Following the Leader.

I've always been a good follower. When I was little, I followed my big brother in all our epic adventures, chasing lizards in the deserts of Southern California and digging for buried treasure on the beaches of its coast. After we moved to Georgia, I followed my best friend, sticking by her side through every church service and mission trip through high school. In college, I followed my roommates, on trips to museums in Atlanta, on spontaneous coffee breaks, picnics, and kite-flying expeditions.

I like when I don't have to make decisions. I like allowing others to initiate. I like having someone tell me what to do. I love being the helper, the sidekick. I'll throw in everything--my enthusiasm, my passion, my love. But please, do not put me in a leadership position.

...Because if anything goes wrong, I don't want to be the one to take the blame.

Which is why, when God brought me into a season in which I had no one to follow (apart from, obviously, Him), I was terrified. He began to declare things over me, like courage, and boldness. He brought dear brothers and sisters into my life and told me to pray impossible prayers for them, to speak the promises He had given me to them, to love them as He loved. He called me to walk through every door He opened, regardless of the churning waters that lurked on the other side.

And as He swings those doors wide, I've never before been so desperate to see His face. Because I've realized, with great suddenness and certainty, my own weakness, and I know with equal conviction that the anointing He has placed over my life can only be accomplished by His power. He's got me right where He wants me: in desperate need of Him, every step of the way.

We talk about being leaders in the Church--in our communities, in our nation, in our world. And God has called us to it; we are sons and daughters of the King, and He has given us all authority by His Spirit to be His hands and feet and voice to a dry and weary generation. But what we so often forget is that the most essential characteristic of leading others is to follow. Because really, there's only one Leader. And when we choose to follow Him, our hearts spilling over with obedience and love by His Spirit's power, He will take us by the hand and lead us to places of wonder. Our brothers and sisters will see, and yearn, and seek, and their hearts will meet us there.