Faithful Following

faithful following by Shandon Klein, Ministry Associate

Over the past few weeks, my mind has been contemplating this observation: our primary call as Christians is to follow rather than lead.

This is a tough pill to swallow in an individualistic society that praises influencers and CEOs, celebrities, and world leaders who are larger than life. Following seems so passive. So dependent. Following in and of itself is not inherently wrong, but whom we follow matters. Whom we follow can make the difference between whether we are empowered or disempowered, the difference between being heard or being silenced.

As Christians, we are to be considered “followers of Jesus.” Following requires a sort of faithfulness, the placement of trust in another outside of yourself. Those who have endured the heartache of broken trust know that following is not so passive. However, there can be powerful agency in choosing who we allow to lead our lives and our future.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, understood this quite well. He didn’t set out to lead a movement or to create a whole denomination. He was concerned that the Church he loved was not following through with the commitment to love all neighbors, especially the poor. Through his methodical way of studying God’s word, talking with God through prayer, and building accountability groups, he was empowered to follow the nudges from the Holy Spirit: to meet the needy where they were instead of beckoning them to come to the lavish buildings that dismissed them. Wesley remained faithful to his call from God, enabling him to grow deeper as a follower. And guess what? People started following him. He became a leader, an influencer, by following the ultimate influencer.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, as the primary influencer over our lives, hate, injustice, and oppressive tendencies are no longer permitted to reign through our actions. Love must be the center of our lives.

With faithfulness comes trusting in things unknown. When we put our full faith in God, we may not know or understand the end goal or the steps in between to get there (incredibly frustrating for the “Type A” planning types like me). At the same time, God doesn’t ask us to trust God blindly. We are free to interrogate and ask questions of our scripture and tradition by engaging them through our experience and reason. Often, through this questioning, a closer relationship with God begins. In this intimate relationship with God, we trust that God will reveal the next steps for us to take despite the unknown. We pray that we will be courageous enough to recognize those next steps and humble enough to follow them.

So who is your influencer? Whom do you follow?

May we be still enough to seek the guidance of our ultimate influencer in whom we have pledged to put our primary faith and hope. Who knows where (or how) our following might lead?