Therefore Imitate Me, Really? Me?

Some spiritual leaders misinterpret what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:16, "Therefore I urge you to imitate me."

They interpret this to mean that they (the spiritual leader) must teach their followers to imitate them, be like them, be molded in their character, their gifting, and their personalities. And if they are not, well, they are not really a true follower.

However, as spiritual leaders of followers, our goal is to teach them to imitate Christ's character, empower them to live in the giftings Christ has uniquely given to them, and employ their passion for Christ in the rare personality He created in them. God's diversity in his followers is His gift to His church. Monotony breeds boredom. Diversity catapults growth.

When you think about it, each of the twelve disciples was different. Yet, they were followers of Christ. Following him did not change their personalities, it changed their spiritual walk. Their walk of flesh became a walk of faith. And that is our aim when it comes to dicipling others. We don’t want to make the mistake of cloning our followers into little “me’s.” This does not reach the righteousness of God. It reaches the "righteous pride" of "me."

Often times, the people we disciple will end up doing something we were never called to. In our training of our followers we must ask, “Are we equipping them? Are we pointing them to faith in God for the task at hand? Are we letting go and letting God take the reigns in their life? Are we empowering them to press on, press in, and press out when the calling is tough? Are we praising their successes and encouraging them in their failures?

Spiritual leaders can get very focused on “their vision” and want everyone to mold themselves to it. While in some cases this is good, in some it is destructive to the followers training. Just maybe God is giving one of your followers a new vision, one you may not even be a part of. Just maybe your follower is hearing God say to them, “But I would have YOU take a path that is quite different from the paths of your friends (or leader), and it is because I would bring you into a place IN ME and a MINISTRY in which they have no part.” (Frances J. Roberts).

Spiritual Leaders, our job is to empower not overpower!