by Kurt Lang
In my grade school, line leader was the coveted position. That person got to lead the class to lunch, to the gym, to the bus. If the teacher was wise, she would assign this position on a rotating basis, rather than wrestle with picking one from the sea of hands raised upon offering the position.
When I was a child, there seemed to be something special about this responsibility. Hindsight, however, reveals the truth: We all love to be first. First to answer the challenging math question. First in the lunch line. First to recess to get the good swing. Being first garners attention. We like that too. First is the best. The best dodgeball player always gets picked before everyone else.
Line leaders are confident and proud. They know where they are going. The eyes of many followers are trained on them. They are the important ones.
Lines can have interesting applications to leadership. Everyone is a leader (except the last person), since there is someone behind them following their direction. Everyone is a follower (except the first person), since there is someone in front of them showing the way.
John Maxwell understood this principle. He wrote a book entitled The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Law #13 is the Law of the Picture, which says that people do what people see. (So do monkeys!) If we want people to do and act a certain way, it is critical whom we put at the front of the line so they can see what that person does and emulate their action or character.
Author Steven Covey adds to this thought. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, he lists one habit as “Begin with the end in mind.” In other words, whatever you want the last person in line to do, ensure that the first person in line does it so it gets passed on. (Hopefully, our line does better than the old Telephone game we used to play!)
Jesus: first and last
Of course, these lessons were born out of the ultimate authority, God’s Holy Scriptures. Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45).
Our Messiah, Jesus, said to watch Him and do what He did, for others are watching you to see what you will do.
Paul also wrote, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV). These words reveal what Maxwell and Covey said: The end goal is to follow and then act like our Lord Jesus. For a couple thousand years, the line of followers has been lengthening. We can see only a couple of followers in front of us. But if we stick with the one who follows their leader closely, the last one in line will still be like the Line Leader.
God had that last person in mind when He began the process of calling His creation to be made in His image. And He chose the right Line Leader for the job who would not lead them astray: Christ. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).
From even before the beginning of time as we know it, Jesus the Son of God, was given the role of Line Leader. It starts with Him. It ends with Him. It’s all about Him! Paul explains, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. . . . He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:15, 18).
The firstborn of all creation. Somewhere in our church history, we would have thought that meant Jesus was created by God. Now we understand, as fits with the passage, that He was the beginning of creation. Creation’s starting point came from the hand of the One who made it all. It was born of Him.
The Christ was also the firstborn from the dead. In due time, those who follow will receive the same resurrection.
Leader qualities
Why is it important that we understand that Christ Jesus is the beginning and that He is the first to rise from the dead? So that He might be preeminent in everything — first place in all things, having paramount rank, dignity, or importance.
He is the Line Leader. He follows no one (except God the Father, of course! But we can count them together in our placement). He leads; we follow.
Special consideration must be given by those who lead others. Leadership does not make us important. Leadership does not make us look good in the eyes of others. Leadership is not a power ploy. The best leader is the best follower and the one who serves with the humility of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11).
Follow the Leader
And guess what? We are all leaders in some shape or form. Perhaps not by worldly position, but certainly in God’s economy. So remember your place in line. Someone is behind you, even as you are behind someone else. We are all in the same role; only Jesus can be at the head.
Will you do as you were created to do: Follow the Line Leader and be formed into His image? He alone is worthy of our commitment. Just make sure the one in front of you is giving you the correct image to follow. Make sure you are portraying your Jesus well so that the one behind you isn’t led astray. And the last will be as blessed as the first!
