Leadership

From this Sunday’s Lectionary... According to John’s gospel, Jesus comes to Philip and says, “follow me”. He doesn’t tell him, “do what I say”, but “follow me”. Now Jesus calls many people, you and me, to follow him and embark on a shared journey. That’s something to think about. Another thing to think about is what kind of leadership Jesus is showing, by saying “follow me”; it only works if the leader sets an example and shares the journey to which she’s inviting people. How many times have we been told, in effect, “don’t do what we do, do what we say”. We may still do what we’re told, because we know for other reasons that it’s right, but we do it with a heavy heart. Jesus is not that kind of leader – he says “follow me”.