We continue our four-week worship series, Leadership | Follow Me, this Sunday. The series invites reflection on the current cultural focus on leadership and the call of Christians to follow. This week we focus on what it means to “Follow Followers.” You may want to view the video we have been seeing in worship. This week pay special attention to the final few moments when you see the crowds join the dance.
Here is a link to the video (Leadership From A Dancing Guy) we’ve used in worship: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ.]
We move from the Gospel of Mark to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Here is a link to the passage: 1 Corinthians 9.16-23
Like the first disciples, Paul might be considered a first follower of Jesus. Paul himself had many followers in communities far and wide. Eric Boretto writes, “For Paul, the motivating force of his proclamation is a profound sense of call. For Paul, God’s call to him is shaped by a pair of powerful and interlaced forces: the God who called him and the people who would hear the good news. That is, for Paul, God and the people to whom God has sent him are tied together.” In other words, Paul is a first follower connected both to the leadership of Jesus and the followership of the people who look to him for guidance.
Think of a time when you, like Paul, have been in a “middle place” (e.g. a time when you were a “middle manager” or a time when you were beholden both to a leader and your own followers). What are some of the challenges of this position? What are some of the gifts of this position?
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