1 Corinthians 11: Stop Following Influencers, Imitate Christ

Introduction

"Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ." Just two verses, 1 Corinthians 11:1-2, yet Pastor Wayne Harrison of Gospel Community Church chooses to stop and dwell on them. The title of his message: stop following influencers and start imitating Christ.

His observation is simple: we are always being influenced by something or someone. We live in the age of celebrity pastors, ministry scandals and doctrinal ignorance. Even the Church lets itself be carried along by many things other than Christ and his Word.

The pastor wants to make these two verses "a bugle call" for his church. He unfolds them in three parts: the model of the godly leader, the person of our Savior, and the preservation of the traditions handed down by the apostles.

Outline of the Message

1. Following Jesus, the Foundation of the Disciple's Life

The word "follow" comes up again and again in the Gospels. "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men" (Matthew 4:19): God will do nothing with you if you do not follow him first.
Matthew, sitting at the tax collector's booth, hears "Follow me," gets up and follows him (Matthew 9:9). This is the response expected of every true believer.
Following Jesus means self-denial: "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Without self-denial, you are still doing your own will.
The life of a disciple requires two things: a leader and disciples. God has ordained that his Church be led by faithful elders who follow Christ, and that the congregation follow them in turn.
The Church needs faithful pastors, in an age when many are wearing out and giving up. It also needs Spirit-filled disciples who recognize: "me, myself and I is not enough in the race of the Gospel."

2. The Model of the Godly Leader

Paul had already written it to the Corinthians: they have many teachers, but not many fathers. There are plenty of people who give information. Fathers who care for you and whom you follow, not just listen to, are rarer (1 Corinthians 4:14-16).
"Does the Lord really expect me to follow an ordinary pastor?" The pastor answers that your local pastor did not meet Jesus on the road to Damascus and does not hold the title of apostle, but that the biblical model remains the same: leaders who show conduct like that of Christ, and a congregation that follows them as long as they stay on that path.
Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you, consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7). Do not follow someone whose life leads to destruction.
"Note those who walk this way, even as you have us for a pattern" (Philippians 3:17). Your role is to follow, but also to observe: do not follow anyone blindly.
Already in the Old Testament, the command was to follow a model: "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

3. The Current Crisis and Its Remedy

Highly publicized falls of Christian leaders who preached one thing and lived another have divided churches and made many believers cynical: "I don't trust anyone anymore."
The pastor answers that your standard for your pastor is not perfection. He must be above reproach and keep far from open sin, but he remains a sinful man. Leaving because "my pastor made a mistake" is often looking for an excuse to leave the Church.
Another danger: celebrity Christianity. People look to the pastor more than to Jesus. Those who follow their favorite preachers online and consume their content almost always end up lacking accountability to someone who actually knows them.
For some Christians, being a disciple comes down to a click: "I follow you, I subscribe." That is not what following means in the kingdom of God.
The remedy: rediscovering spiritual fatherhood and motherhood. Mature women who walk alongside younger women, mature men who walk alongside men. This is not the pastor's job alone. Paul speaks to the Church in the language of family, because he is addressing a covenant community, not an online group: "You are subscribed to many people, but who is your father?"

4. Six Idols of the Heart Followed in Place of Christ

Your heart. "Follow your heart": the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). It will tell you that divorce is normal after everything you have been through. The Gospel says instead: persevere, as Christ perseveres with you.
Money. Jesus speaks of the deceitfulness of riches that chokes the Word. You cannot love God and money. The danger is to secretly aim for security and comfort, and then set aside what the Lord asks in order to work a few more hours.
Pragmatism. "It works, so it's right." Visible results are not always a sign of God's blessing: "I am living in sin that I am not repenting of, but I just got a raise, so everything is fine." Really? Make sure you are right with him.
Feelings. "I feel like this is not the right time to serve the Lord." Nowhere does the Bible say that our feelings should guide us. We are led by the Spirit and by faith. Catch yourself saying "I feel" this week, and ask instead: what does the Word say, what would glorify God?
Society's consensus. The pressure to line up with a declining morality and to follow the "woke" culture more broadly is immense: don't make waves, don't defend your convictions. When people can no longer tell a man from a woman or say that marriage unites a man and a woman, they are "like a blind man in a dark room searching for where the light is."
The spiritual authority of AI. The pastor cites a Barna Research study in the United States: 48% of practicing Christians fully or partly trust AI for their spiritual growth, and 34% consider its advice as reliable as their pastor's (44% among millennials, 39% among Gen Z). He does not fear AI: God remains sovereign and on the throne. It can help gather information. But "idolatry is not in the software"; it is in a heart that wants to hear what pleases it rather than the Word of God.
A machine will not tell you the truth in love. It will not pray for you, suffer with you, or weep with you. Would you prefer a flattering ear to the wounds of a faithful friend (Proverbs 27:6)?

5. The Person of Our Savior

Paul is not trying to create a personality cult. He says: imitate me only as I imitate Christ. He does not ask for blind obedience, but for disciples who discern.
"For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you" (John 13:15). Jesus set the supreme example, and others will follow you if you follow him.
You cannot imitate Jesus in his sovereign power: "Jesus is Jesus." But you are called to imitate him in the Gospel itself: he emptied himself, took the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
Jesus himself followed: he did the Father's will to the very last night, "not what I want, but what you want."
Imitating Christ means accepting to have no reputation, and then serving. "If you cannot serve others in the Church, I don't think you have gotten past the first step."
"Pastor Wayne, Jesus is a high standard!" Yes, and you will often fall short. But you are united to Christ, justified by faith and not by your works. When your imitation fails, his grace and forgiveness are there. You are not trying to be perfect in your own strength.

6. Preserving the Traditions Handed Down

Verse 2: Paul praises the Corinthians for remembering him and holding to his instructions as he gave them. Three key words: hand down, remember, hold firmly. To hold firmly is not to change, to remain in the same practices and the same principles.
"Verse 1 is about imitating and putting into practice. Verse 2 is about remembering and practicing."
These traditions include the Lord's Supper, celebrated that morning, baptism, church discipline, the preaching of the Word, fellowship, and the first day of the week. When we follow something else, we forget what was handed down, we drift, and we end up disobeying.
"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you" (1 Corinthians 11:23). The same goes for the Gospel: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Paul did not invent it; he received it and passed it on.
The pastor reads an ancient Christian text: we must be not "the author, but the guardian; not the founder, but the one who shares; not the leader, but the one who follows."
The Church is like a ship anchored to the rock. As in the Greek tale of the sirens, where one ties oneself to the mast so as not to be drawn toward death, we are tied to the anchor of Scripture. "Don't move the ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set up" (Proverbs 22:28), "and don't enter the fields of the fatherless" (Proverbs 23:10): those who prefer an algorithm's advice to pastoral authority find themselves with no one to warn them and care for their soul.

7. When the Church Forgets Two Thousand Years of History

In the name of cultural relevance, central doctrines are abandoned: the authority of Scripture, the uniqueness of Christ, the reality of sin and judgment, the necessity of personal conversion.
Christians become shallow: sermons reduced to practical tips, songs centered on our emotions more than on theological content.
According to the figures cited, 64% of young people who are not rooted in the truth at 18 leave the Church. The pastor addresses parents of children under 18: the work must be done now.
To young people: "You're an adult, you can do what you want" is the voice of the devil telling you that you need neither authority nor accountability. Your baptism and your confession of faith will be put to the test.
"Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths" (Jeremiah 6:16). To ask is to pray, to read the Word, to question your pastor, your parents, a more mature brother. Not AI, not social media algorithms, not a friend who will disappear when your life falls apart.
The Church's duty, in every age, is not to invent new doctrines, but to guard, proclaim and practice the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
The pastor ends with four calls: follow faithful leaders, keep Christ at the center, stand firm in the truth, live a life worth imitating.

Key Takeaways

You are always following someone or something. The only question is: who or what?
You imitate a leader only to the extent that he follows Christ. His standard is not perfection, but a blameless life that bears fruit.
Subscribing is not being a disciple. The Church needs spiritual fathers and mothers, not just sources of information.
Imitating Christ means lowering yourself and serving. When your imitation fails, you remain united to him by faith.
The traditions handed down by the apostles are not reinvented: they are received, kept, and passed on to the next generation.

Personal Application

If your private life were put under a microscope today, would it be worth imitating by the next generation?
Who is telling you hard truths right now: an algorithm, a podcast, a screen, or a local shepherd who knows you and suffers with you?
Which of the six idols guides you most often: your heart, money, results, your feelings, the world's opinion, or AI?
Where do you look for the definition of your success: in numbers and consensus, or on the path of the cross, dying to yourself to serve others?
Whom can you ask this week "where is the good way," and whom could you walk alongside as a father or mother in the faith?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Paul mean by "Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ"?

Paul is not asking for blind obedience. He is asking for disciples who discern: you imitate a leader only to the extent that he follows Christ. Pastor Wayne points out that this is the model of discipleship in the New Testament Church: pastors and leaders who show conduct like that of Christ, and a congregation that follows them as long as they do not stray from that path.

Should you leave your church when your pastor makes a mistake?

No. The preacher acknowledges that scandals involving Christian leaders have made many believers cynical. But an elder remains a human being: he must be above reproach and keep far from open sin, without being perfect. Saying "my pastor made a mistake, I'm leaving" often amounts to looking for an excuse to leave the Church.

Can you ask artificial intelligence for spiritual advice?

The preacher does not fear AI and does not forbid using it to gather information. But he warns against entrusting it with your sanctification: a machine will not tell you the truth in love, will not pray for you, will not weep with you, and will not offer you the accountability found in the local church.