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Posted By Aaron Marcelli on May 23, 2010

I recently signed up for a volunteer leadership role at our church.  I figure if I’m planning to one day start a church and lead people, it would probably be a good idea to do that now.  And even though leading in the volunteer capacity of head usher was the only position they needed filled, that’s what I was willing to do.

So this last Thursday’s service was my first day of duty and I showed up wondering how things would go leading a team of people I did not know and most of whom were older than me.  The position fit like a glove and was a reminder for me of how church leadership is my niche and how much I had missed it.  If you are wanting to be in leadership one day, the best advice I could give you would be to find some, any, leadership role you can now – even if it’s going into the men’s room to see which side of the toilet the hand rails are one (yes, someone asked me to do this).

In getting things set up and people in their place to hand out bulletins and take up the offering, I encountered two different reactions from guys.  It just goes to show that there are leadership lessons everywhere.

1. The “ok, let’s go, hurry up” follower

One young man was super pumped to be ushering that night and apparently equally as pumped that I was his leader.  From the moment I walked in and put on my walkie-talkie (which is the true sign of being in charge), this guy was at my side, following me around, wanting to know my plan.  Fifteen minutes before we were to be in place, while some of the others ushers will still eating dinner, this guy was pressuring me to head over to the auditorium and get started.

This guy was all in for the mission.  He was going to hold me accountable and make sure I was leading the way.  But he is also the kind of follower who can push a leader to go too soon, abandon the game plan, and get ahead of the process.  “ok, let’s go” guy will stroke a leader’s ego and make them feel like someone has their back, but be careful they don’t set your pace for you.

2. The “yeah, yeah, I got it” follower

As I made my rounds to the ushers assigning positions and covering the game plan, I had one guy push back a little.  As I described in detail how things needed to go, he avoided eye contact and continually interrupted me by saying, “yeah, ok.  Piece of cake.  Got it!”  Perhaps he has plenty of ushering experience under his belt, but I had observed how just the week before the ushers had got confused and sent a basket down a certain isle three times.  I was going into great details in order to be simple and specific in making sure such an incident did not happen again.

Follower number two however seemed insulted that I was telling him what I expected of him.  Though it is noble that he wanted to be trusted and was letting it known he could handle the responsibility, his attitude came off as almost challenging of authority.  Leaders should not be micromanagers yet the downfall sometimes of this kind of follower is that they overlook the details, which can lead to major problems.

Again, leadership principles are everywhere and experience is the best teacher.  Better I learn to deal with the different types of followers now than when the stakes are higher and I deeply offend someone.

Category: Church Planting, Leadership
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