Strong leaders and good leaders: not the same thing.

Strong leaders require nothing more than confidence. Video-festos of feigned expertise stock the tank today. History is sedimented with puffered professors and preachers, postured politicians and pundits, angry advocates and red-faced revolutionaries. Complicit, complacent, or completely unaware, people will follow the confident even to their own demise. Korah’s wilderness is as good an example as Jones’ Guyana.

Christians are followers. Jesus: “If you would come after me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and then you can be my follower.”

Christians are leaders. Paul: “Be ye followers of me, even as I am of Christ.” That is, Christians lead only because they follow. Jesus raised us to walk on the water where our strength sank and confidence drowned.

Good leaders don’t just take people somewhere; they take them somewhere good. Christian leaders don’t just have followers; they have followers of Jesus.

This week, may our confidence in Jesus lead others to him.