Understanding the true art of followership
1 – “And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 – And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
3 – And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
4 – And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
5 – And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
6 – And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
7 – And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
8 – And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
9 – And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 – And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 – And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 – And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
13 – He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 – And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
15 – And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” (2Kings chapter 2 verses 1 to 15)
- In followership some things are things are taught and some things are caught.
There are things on the course to following a leader you cannot hear him or her teach you anything in that respect. But you are the one who needs to know them by the reason of following your leader. For example, your leader may not have the opportunity to start telling or teaching you about being excellent in any given opportunity, but you get to catch the Spirit of excellence by serving a man who has it. When you look at the way he or she does things and you follow the same principle, you will have the same result.
- In followership one learns the art to become an effective leader.
Wherever anyone wants to go as a leader, someone has been there. Wherever someone desires to be as a leader, someone has arrived there. Whoever you aim to be like as a leader, calls for a price. No one can become an effective leader who is not first effective in followership. It is in the art of following that one cultivates and stirs up the right character to lead. Effective leader were once an effective followers.
- In followership one learns the art of leading right.
There is an act to be well equipped with the right senses to lead right. You need to learn from other people’s mistakes and not to continue with it. Fellowship helps one to identify the unnecessary mistakes that are made to show up in the process of leadership and develop the necessary measures that will enable him or her to overcome them. One must follow right to be able to lead right.
- In followership one learns the clues to navigate roadblocks that will want to elude one’s leadership.
Everyone’s leadership at a point in time will pass through some measures of test to identify if he or she actually has what it takes to exercise effective leadership. There blocks on the path of leadership that will test the fate of anyone who is leading. Many who did not experience the art of followership, mostly get frustrated with their leadership when they hit blocks on their way exercise leadership. In the process of followership, they must have been taught the principle of endurance and persistence till the end.
- Effective followership produces an effective leader.
If anyone ever thinks on how he or she will become an effective leader, let him or her first think about who they want to be like in exercising leadership. Then he or she has to yield him or herself to study the leadership processes of such person he or she is looking forth to be like. It is effective followership that will stir up the right character and mental attitude to become an effective leader.
- Genuine followership makes one becomes a genuine leader.
One of the greatest challenges in the leadership of our time is men and women who fake their followership. They actually claim that they followed someone, yet they did their following out of sentiment. They claim to be with the person they are following in the physical but their hearts are far away. People like that are never genuine in their followership, and many of them end up abusing every priviledge to lead.
- The heart of followership is the heart of leadership.
Once you see someone who has devoted himself in followership and endures every tough moment through the art of followership, he or she turns out with the right heart of leadership. Of course, no one can give what he or she does not have. Genuine and effective leadership is for those who have cultivated the heart of true followership. It is by their fruits you shall know them. Any heart that does not cultivate the true art of leadership during the whole process of followership will find it tough and difficult to lead right.
- Genuine followership brings out the best in an individual.
Anyone who wants to stirs up the best in him or her should learn to art of followership. Everything anyone needs to enables him or her become a genuine and effective leadership is stirred up during the whole process of followership. One needs to put his or her heart to the art of followership if his or her desires is to witness an outstanding performance in his or her leadership exhibition. When you become the best in your followership, it will show in your leadership.
