Leading Backwards! The Challenge of a Kayak Tour Guide

Leading Backwards!

They left two times a day.  Kayak tours.  Sometimes there would be only a few and one time there was what seemed to be a school class of about thirty students.  Kayaker’s.  They rented a kayak to begin for most of them what would become a type of mysterious journey.  They were for a few moments of the day – wishful pioneers.  Pioneering their way to a strange place in the marsh lands off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia.  What a sight.  They were bold, bright colored kayaks.  Their occupants were of all ages.  They sat under the direction of a kayak leader.  He gave verbal instructions as they paddled their way into a few moments of discovery.  Banking memories never to be erased.  Their fearless leader had been there before.  He had crossed that place where on ancient maps the world was supposed to be flat and marked in scruffed lettering, “Here be dragons!”  They would survive the dragons and come back home after about two hours.  But for two hours those amateur kayakers were making history and tattooing themselves with another bold life experience. And they followed a leader.  Not that leading is unusual in these type of recreational endeavors – but there was something that marked this event above others.

Watching these amateur kayakers follow their leader was interesting.  On their way to their destination their leader was rowing his kayak sitting backwards.  He was facing his “following” and leading backwards.  He was in forward motion but he had his back to the direction he was leading.  He was leading backwards! He had been there before.  He was leading by faith not by sight.  He was setting a standard to follow that was amazing.  It didn’t matter how many followers he had – he led the same way.  I note several things about this event.

He was a confident leader.  He knew where he was going.  He was leading by faith.  He was familiar with his surroundings and knew where he was going by the appearance of what was behind him.

He led by example.  He gave verbal instructions and then gave his followers / students a visible pattern to follow.  They not only heard instruction but they “saw” their leader in action.  He became one of them by example.

He kept his eye on his followers.  Leading by faith and not by sight gave him the unique ability to see his followers.  He could communicate with them.  He engaged in “relationship” with them. His leadership was relational not merely positional.

He led them back to their place of engagement – experienced for the better.  Their leader led to a place of discovery and brought them back safely.  What a leader!   They were more experienced, matured in life, were able to bank memories and most of all – they were back for another phase of life experience.

I see some real parallels here to our faith life.  We need a leader who is confident in where he is going. Spiritually a leader has to have been somewhere by faith before he can lead others.  He may not have been there physically but he has to be there in faith before he can lead.  That’s why the kayak leader could lead backwards.  He was so powerfully confident in where he was going he could sit with his back to his desired destination and be in forward motion faith.

His followers could see his example.  He wasn’t a positional leader that sits without ever interacting with his followers.  Leading successfully is about 80% visibility.  That’s why God had the priests to lead while shouldering the Ark by walking one mile ahead of the “gang.”  The nation of Israel could see the Ark.  They could see the priesthood and follow with confidence because he was leading by personal example.

Spiritual leaders need to be aware of what their sheep are doing.  I know there was a season in the faith community where leaders were instructed to separate themselves and become the positional “king of the roost” instead of being relational.  That creates cold monumental leadership but not relationship leadership.  Not for me at all.  This positions him/her in a place of superiority in my opinion.  I believe leaders need to be relational. I heard John Maxwell say one time that leaders have to stay far ahead enough to lead and close enough to build relationships.  That my friend is a hard line to draw sometimes.  The point to make here is that leaders have no choice but to be relational.  Jesus proved that more than any other leader who lived.

Leaders lead toward growing in faith.  The kayak tour leader lead his followers to a place of experience. Experience would take them to a more mature place by sheer education alone.  Going where they had not been before.  Doing what they had not done before.  Seeing what they had not seen before.  Hearing what they had not seen before.  Touching what they had not touched before.  Yep!  They would come back with a greater life experience.  Most of them left the shore of Tybee Island by faith. They came back with strengthened faith. That should be the goal of every spiritual leader – lead to a greater faith experience.

Leading backwards is possible.  I highly recommend that if you are a leader to examine yourself and see if its possible for you to accomplish this amazing task – lead backwards.  Matter of fact I double dog dare you to try it.