Real Leaders Follow

I love this ancient Jewish proverb, “Follow the rabbi, drink in his words, and be covered with the dust of his feet.” This proverbial statement encompasses the ancient Jewish model of discipleship, which is both rich in meaning and literal in its applications. Disciples, in the ancient Jewish context, followed their teacher, their Rabbi so closely that they would actually be covered with the dust kicked up by the rabbi’s feet; and, because they followed their rabbi so closely, they were also covered with the rabbi’s instruction, wisdom and knowledge. At the same time, they learned from the rabbi’s example.

In a nutshell, they learned to lead by following.

This is the model of discipleship Jesus employed over 2000 years ago. Jesus covered a dozen ordinary, average men with his dust; he covered them with his wisdom and knowledge as they walked behind him throughout Galilee, Judea and Samaria. And, because these disciples walked in the dust of their rabbi, they learned how to talk like, walk like, and be like Jesus.

As modern-day disciples, we are still called to, “Follow the rabbi, drink in his words, and be covered with the dust of his feet.” In fact, we are invited to follow the greatest rabbi there is and his name is Jesus.

One of the ways to follow Jesus and be covered in his dust is to become what Augustine, Aquinas, and Wesley claimed to be… a person of One Book. Like the Primitive Church, these leaders drank deeply from the well of the Apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). They opened up the Holy Scriptures, particularly to the Gospels, and immersed themselves in the writings of the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), reading and living in the shadow of their teacher via the Holy Texts.

These three devoted pupils, who became teachers in their own right, along with millions of others before and after them, have walked the same path. They followed their rabbi by drinking in his teaching. They gulped down Jesus’ words, traveling with Him in the Gospels, walking in his dust as he healed the sick, embraced the poor, and raised the dead. Their desire to be spiritually saturated with Scripture led to personal and social transformation during their lifetime. The learned to lead by following Jesus and through their Spiritual leadership the Kingdom of God was advanced.

As believers, we claim to follow the Rabbi of Rabbis, who is also the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings but when was the last time we took time to really drink in his words and be covered with the dust of his feet?

When was the last time you sat at the feet of Jesus, forgetting time and setting aside the many trivial tasks in the periphery of your life that are seeking your attention so that you can bathe yourself in the instruction of Christ?

If you want to lead you have to learn and there’s no better way to learn to lead than by following Jesus. He’s the best teacher there ever was and is. Real leaders follow Jesus.