On Following

Is anyone else creeped out by the social media obsession to amass followers?  Although I understand that collecting followers can translate into increased sales or political influence, it all seems a little too Jim Jones or David Koresch to me.  I find it strange that “following” someone today is more a function of likes than of leadership. 

On the World Economic Form’s Survey on the Global Agenda in 2015, 86% of respondents said they believe that there is a crisis in leadership today.  Maybe so.  But I think the greater crisis may be in “followership.”  Sure, we may need better leaders.  But we’ll never get them if we aren’t better followers.

The first reading at Mass yesterday was the classic story of the Lord calling Samuel to follow him.  During the night, he kept hearing a call and went to Eli saying, “Here I am.  You called me.”  Eli kept telling him no, I didn’t, go back to bed.  The last time though Eli realized what was going on and told Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’”  So that’s exactly what Samuel did (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19).

Then the Gospel reading yesterday was about the first followers of Jesus.  Two of John’s disciples heard him speak of Jesus as the “Lamb of God” and literally followed Jesus as he walked along his path (John 1: 35-42).  You may not believe me since my number of followers on social media is only in the double digits, but I think that these two Scripture passages together might have something to say to us about “followership.” 

It’s clear that listening plays a critical role in following.  Samuel gets it wrong the first few times he tries and mistakenly thinks Eli is the one calling him.  If Samuel, who would later become a powerful king of Israel known for his great wisdom, fails to hear the call to followership correctly the first time, perhaps it’s possible that we get it wrong sometimes too. 

Today, there’s no shortage of voices to listen to.  Talking heads on both the left and right overload our personal bandwidth for evaluating opinions.  The siren call of juicy conspiracy theories is hard to resist.  Deliciously extreme caricatures created about both the “communist left” and “fascist right” tempt us to accept such judgments as objective truths.  The lesson for me from these readings is that genuinely listening to the call of a leader, whether in civic, religious, or professional realms, involves some work on our part.  If it comes neatly packaged in a back-and-white, us-versus-them box, then I probably haven’t listened carefully enough.  Life’s questions are too beautifully complex for simplistic answers.  And like Samuel, I should try again. 

Another key to followership seems to be in the responding.  Samuel responds to God’s call saying, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  I think the importance of his response cannot be overstated.  Listening leads to service of others.  When what we listen to leads us to violence, then we haven’t listened with the right ears or responded with the right voice. This is true when it comes to the destruction of property in the name of perceived racial injustice or the attack of a revered national icon in the name of perceived election fraud. Service – not of causes or slogans but of real people – is a sacred response to a divine calling.

I find it fascinating that once the two disciples start literally following Jesus as he walks, he asks them, “What are you looking for?”  They respond with a question of their own: “Where are you staying?” In other words, they ask to see how he lives.  Instead of being taken aback by having strangers ask him to take them home, Jesus says, “Come, and you will see.”  In other words, healthy followership means saying “show us” or “prove it.”  And good leaders are happy to do just that.

In addition to listening and responding, I think good followership requires careful labeling.  In the seven short lines of yesterday’s Gospel, someone is given a label FOUR different times.  John kicks things off by calling Jesus the “Lamb of God.”  Then the disciples address Jesus as “Rabbi – when translated means teacher.”  Then Andrew tells Simon Peter, “’We have found the Messiah’ – which is translated Christ – .’”  Finally, Jesus tells Simon, “’You will be called Cephas’ — which is translated Peter.”  Clearly, labels are a big deal. 

As well they should be.  Labels have the power to provoke, encourage, demonize, incite, even deify.  And they can be one of the greatest obstacles to clarity of vision.  If I label the arson and vandalism that accompanied some of the BLM protests in Portland, Oregon in May as “left-wing, radical terrorism,” am I really going to be able to have a conversation with someone genuinely concerned about racial justice?  If I label the incident on January 6 at the Capitol as a “fascist, treasonous insurrection,” will I ever be able to find common ground with people who genuinely have concerns about election results?  If the goal is to find a path toward unity and healing – and I truly hope it is as I think one Civil War is one too many for this nation – then responsible followership requires dispassionate labeling of the other side.

Maybe having millions of followers on Facebook or Twitter isn’t that creepy after all.  Perhaps following someone – anyone – irresponsibly is the real problem.  A great deal depends on leadership.  But great leadership requires followers who listen critically, respond compassionately, and label impartially.