“Let’s get rid of the pastor.”
Often when things go wrong in the church, the pastor gets blamed and takes the heat. He is, after all, the leader. It works that way in business, too. Declining profits often mean firing the CEO. It’s the same for football; if the team doesn’t have a winning season, the coach is on the hot seat. And, all too often, if the church is not growing, the pastor is forced out.
Is the leader responsible? Yes. Is the leader totally responsible? No. A business may have hundreds of employees providing a service or selling a product in an ever-changing, competitive market. Something completely outside the CEO’s influence or control can cause that business to have a bad year. In all the football games I have ever watched, I have yet to see a coach execute a play. The players run the plays. A church is made up of flawed and sinful people who have been redeemed by God, but they still have their own agendas, personal preferences, dysfunctions and histories — and those often trump the vision, mission and goals of the church, not to mention the leadership of the pastor.
The successful business needs employees working with the CEO, the football team needs players heeding the coach’s advice, and the church needs members working in harmony and unity with the pastor to further the church’s vision. Leadership requires followers who will execute the mission, strategy and plans of the organization. Without followers, leaders are lone wanderers, destined to fail.
Everett Rogers developed a theory about how change occurs. He groups people into five categories: Innovators (2.5 percent), First Adopters (13.5 percent), Early Majority (34 percent), Late Majority (34 percent), and Laggards (16 percent). The Innovators are the risk-takers, the out-front leaders willing to try new things. First Adopters are trendsetters; they see the value of the innovation and get on board quickly. Interestingly, they are the ones people tend to follow. The Early Majority follow the lead of the First Adopters. They generally wait to see whether the new thing proves to be successful in practice. They watch Innovators and First Adopters for cues. The Late Majority is slow to respond and won’t get on board until the Early Majority engages. The Laggards tend to be negative and critical, against any change. Therefore, the key group in Rogers’ theory to move the group toward change is not the Innovators, though they are the leaders. The essential group is the First Adopters, people who follow the leaders and set the trend for others to follow.
While this is just a theory, it provides a visual that indicates that while leadership is important, without First Adopters, change or movement toward the goal would not occur. The First Adopters (or first followers) make all the difference. Until they act, the leader is just a lone wanderer.
This truth is beautifully demonstrated in a TED video entitled “The First Follower.” It shows a lone, shirtless guy dancing at a festival while everyone else is sitting around. Soon another guy joins the first guy in the crazy dance. After a while, the first follower invites others to join in the crazy dance. Soon there is a crowd, all dancing together.“Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership,” the video states. “The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.”
The TED video concludes with this lesson: “Leadership is over-glorified. Yes, it started with the shirtless guy, and he’ll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened: It was the first follower who transformed a lone nut into a leader. There is no movement without the first follower. We’re told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective. The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow. When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.”
Leadership is important, but it is overrated. Leadership is needed, but it is not everything. Leadership needs followers who will embrace the mission and invite others to join the movement.
When church members follow their pastor in a single purpose to glorify God by fulfilling the Great Commission, there will be a movement that will impact the world. When members fail to follow their pastors, the church is doomed. Together, pastor and members can make a difference for eternity.
— Rick Ezell is pastor of Greer First Baptist Church. He has published more than 600 articles and sermons in Christian publications and has authored seven books.