John 3:22-36

In summary: People are distraught. John the Baptist baptized Jesus and yet people are beginning to follow Jesus. John's followers were probably thinking "Man, no servant is greater than his master. Why are people following Jesus and not John?" I love John's reply: [Jesus] must become greater; I must become less.

This reminds me of a passage that I read awhile in 1 Corinthians 1. As Paul was doing ministry in Corinth, people were beginning to take sides with the teachers. Essentially, that would be the same on a micro-scale as the people of Cornerstone saying "I follow Joe" while others are saying "I follow Aaron" while another group of people say "I follow Daehwan". In a macro-sale, it would look something like this:

Person 1:I follow Cornerstone.
Person 2: Well, I follow Campus Crusade.
Person 3: You two are both wrong. I follow Intervarsity.

John's response? I must become less so Jesus may become greater. We ought to respect our leaders and invest in our communities but when it is all said and done, we follow Christ, not the things or people of this earth.

As followers of Christ and leaders of our respective fellowships, we need to be wary of this. It would be easy to become conceited, placing high value on our own actions and using them as a source of pride and accomplishment. Success and actions mean everything in the world but to Christ, they mean nothing. It's all about the heart. Be wary of thinking "As a leader, I must become greater" but rather, think "Jesus must become greater". I would venture to say that the two are mutually exclusive. If you are seeking to become greater, then Christ isn't given all the glory.

This is also a call for unity in the body of Christ. We have many churches. Within those churches, we have many leaders. Despite all of the leaders, we have but one God, one savior, one Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Ephesians 4:3-6
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.