FOLLOW THE LEADER
by
Archimandrite Michael in Haiti
WHEN I WAS a young kid in Philadelphia (and that was a number of years ago!), one of the favorite neighborhood games we played was called "Follow the Leader". A group of us would vote for one to be the leader, and then we all had to follow him or her wherever he or she went. If the leader jumped; we jumped. If the leader climbed up a hill; we climbed up the hill. If the leader sat on a rock; we sat on a rock. If the leader waded into the water; we waded into the water. It was kind of a perserverence and endurance test/game, and the one that made it to the end was the winner.
MOST OF THE KIDS gave up before the end of the game and one-by-one they quit because it was either too hard to follow the leader, or they simply did not like where the leader went. But the winner became the next leader, and those that dropped out along the way lost their chance to take top spot.
IT WAS A FUN GAME and I guess we played it almost every afternoon when we came home from school. If the leader could think of places to go where no one else would follow, he retained his position as leader for the next game.
IT WAS A GREAT learning experience and it inspired us to strive to do the best we could in all things. I suppose it had a life-conditioning effect on me because I have always tried to follow whatever leader I had (unless he was bad!), and I basically always considered that whoever it was that made it to the leadership position must be worthy of following.
THERE WAS NO WAY TO CORRUPT the game of "Follow the Leader" because either you endured to the end, or you didn't and you lost out. Those that tried to circumvent the rules never made it to the top position. Those that wanted to be the leader without playing by the rules, wound up losing their friends and becoming ostracized by the group.
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+ + + + + + + + + UNFORTUNATELY, many folks never had the opportunity to play "Follow the Leader" when they were children. Maybe it was just a Philadelphia game and those that lived elsewhere missed a wonderful learning experience. And that's too bad because that life-conditioning experience is extremely important for the normal development of every person. If one does not know how to "follow the leader"; if one does not know the importance of developing respect for one's superior, life becomes a difficult road to follow, and the eventual fall into the sidelines becomes inevitable.
WE FIND MANY PERSONS in many walks of life who have never learned to follow the leader, nor to discern between good and bad leaders. Eventually those persons find themselves in the side lines, unable to command respect and unable to rise to the top position; unable to become a leader by properly earning the position. Those that push themselves into positions of authority without having the necessary background, education or experience; without honorably winning the leadership position, inevitably fall into the sidelines and all their "winnings" are for naught.
I AM CERTAIN that we all know persons that are in positions of authority and leadership that don't belong there. There are all-too-many persons who have paid their way into "higher" positions, especially positions where they can control and direct others, yet do nothing but hinder the development of whatever organization it is in which they function.
THE CHURCH is not exempt from, nor unaffected by this unfortunate tendency in some persons. There are many persons in The Church who have wiggled their way into positions of authority one way or another, and do nothing but hinder the development of The Church. Some have risen to top positions without ever having "come up through the ranks" so to speak. We have archbishops who have never shown good leadership as bishops. We have bishops who have never been parish priests and pastors. We have priests who have never learned to follow, but who demand that their people follow them.
AND THIS IS A CANCER which appears to be spreading throughout the Church of Christ and overwhelming the raison d'etre of our Blessed Leader. Unworthy and ineffective leaders are causing The Church to fall into the side lines because they are unwilling and unable to follow the Path of our Ultimate Leader, Jesus Christ, yet demand that their followers follow them. "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?" (St. Matthew 15:14)
JUST TAKE A QUICK LOOK INTO THE DITCH and you will see the many fallen pseudo-leaders who have clandestainly worked their way into various positions of authority and power, only to fall into the sidelines when the REAL LEADER "blows the whistle". It doesn't take too long to weed-out the wolves from the sheep, but one has to keep his eye on The Leader and follow in His ways in order to really rise to the top.
CONSIDER THOSE MANY "fallen" clergymen who once had positions of authority and esteem, but who now line the gutters and ditches of the road to salvation. The recent sexual scandal in the Roman Catholic Church is but one example, yet there are many more and in practically all of the religious organizations throughout the world. There are Protestant former leaders who never reached the top and who are wallowing in the gutters of our cities. There are Orthodox clergymen...priests and bishops who did everything they could do to become leaders, but who never learned the first step: that of following the Leader, and who now find themselves unacceptable to the Church of Christ.
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+ + + + + + + + + + YET THE WORLD GOES ON and The Church goes on, and the "gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (St. Matthew 18:18). Since the beginning of Christianity there have been false prophets and inept leaders and evil persons constantly trying to thwart the Will of the Ultimate Leader, but they all fall out sooner or later and never reach the top, for the top is complete union with Our Saviour, and that is a goal too difficult for most of them to follow.
NOT TOO DIFFERENT from the game of "Follow the Leader"; either you follow The Leader in the proper manner, or you never reach the top. Those that wish to lead His people need first to follow Him, and there is no way to circumvent that goal. "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men". (St. Matthew 4:19)
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"HE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR"
-St. Matthew 11:15*** Abp. Gregory please take note!