Remember Your Leaders

Jun 25, 2025

Why copying your leaders example is a bad idea (and what to do instead)

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Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7 (NET)

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I like to read the book of Hebrews like it’s a sermon that was written down.

That helps me make sense of the final chapter, which jumps around from topic to topic. If it was a sermon, then those final moments would be good for wrapping up the message (giving a summary).

This is a great little verse tucked away in there.

And I use it to remind myself to pay attention to what my leaders have taught me.

More than just what they teach, I take the time to consider how they lived out their faith.

One of the strange things about leading and teaching is that it’s often difficult to explain exactly what to do to find success.

What I mean is, I often struggle telling people what to do in order for them to get to the place they’re looking to get to.

Hmmmm… that sounds a little circular.

Anyway, I found it’s much better to watch & adapt.

In other words, imitate their faith.

Because I don’t have the same personality as any of my heroes of the faith, it actually does me little good to copy what they say or did.

The things that worked for them worked because of who they are and the time they acted.

But I’m a different person, acting in a different time.

So, I cannot simply copy their faith …

I must imitate it. Adapt it to who I am & when I’m living.

A hard job, to be sure, but I also have the Holy Spirit to help.

— Ricky Ketchum

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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