Jesus Developed Followers Before He Developed Leaders

We don't really know a great deal about the first 30 years of Jesus', though we can speculate. Historically, we do know a great deal about the culture, the people, their habits, etc. But have you ever wondered why there was such a long period of time for Him to be revealed for who He was? Was an appropriate age? Probably, but I can't help but believe it was also for Jesus to be developed as a follower before He became a leader. Only then could He begin developing his own followers. Not leaders, that would come later, but followers. Jesus spent 3 years developing followers and at times had hundreds, maybe thousands of people following him.

He taught these men, made in the image of God, to be followers. Or rather, those that chose to follow. What did He do with those that could not meet the standards he set? He let them go. He loved them all, but knew He had to develop good followers before they could be good leaders. When picking the 12, He knew they weren't perfect. But Jesus, the Christ, loved them and continued to give instructions and training.

When He died, He came back and gave them more instruction on and off for 40 days until giving final instructions before departing. Yet, still, Jesus knew their growth wasn't finished and would drift in their following, so he left a Helper behind to continue to guide and train these men left behind to lead.

To lead well, we must learn to follow Christ well. As we lead our family, those we are responsible for at work, we must follow Christ well. As we serve those in authority over us, we must follow Christ well. We must follow, not blindly, and sometimes following well means stepping being courageous in our leading.

Jesus trained followers to train followers to lead well.

Follow, lead, follow more, and do it well.

To that end....
Hmmm...if Christ had come back while I was at work today, would He have found me glorifying Him in my speach, actions, emails....? from Echofon
#WorkMatters to ponder RT @oschambers-Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering and God will prove Himself  http://bit.ly/mu0206