We shall discover today that “Church as it was meant to be” was clearly a leader- following community of believers. We know the passage so well, that says “they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching…….” Acts 2:42. This highlights the fact that they came under the teaching and leadership of the Apostles.
So much is taught in the church today about good leadership but so little about being a good follower. Church as it was meant to be was successful because of the contributing factor that early believers were good followers.
ONE BODY
God has never intended his church to be (as it has perhaps developed in sections of the church) polarized between clergy and laity and so, for that matter, between leaders and followers or Pastors and Sheep. We are all equal in the eyes of God. Gal.3:27-29 However, in God’s design for His Church, he has made some to be leaders. Eph 4:10-12
Unfortunately some leaders like, and have created, a big gap or a distance between themselves and the people. When Paul and other writers speak about the togetherness of the church, they as leaders are a part of the body of Christ, just like the people they wrote to. (Eph 2:22, 3:6, 3:18, 4:16, 1Thess 4:17, 5:10, 3John 1:8)
Despite Congregationalist ideas about Church, God is not a democrat, nor a socialist, nor is God a dictator, or a communist or even a conservative. God is Sovereign and he has designed his Church the way He has meant it to be. God help us to discover and maintain your design.
If leaders or follower abuse God’s design they’ll answer to him and God may well ask some people at the Judgement seat, “Why did you do that to my Church?”
NO DIVINE GAP
So there is a Divine Order in God’s Church, of leaders and followers. However, there not is a Divine Gap between leaders and followers, because we are one in Christ. (Rom 12:12, 1Cor 12:12, 12:27, Gal 3:16)
Sadly, because leadership has been abused by politicians, bankers and even clergy, followers find it hard to trust leaders and so a Gap is formed between them.
The Gap between those who lead and those who follow is often filled with mistrust and suspicion, because of bad examples or experience of leadership. (Acts 5:35-38 speaks of some bad leaders and disappointed followers)
Leaders can also create and fill a Gap between themselves and people because of bad experiences they have had with people.
Some times there is a Gap because the leader is not Jesus, but just a human being. Therefore, some believers claim to only follow the Holy Spirit. Paul had followers, and Paul rebuked people for saying they only follow Jesus and not the church leadership. (Acts 9:25, 17:34, 1 Cor 1:11-13, 11:1)
DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS
It is very dangerous to step outside God’s ordained order and refuse to come under the covering of leadership, especially when you don’t agree. What if you don’t agree with the decision of a leadership? How should you respond? Many people just go and find another church that they agree with until they disagree.
Some questions I ask: Is what they are doing or proposing unbiblical or unethical? Sometimes we need to ask if it is manipulative of the Word of God to gain their desires? Remember only God really knows their hearts.
So many people and Churches have been obstructed in going forward because some individuals have said “the Holy Spirit has not told me.” Trust your leaders to follow the Lord and to hear the Holy Spirit and, if they get it wrong, the Holy Spirit will be more gracious than many Christians or the Leaders will answer for it before God.
We can look with admiration at the early church because of its rapid growth, however, and perhaps say, “what a good bunch of leader- following saints.” Unfortunately, the early church faced similar issues to what the church faces today. Often problems arise in the church between leaders and followers because the enemy is allowed to create the Gap between leaders and followers.
Some of the issues the early church faced were;
The Corruption of Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5:1-4.
The Complaining over whose widows were being cared for most, Acts 6.
The Conflict at the Council at Jerusalem Acts 15
The Competitiveness of the super apostles 2 Corinthians 11:4-6
The Corruption of the Corinthian Church (see below)
The Compliancy of the Thessalonian Church (see below)
Problems in the Corinthian Church
A glance at just one of the early church epistles reveals the same problems many modern day churches face today (with some obvious exceptions, like #8 below). When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he had to expound on issues like:
1.The Problem of Divisions in the Church (1 Cor. 1:10-13)
2. The Problem of Worldly Wisdom as compared to Godly wisdom (1 Cor. 1:17-2:16)
3. The Problem of Carnality (1 Cor. 3:1-4)
4. The Problem of Immorality in the Church (1 Cor. 5:1-13)
5. The Problem of Bringing a Fellow Believer to Court (1 Cor. 6:1-8)
6. The Problem of Fornication (1 Cor. 6:15-20)
7. The Problem of Marriage and Divorce (1 Cor. 7:1-40)
8. The Problem of Meats Offered to Idols (1 Cor. 8:1-13)
9. The Problem of the Role Men and Women Should Have in Christ’s Church (1 Cor. 11:1-17)
10. The Problem of Abusing the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-34)
11. The Problem of Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. 12:1-31)
12. The Problem of a Lack of Love (1 Cor. 13:1-13)
13. The Problem of Speaking in Tongues (1 Cor. 14:1-40)
14. The Problem of Wrong Teaching About the Resurrection of the Dead (1 Cor. 15:1-58)
15. The Problem of Collecting for the Saints (1 Cor. 16:1-3)
The Problem with the Colossian Church
When the Apostle wrote to the Colossian Church, one of the "problems" was that the believers there were being disturbed by false teachers who said faith in Christ wasn’t enough; there were other powers that had to be dealt with, more knowledge which had to be acquired. Not so, thunders the apostle, for everything anyone could possibly need is to be found in Jesus Christ and in him alone. Christ is all-sufficient; Christ is supreme.
Problems within the Galatian Church
The most pressing controversy in the early church was the relationship of new believers, particularly Gentiles, to the Jewish laws. This was especially a problem for the converts and for the young churches that Paul had founded on his first missionary journey. Paul wrote to correct this problem. Later, at the council in Jerusalem, the conflict was officially resolved by the church leaders.
Problems within the church at Thessalonica
Paul wrote this letter to correct their misconceptions about the resurrection and the second coming of Christ. Another doctrinal issue. Coupled with this, we find that Paul had to correct misconceptions of life as well. In other words, if your doctrine is wrong, it will ultimately affect the way you live. The Thessalonians heard that the day of the Lord was at hand therefore, they did not feel the need to work. Paul warned these "idle busybodies" to get to work (1 Thess. 4:11). He admonished the church leaders to "warn them that are unruly" (1 Thess. 5:14). The word for "unruly" is a military term and means "a soldier out of rank."
Other "sins" that led to problems within the church at Thessolonica was that they tended to be "disorderly," or "out of order, out of rank." It was like they were just "fooling around" with their Christianity and meddling in matters they had no right to meddle in (see 1 Timothy 5:13).
The Problems in James
The Apostle James had to expose the hypocritical practices of some believers and teach them what it is to behave in a godly way, in Christ Jesus.
Problems in 1 John
1 John was written to a church or group of churches in crisis-churches being bombarded by false teaching. Some individuals who had once been associated with the Christian community had adopted unorthodox doctrines and left the church (2:19). Evidently, after their departure, they continued to spread their propaganda to those who remained. Undoubtedly, this influx of heresy created confusion within the believing community.
Problems in 2 Peter
Likewise, in 2 Peter, the Apostle had to warn Christians about false teachers and exhorted them to grow in their faith in and knowledge of Christ.
So why did the early church keep growing? One reason was because despite their troubles it was full of good-followers. So what makes a good follower? Here are a few points that I think makes a person a good follower.
Good Followers:
1. Take up the Command to follow their leaders. It is a Divine Command that we follow Heb 13:17
Of course this does not mean God expects His people to be blind, speechless & mindless followers. God simply expects an order, because he has commanded that some will lead his church and others will follow. Eph 4:10
Good Followers:
2. Choose to follow. Because God’s people are not blind, speechless or mindless, a choice is required to be a follower. “They devoted themselves….” Acts2:42 God didn’t force them to be devoted, they chose to devote themselves.
Good Followers:
3. Commit themselves to following. Leaders are meant to be going somewhere and taking people with them. That somewhere is not just heaven. The “Somewhere” leaders should be going is on the mission that God has given to his Church, which is the bringing of sinners to salvation. How a local church does the mission comes down to their vision. The role of God’s leaders is to get the vision, cast the vision. The followers’ role is to catch the vision and together leaders and followers act on the vision.
Good Followers:
4. Connect actively with the vision of the Leaders. Remember, “vision without action is a distraction.” The Christian journey is about application; applying our lives to the things God has communicated to us in His word and vision he has given the local church where he has planted us.
We can acknowledge the Command, Choice, Commit & Connect. However, the challenge to being a good follower comes when there is the potential of a Gap being created between leader and followers. What will you fill the Gap with?
Continuing to follow leaders when there is the potential of Corruption, Conflict, Complaining or Competitiveness is the decisive test of a good follower. This is when it all then comes down to the biggest characteristic of a good follower, CHARACTER.
A good follower, with good character will guard their heart from allowing the enemy to create a Gap between them and the leaders and filling it with complaining, conflict, or compliancy.
