Follower First: Rethinking Leading in the Church

by Rusty Ricketson

The second edition of followerfirst continues the biblical argument for embracing the followerfirst perspective as a key to fulfilling the church's mission. With even more clarity Dr. Ricketson presents biblical evidence that (1) Jesus was the greatest follower who ever lived and established His church to be follower-focused rather than leader-centered, (2) Operating with a followerfirst perspective has the potential of increasing greater participation and cooperation while reducing conflict and struggles over power and position. Written from a follower's perspective, followerfirst presents biblical, theoretical, and practical guidelines necessary to mobilize church members to fulfill their God-given responsibilities as followers of Christ.

233 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Daniel Ligon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique perspective on leadership from my leadership professor at Luther Rice Seminary. He understands leadership as a process which can be learned. His focus is on spiritual leadership, and he makes the argument that leaders are often overvalued and followers underappreciated. Ricketson observes that the highest call of every Christian is to be primarily a follower, like Jesus Himself was. As followers of Christ, we may serve in the role of leader or follower in given situations, but we are followers first.

[Allen Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I have a significant interest in the topic of followership (in contrast to leadership). In that regard, I found Ricketson's book to be a refreshingly positive book as it honors the role of following and seeks to correct traditional biases.

While the layout, editing, diagrams, and Follower First Profile all come across as a bit amateurish, this book is a helpful place to begin one's journey in pursuing excellence as a follower. It provides exposure, however brief, to a broad range of facets that are worth considering, including character, power, and various models of leadership. I'm not sure that he ever succinctly presents his "Follower First philosophy" in a clear manner, and even though he has a chapter on implementation, I'm still left wondering if it's possible to create this kind of culture within modern churches and organizations. Nevertheless, there is something helpful in his raising our awareness to consider these issues.

Since there's not a lot written on the topic of followership, and even less from a Christian perspective, I recommend this book as a starting place, and encourage additional reading to then further one's growth and reflections. You can find other items on my Amazon.com Listmania! for "Followership Resources."