Following

In my vocation the hot topic for the past several years has been leadership.  I am fully on board that we as pastors are called to lead and should lead well.  I love to read leadership books and improve as a leader.  However in my own life I have noticed that if I move to leading prior to following I do nothing well.  What I mean by 'following' is being a follower of Jesus Christ.  Before I am a leader, I am a follower.  Before I am a pastor, I am a follower.  Before I am a husband, father, coach, I am a follower of Jesus.  Unless I get this ingrained into my identity I will miss out on the reality of life Jesus presents.  I realize being a follower is not glamorous and more than likely will not attract many to this blog, but it is central to my calling as a human being.  I naturally do not like to follow others, it is not my personality or bent, however I have signed up for Christianity and grace  is too enticing and such a good deal that I would be a fool not to follow after Jesus.  Just to be forthright, many of the posts in this blog will be about following Jesus and being on this difficult yet delicious journey in eternity.  Call it what you want, discipleship, spiritual formation, a quest, the cruciform life...all I know is that I want to respond to the words Jesus presented to those first disciple... 'folllow me.'  I desire to stumble toward, run toward and sometimes be carried toward a relationship with Jesus.

A Spiritual Journey

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.

~ Wendell Berry ~

(Collected Poems)

The words of the apostle Paul seem very appropriate,  [24] Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. [25] Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. [26] So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. [27] But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.  (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV)

To running well, and helping each other along.  Chris