by Gary Reinecke | Jun 15, 2020 | Disciplemaking, Leader Development, Uncategorized |
How we develop leaders & make disciples is changing!
You may or may not agree with this statement. However, the context, cultural moment and accessibility to people has changed. And no one really understands the new normal moving forward. My sense is that it will be different than we have been accustomed to in the past. And I don’t mean that we will all be using Zoom or some other platform more than we have previously. The racial unrest, pandemic and ensuing Stay at Home orders with the social distancing and self-imposed isolation restrictions are exposing cracks in the way we develop leaders and make disciples. Moving from a centralized to a de-centralized model of ministry has forced church leaders to think of creative strategies to be on-mission. I am suggesting that the focused attention we give to developing leaders and making disciples will be a higher priority, more robust process and increasingly nuanced than ever.
This is “Why” I am more and more convinced that we need/must always be refining how we develop people as they progress on their discipleship and leadership journey.
Which is why I am suggesting that you give your attention to these issues today, and every day, as you plant, grow and multiply! One of the ways you can do that is through the Leadership Collective. I asked Brian Wilson, one of our current participants to share his experience in a short (1 minute) video – WATCH HERE to learn from his experience.
One of the exercises we challenge participants to is to articulate their disciplemaking process in a simple “napkin exercise”. This comes at the end of the first of four phases to the leadership development process. The goal is to simplify the disciple’s journey in a transferable manner. In fact, here is a sample that Russ Sidders, Lead Pastor of Sunrise Community Church created – WATCH HERE.
Consider your personal growth and development plans for 2021. How are you taking your effectiveness to multiply leaders who will start and reproduce churches, to reach people far from God, to the next level? I hope and pray to see you in La Jolla, CA on February 28, 2021 – CLICK HERE for more information.
by Gary Reinecke | Apr 7, 2020 | Disciplemaking |
I had the privilege to interview Colin Noyes and Micah Dodson in response to the question: Why does disciplemaking begin in the Harvest?
Watch the video – CLICK HERE!
Colin lives in Brisbane, Australia and is an authority on disciplemaking movements. For the last twenty years he has served in denominations, ministries and leaders as a coach/consultant/trainer. Colin has authored three books on the topic.
Here are key points Colin shares:
- Jesus started in the harvest
- Disciples worked in the harvest because they were a very small group in a pagan world
- Disciplemaking was a normal part of life for every believer
- People today are interested in Jesus and what He has to say
- The post-Constantine church has to be obedient to Jesus and look back
Read more about Colin – CLICK HERE.
Here are the key points Micah shares:
- Orienting our lives around people who don’t know Jesus
- Jesus intends that we make the most of every opportunity
- Live in proximity to people who don’t know Christ
- Empower people to go out
Micah is an experienced church planter. He serves in the Pacific Northwest coaching, training, and assessing church planting leaders. Micah brings a compassion for the church planting couple and family in partnership with his wife, Kristen. Read more about Micah – CLICK HERE.
Please interact with the points from above, in the conversation below.
by Gary Reinecke | Mar 24, 2020 | Disciplemaking |
Micah Dodson and I talk about the primary shift a leader must wrestle through in order to establish a culture of disciplemaking in your church. This is perhaps the key philosophical decision a leader must make to create an intentional community of disciples, making disciples. After we discuss the shift then I ask Micah to present a challenge to take the next step to strengthen your disciplemaking culture.
You will need 6 minutes to view this video; I promise it will be worth your time – CLICK HERE!
To get the conversation started – share your take away from the video below.
Making Disciples Coaching Guide
by Gary Reinecke | Mar 20, 2020 | Disciplemaking, Leader Development |
History will tell the story how the Church decided to act in faith and be the Church in crisis.
Last Tuesday Gina (my wife) and I made an executive decision for our small group. We have a wonderful host couple that open their home so that our group of 5-17 members (depending on the week) can meet on Tuesday evenings for about 28 weeks throughout the year. A number of our participants have compromised immune systems or loved ones who are at greater risk than the general population. Last weekend our church, like about many other congregations across the country, launched their first-ever online worship service.
Back to our small group. I discussed the situation with Gina and we came up with a solution. Due to the the various reasons above – we moved our small group gathering to a virtual format, using Zoom. This is not an original idea with us. In fact, this might seem old school for many. But, it was an innovative solution to a real and pressing issue.
This allowed our group to meet without concerns for the health of our people who deal with compromised immune systems. More importantly, this removed the excuse not to meet. Check-out the list of questions below to consider creative solutions to complex problems.
7 Questions to Innovate Creative Solutions in Ministry during Uncertain Times
- What is influencing our decisions as we navigate this crisis?
- How can we leverage the circumstances the crisis is presenting, to move the mission of Jesus forward?
- Brainstorm a list of ideas that come to mind.
- Narrow the list to the best 3-5 ideas.
- What are the pros and cons of each idea?
- Choose the best idea that you can execute within a certain timeframe.
- What are the necessary steps to implement this idea.
Going to an online platform to keep your church connected might be the direction you need to move right now. This forced migration might be the best thing for your congregation. Perhaps, online isn’t something you need to do and there are other considerations that will allow you to capitalize on the opportunity?
Three COMPLIMENTARY Coaching Sessions to Innovate Creative Solutions During Uncertain Times
With the warnings, limitations and restrictions imposed on your ministry; would you like help navigating this season? With that in mind, InFocus is offering three complimentary coaching appointments, 30 minutes each. Going online with worship services, small groups or your entire ministry is innovative.
With the current restrictions the government has enforced due to the Coronavirus there was an uptick in webinars just last week to assist leaders that need to introduce online solutions for their church, facilitated by experts in the field. If you would like assistance on sorting through all the options I would be happy to coach you around the best way to address your need. Simply click on the button below to schedule a time that works for you. You determine the agenda:
- Taking your worship services online
- Taking your disciplemaking online
- Taking your church online
…..or some other topic of your choosing!
CLICK HERE to schedule your first appointment
by Gary Reinecke | Mar 13, 2020 | Disciplemaking |
Four findings recently surfaced from a national study of Disciple Making in USA churches:
- Fewer than 5% of churches in the US have a reproducing disciple making culture
- An absence of churches reflecting viral-like disciple making movements
- Lack of commonly understood definitions
- Overestimating Impact
*National Study on Disciple Making in USA Churches: High Aspirations Amidst Disappointing Results
The report cited above elaborates on each of the key points. If you lead one of the churches within that 5%, then your ministry is exceptional – well done! You can read the report in it’s entirety – CLICK HERE.
7 Questions to Sharpen your Disciple Making Process
Reflection Questions:
- What was your discipleship journey like?
- What “steps” of your journey have been repeated by others, through your ministry?
- When you consider the essential steps a disciple takes, what steps are missing from the list you created above?
- What steps does your church do well?
Planning Questions:
- Which steps could your church improve on?
- Select one step you need to focus on now?
- Identify one action you can take to enhance that step.
Of course, these questions are just a first step. But when taken seriously, consistently monitoring progress, you can create a “reproducing disciple making culture”. It is within reach. You can move the needle in the right direction. Review the Making Disciples Storyboard and assess where your ministry is strong and where there are gaps. Then take action.
It is mind-boggling to think that the primary mission of the church is to make disciples; yet, less than 5% of our churches “have a reproducing disciple making culture”. Through the hard work of capable disciplemakers under the guidance of the Holy Spirit – we can do better than that! Wouldn’t you agree?
by Gary Reinecke | Sep 23, 2019 | Church Growth, Disciplemaking, Leader Development |
People learn to discover and follow Jesus in community. Few environments do that better than a small group. This begs the question, what did Jesus focus on when he trained His disciples.
Jesus was a disciplemaker and leader developer.
Excellent small groups do these two things consistently:
- Make Disciples
- Train Leaders
I have learned that people benefit when they understand what a “win” is for one process (disciplemaking) and a “win” for the other (leadership development). I have also learned that these two areas bleed into each other. I love the phrase Neil Cole coined: “Raise the bar of discipleship and lower the bar for leadership”. I have one other nuance to add:
Clarify the developmental path so people know where they are and where they are going!
What does excellent “people development” look like?
In the small group I lead with my wife, Gina, we have established a nourishing environment for people to navigate their disciplemaking journey. Just as critical, we have communicated that we are looking for a few good leaders to reproduce our group. I find the clearer we define the “win”, the more secure people feel and confident they are knowing where they are in their development. BTW – these two processes continue throughout our lifetimes – right?
Here are two developmental processes that simplify the people development process for:
Three questions to strengthen people development process in your small group:
- What behaviors does a fruitful disciple demonstrate as a disciple of Jesus?
- What behaviors does an effective leader demonstrate as a leader?
- What does that developmental process look like for a:
Please respond below if you have a process you follow for either:
- Disciplemaking
- Leadership Development
