"Leadership" has become a runaway obsession for those who are called to equip the body of Christ for service in the Kingdom of God. The concept of "followership" is all but lost in the wake of this leadership fetish, a near hypnotic obsession. Jesus' clear call, and the pattern of New Testament leadership, are actually found in a pattern of followership. We've been told otherwise but when it comes to a movement in our churches, our families, or the workplace, everything rises or falls on followership.
Sweet proposes an intentional shift from leadership cults to followership cultures. He critiques the issue of leadership obsession but focuses on reigniting a passion for the "follow me" theme found throughout the gospels and the entire New Testament. Building on a set of metaphors/images, he stirs the imagination by showing what it means to be a follower of Christ and explains the vital cog that followership and the first follower play in helping others enter into the Kingdom of God.
I Am A Follower moves readers:
from leaders that are over to followers that are among
from sages and gurus to scouts and guides
from Saul's armor to David's sling
from having the right answers to asking the right questions
from architects to gardeners
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 240
Vendor: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: 2011
Dimensions: 8.38 X 5.50 (inches)
Publisher's Description
"FOLLOW ME."
These two words echo the heart-defining call of our Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples.
Sadly, this life-changing invitation has lost much of its original meaning. Immersed in a society that worships success, we have succumbed to a trendy
fixation with leadership. In I Am a Follower, author Leonard Sweet explains how Christians in a twenty-first-century corporate-obsessed culture have shifted away from a Jesus art of following toward a popularized form of leading.
Through a colorful mélange of practical applications, imaginative metaphors, and probing biblical exposition based in gospel truth, Sweet reveals that the summons of Jesus and the message of the New Testament point clearly to an emphasis not on imitation but on incarnation, not on leading but on following.
Join Sweet on an exciting and intentional journey from leadership cult to followership culture. Discover for yourself the way, the truth, and the abundant
life of following Jesus Christ and what it truly means to "Follow Me"!
"At times I felt like I was reading Jeremiah, challenging the shepherds of Israel. This is a much needed and long overdue book."
?BOB ROBERTS, senior pastor, Northwood Church
"If there was ever a leader who could convince me that it's really never been about leading, that would have to be Len Sweet. May we all, like Len, become followers."
?MARK BATTERSON, lead pastor, National Community Church
Author Bio
Leonard Sweet is the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew University (NJ), a distinguished visiting professor at George Fox University (OR), and a weekly contributor to Sermons.com and the podcast Napkin Scribbles. A pioneer in online learning with some of the highest "influence" rankings of any religious figure in the world of social media (Twitter, Facebook), he has authored numerous articles, sermons, and more than fifty books.