right path. It’s a life and death version of Follow The Leader.
Men, if you are in a father role in the family, or if you are in a role that has influence in the Church, you are a point man and… someone is following you. And where you step is where those who are following you are going to step, and the path you walk is the path they are going to walk. YOU are the point man in this life-setting version of Follow The Leader.
The point man takes the responsibility at the risk of his own life to say, follow me as I choose the path, and I will make the way clear for you. And whether you are a leader as a husband and father at home or are in a role that has influence in the Church, you are in a direction-setting version of Follow The Leader. You are the point man, and someone is following you.
And one thing is for absolutely sure, in any combat zone, you will never hear a point man say, “You may see me go THIS way, but I want you to go THAT way. The point man will never say, “Do what I say, not what I do.” The point man is not talking. He’s focused on where he is going to step and the next step. And he knows that his actions are going to determine the steps that the people behind him take. And so, when he takes that step, he’s taking it for everybody in that squad. Your family or those in the Church ARE following your actions – not your words. They are walking where YOU walk.
We have to understand we have that level of influence. We have that leadership responsibility. God’s given that to us; that is what he made us for. And, honestly, we should rejoice in it and embrace it. Lord, you called me to such a high calling, and you gave me the responsibility of lives that are being influenced by my life and by my choices, either at home or in the Church, or both.
Here is the goal – it’s for you to understand that you are the VISIBLE point man, but there is another ultimate Point Man.
And so, for the sake of those who are following us, we’ve got to be following the true and ultimate Point Man. Look what Paul says in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 11.
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)
1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Jesus is the ultimate Point Man, but the people following you – see YOU. And you want them to see Jesus, but they see you. And they are following you. And so, you as a leader, you as an “influencer” in Church or at home, you have got to know that you’re following the ultimate Point Man, that Jesus is in front of you, and as he walks – you walk knowing that there are those behind you that are walking as you walk, as you walk as he walks. Perfectly clear. Follow me as I follow Christ, and I’m going to stay close to Christ like my life depends on it, and you can trust to follow me as I follow him.
Jesus is the true and ultimate Point-Man. Because of his omniscience, Jesus Christ must be in front of us with the ultimate mine sweeper because he knows where every mine is, where every danger is, and he knows the ONLY guaranteed SAFE path. He can walk you through the minefield of this enemy-entrenched world. He can walk you step-by-step through the battlefield.
And so, we’ve got to have our eyes firmly fixed on him, and where he walks – we walk, for the benefit of those who are walking where we walk.
You are a point man. And men, you need to see yourselves as a point man. You’ve got to see yourself in that position, and you’ve got to understand that you are in a life-changing version of Follow The Leader. Because the way you go as a leader is going to change someone’s life who’s following you. If you’re a husband and a father, those who are following you are your wife and children. And one of the enemy’s most effective strategies is to remove fathers from leading their families because if the enemy can remove the point man, then that family might wander around aimlessly in the minefield of this world and sometimes to their own destruction.
And if you are in a role of influence in the Church (notice I am not saying “leader”), then one of Satan’s most effective strategies is to get you to be a stumbling block for the person who is following you.
This life-changing version of Follow The Leader is happening in your home and at Church. We’ve got to accept this, and we’ve got to choose our steps carefully because someone is walking the way that we walk and living the way that we live.
Philippians 3:17–18 (NLT)
17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.
18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
You have heard the quote, “Your actions speak so loudly, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.”
THAT is what Paul is saying here in verse 18.
I say it with tears in my eyes . . . there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
HOW do you avoid being that person?
How do we become the person that we want those following us to follow?
Turn over to the Book of Micah. Much of the prophecy in Micah focuses on the sinful and self-centered leaders of God’s people. Everything from idolatry to moral, civil, and spiritual failures – it’s all there in the leaders of Israel. In Micah, Chapter 6, the Lord brings his indictment against the leaders of Israel. And then, in verse 6, the leaders respond to God by saying (basically) what can we do at this point? Is there anything that can bring us back to God?
And then, in one famous verse, God summarizes what is required of his leaders. The Lord is speaking to the leaders of Israel. AND he is speaking to the leaders of our home and those with influence in our Church.
And in Micah 6, verse 8, God tells us:
Micah 6:8 (NLT)
8 No, O people (Literally, O MAN), the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: (1) to do what is right, (2) to love mercy, and (3) to walk humbly with your God.
If you are leading in the home or in the Church, THIS is what the Lord requires of you.
1). Do what is RIGHT
2). LOVE MERCY
3). WALK HUMBLY with your God
Instead of living in your old life, be born again to a new life of doing what is right.
Instead of living in your old life, be born again to a new life of loving mercy.
Instead of living in your old life, be born again to a new life of walking humbly with your God.
Become a point man who can safely lead those who are following you through the minefield of the world by allowing the new life of Jesus Christ to live in you and through you.
That is the only way to BE a Christ-like leader.
We can’t “Do what is right before God” until we “Become right WITH God” by faith.
We can’t “Show God’s mercy” until we have received God’s mercy – by faith.
We can’t “Walk humbly with God” until we have crucified our “self-life” through faith in Christ.
For us to be able to say, “Follow me, as I follow Christ,” we must first have a complete and total surrender of our own lives to Jesus Christ as our “Point Man.”
In this summary (in Micah 6:8) of what God requires of leaders, to do what is right has the sense of justice. Do what is just and right before God. And those who are following you will see you do that.
And this word translated mercy in “love mercy” is one of our favorite Hebrew words – HESED. It means “to show steadfast, faithful kindness.” “Love showing others steadfast, faithful, loving-kindness” and those who are following you will see you do that.
And “to walk humbly with your God” means walking with God with no thought of self. Ture humility is NOT thinking of SELF. It’s surrendering your own ideas and actions and taking on God’s ideas and actions, and those who are following you will see you do that.
Isn’t it amazing that God would summarize what is required of a leader both in the home and in the Church in just three commands?
1). Do what is RIGHT
2). LOVE MERCY
3). WALK HUMBLY with your God
If you will allow the power of God to transform you in these three areas, you will be able to BE that point man in this life-setting version of Follow The Leader.
You don’t have to be perfect – no one CAN be.
BUT – When someone is following us – God calls us to:
1). CHOOSE to DO what is right, especially when it is hard.
2). LOVE to show steadfast, faithful kindness to others (mercy)
3). To WALK HUMBLY with God – with NO thought of SELF
Because IF – by the power of Jesus Christ living in you – you will walk in these three summary requirements from God, then those who are following you will safely navigate the minefield that the enemy has set up for them in this world.
A long time ago, at a Promise Keepers event, Dennis Rainey taught a lesson – by example – that we should never forget. He set up twelve huge traps on the stage, including the biggest large-animal trap made (it took four men to set), and they were all SET – ready to take off a limb of anyone who wasn’t careful enough. And he talked about how dangerous this world is for teenagers to navigate on their own, and in the process, he sprung a few of these huge traps (with a 2x4) to show the very real danger.
Then he brought a dad and a thirteen-year-old son on the stage. He put the dad at one end of the traps and the son at the other, and he explained that he was going to have the dad tell the son HOW to walk through the traps (in other words, “Do what I say”). And then the dad got really nervous when they asked his son to take off his shoes and then blindfolded him. And so, the dad started to tell his son how to move forward around the first trap.
And then, suddenly, the dad just yelled to his son, “Freeze! Don’t move! Stop right where you’re at!”
And then, the dad walks across the stage and tells his son to put both hands on his shoulders and stay behind him, and tells him to stay behind him and carefully follow him every step of the way. And all across the stage, the son stepped ONLY where his dad stepped, and he easily made it through ALL the traps (as the stadium erupted in applause).
If you are a father today, make sure you are building a relationship with your children that will enable them to put their hands on your shoulders and follow you closely, walking the WAY you walk AS you lead them through the minefield the enemy has set up for them. And this is just as true for those who have influence in the lives of others in the Church.
WHEREVER you are leading and
WHOEVER you are leading
TAKE your God-given responsibility to lead them safely BY your example through the enemy’s trap in this world.