Jesus didn’t call us to be leaders. That’s what Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North says.
Kind of an odd statement, right? In fact, Zach from The Wally Show disagrees.
You can watch the first video of a new series for yourself where Mike explains what he means by this and how it’s the heartbeat of their latest song.
He says, “I cannot find one place where Jesus asks anyone to be a leader. In fact, He doesn’t even consider himself a leader. He says, ‘I don’t do anything of my own accord. I just do what I see the Father in Heaven doing.’ So, if that’s the case, then there’s only one leader and we’re all followers. I think the reason we consider Jesus a great leader is because He was the servant of all… when I frame it that way, somehow the pressure comes off my shoulders and I feel like I can finally breathe! … Maybe leadership should never be sought for leadership itself, but it must always be the by-product of being a great follower.”
When he puts it that way, I see that it’s not that weird of a statement at all. True leadership means serving. True leadership means following the one true leader. And that’s what Tenth Avenue North’s song “What You Want” is all about.
Tweet ThisWe like what Mike is saying here, but you should listen to Zach’s rebuttal.
Zach says, “I agree with Mike… he’s saying our understanding of leadership is wrong… The Bible is full of God using people to influence other people. That’s what leadership is… But to say that God doesn’t have a use for leaders… is crazy! … And I do agree that the best leaders are also the best followers… But I’ve been reading people lately that are taking this negative stance on wanting to be good leaders and I think that’s completely counter to a lot of things we read in the Bible… I don’t think everyone even needs to be a leader, per se. I think God is strongly against pride, but I don’t think he’s against leadership… You can be a humble leader. You can be a servant leader… We don’t need to tear down people who God has put in positions of leadership.”
Listen to the full conversation on the Blog Report at the 52:36 mark on The Wally Show Podcast.