I Am A Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus by Leonard Sweet ($5.49 for the Kindle edition on Amazon) is a somewhat contrarian book that challenges the prevalent “everything rises and falls on leadership” premise. Sweet insists,
We have come to believe that we have a leadership crisis while all along we have been in a drought of discipleship. The Jesus paradox is that only Christians lead by following.
Although I recently completed a masters degree in Christian ministry leadership, I find it impossible to argue with Sweet’s contention that there is a dearth of discipleship and a famine of true Christ followers in today’s American church. Sweet argues that when it comes to the church, “ . . . everything rises or falls on Jesus the Christ. The church is lead . . . by Christ. The head of the church is Christ. Everyone else is a follower.”
We have been told our entire lives that we should be leaders, that we need more leaders . . . But the truth is that the greatest way to create a movement is to be a follower and to show others how to follow. Following is the most underrated form of leadership in existence.
Sweet Self-identifies as a Christ-follower
Often, Sweet publicly confesses,“I make no pretense to leadership . . . My fundamental identity is this: I am a follower.” Therefore, Sweet uses Jesus’ words in John 14:6 as the outline for the balance of his book. He believes the following progression is implied and intentional, “ . . . first, belonging (way), then believing (truth), then behaving (life).” Sweet suggest this template for the Christ-follower’s life of faith:
- To follow Jesus is to be in the right mission—the way: missional living.
- To follow Jesus is to be in the right relationships—the truth: relational living.
- To follow Jesus is to be in the right future—the life: incarnational living.
People OF the Way and People ON the Way
Sweet describes the “Way” as a “world walk” more than a worldview. He notes the Greek word translated “follow” is most often rooted in the word for “road.”
There is an ancient African phrase, “Will you walk with me?” It doesn’t mean a stroll or short jaunt around the corner. It means to enter another person’s world, to join his or her journey. To walk with Jesus does not mean to travel behind or in front of but beside him . . . to be caught up in what he is doing.
Sweet emphasizes that as we read the Bible, we must also let it “read us.” He adds, “We discover ourselves walking in the way when we let the Word of God seep into our bones and saturate our way of living. Our way becomes one with the way.” Sweet simplifies and clarifies the spiritual practice lectio divina (holy reading) using the words of a mountain preacher, “I read myself full [lectio], think myself clear [meditatio], pray myself hot [oratio], and let myself go [contemplatio].”
Not a Map, but a Driver’s License
Sweet maintains that the Christ-follower will not always know where they are going. He explains, “What you get, essentially, is a driver’s license to go daily wherever Jesus calls you to join him in ministry and mission.” We may long for clarity and wish for a “detailed itinerary.” However, if we put our “desire for command and control” ahead of our desire to please God, it effectively “dams up the rivers of Living Water.”
I am a big fan of clarity. Therefore, I found the quoted conversation between John Kavanaugh and Mother Theresa both insightful and discomforting.
“Pray that I have clarity.” She said no. That was that. When I asked why, she announced that clarity was the last thing I was clinging to and had to let go of. When I commented that she herself had always seemed to have the clarity I longed for, she laughed: “I have never had clarity; what I’ve always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust.”
The Ultimate “App” is the Holy Spirit
A few years ago Sweet was at the PMN Network office for a brief afternoon meeting with a small group of Assemblies of God ministers. He encouraged us all by exhorting us to stay true to who we are as Pentecostals. Speaking of the Assemblies of God, he stated, “We need your tribe!” Therefore, I truly appreciate the emphasis on the Holy Spirit in Sweet’s book.
The prevailing trend in the church today is to rely so heavily on . . . packaged presentations that little or no place is left for the spontaneous instructions and interruptions of the Spirit. But in a world of apps, the ultimate app is the Holy Spirit: plug in, download, and allow Christ to run through you.
Sweet suggests we need “bigger upper rooms” not “bigger barns.” He goes on to warn that an excessive thirst for “information, expertise, and control” can cause us to “ . . . trade the waters of the Spirit for a soda-pop substitute.” Sweet emphasizes:
Without the Spirit of God in our lives, breathing becomes erratic, noisy, struggling for air. A church that does not breathe the Holy Spirit through its body has holy halitosis, bad breath. It suffers from soullessness—a gasping pneumonia.
The Hear and Obey Model of Discipleship
Sweet challenges today’s American church when he writes, “For too long we have tolerated a nod-to-God-hour model of preparing disciples . . .” Therefore, Sweet advocates “ . . . a Hear and Obey model of discipleship instead of the Learn, Grow, Go model that is most prevalent in the church.” He summarizes “first follower” disciple making this way:
There is no substitute for a follow-me-as-I-follow-Christ mentor-apprentice relationship. Yes, it is time-consuming. It can be tedious and frustrating. But we need to remember that we’re not making money. We’re making disciples.
A Highly Recommended, Courageous, and Sometimes Disturbing Read
Sweet is a Christian intellectual, deep thinker, and prolific and articulate writer. He frequently challenges the reader to see things from new and different perspectives. For every student of leadership, there is much in this book to consider, evaluate, and contemplate. It would be a serious mistake compounded by the dangerous error of “confirmation bias” to simply ignore this important book about “follower-ship.” For everyone who longs to be better leader, this book will challenge you through powerful and thoughtful argument as well as biblical principles and examples. The book is not hard to read. However, it will undoubtedly challenge your approach to both leadership and discipleship.