by Gary Reinecke | Mar 19, 2019 | Church Growth, Disciplemaking, Leader Development |
I have reflected on this for some time. Like the last 30+ years. What is your answer?
When I asked a church staff this question, they responded a month later with a list of qualities that described a disciple. For example: Godly character, biblical literate, service, humility, shares faith, etc. And the list went on and on. I was exhausted at the end of our meeting because I was convinced that no one I knew would ever measure-up; including me.
What I felt they were describing was a list of behaviors to make better disciples, but not to MAKE disciples.
This was troubling to me. You could pragmatically help your people become better disciples but miss Jesus’ command to make disciples. Jesus set the tone of His mission by showing His disciples that the best way to become a better disciple is by making disciples.
Taking this a step deeper. Is your ministry making better disciples or more disciples? What is the fruit of a disciple? Simply put, the fruit of a disciple are disciples who are making disciples.
We have taken the mystery of what a fruitful disciple does in the Disciplemaking Collective. We use a simple path to help disciples assess where they are on their disciplemaking journey called the Disciplemaking Coaching Guide and Storyboard (see image above). CLICK HERE for more information.
by Gary Reinecke | Mar 3, 2019 | Church Growth, Church Multiplication, Disciplemaking |
When Josh Packard asked his subjects why they had left church, he found the top four reasons were:
- they wanted community… and got judgment;
- they wanted to affect the life of the church… and got bureaucracy;
- they wanted conversation… and got doctrine;
- they wanted meaningful engagement with the world… and got moral prescription.
A lot of research has been conducted to alert church leaders why people in modern society are leaving the church in record numbers. This list gets at some important issues facing the mission of the local church today. Read more at: To the Dones and the Almost Dones, I hear you by Michael Frost.
InFocus is offering two LIVE courses beginning in April. Who do you know that would benefit from one of the following:
by Gary Reinecke | Feb 26, 2019 | Church Growth, Disciplemaking, Leader Development |
It is one of the recurring and underlying challenges most leaders face. Inspiration from respected leaders is good. Information is helpful. BUT application of key leadership concepts brings transformation. With that in mind we decided to begin with the end in mind in the Develop the Leaders Around You LIVE Course. We want to partner with you to discover steps you can take to advance in your leadership development.
Three things you will gain:
- Individualized coaching through your leadership development journey.
- A comprehensive framework to lead your team.
- Real-time actions you discover from the reflection questions provided.
I’m excited to co-facilitate the group sessions with Troy Fountain, the founding pastor of Wiregrass Church – which has grown and planted two campuses. He started and led the 1st Strategic Partnership of North Point Community Church. Troy has been coaching and consulting church leaders throughout the United States since 2007. He is the Chief Operation Officer of The FOR CO. Troy and his wife live in Dothan, Alabama – they have three children.
by Gary Reinecke | Dec 2, 2018 | Church Multiplication, Disciplemaking, Leader Development |
LEARN-EMPOWER-ASSESS-DECIDE-EVALUATE-REVIEW
Life-long learners constantly cycle through a developmental process to sharpen their leadership skills. It may be intuitive or it may be intentional. But the 6 steps are real: LEARN-EMPOWER-ASSESS-DECIDE-EVALUATE-REVIEW.
The second step in the leadership developmental process is EMPOWER. The word empower is overused in leadership conversations. It can be a catch-all term that means everything and nothing, at the same time. In a positive sense, EMPOWER describes what transpires when an apprentice acquires the skills, gains confidence, combined with proven character to establish a team that successfully carries-out a project from inception to completion.
Leaders lead from three positions. Each position serves a particular purpose. The three models are progressive, meaning that the most empowering leaders aspire to lead from the Outside so that team members own the outcomes of their actions.
Here are the three positions that leaders lead from with a description of each:
- Center – The Autocrat
- Fringe – The Team Leader/Coach
- Outside – The Enabler
As a leader, one thing you must ask is – What is my position?
Here are three questions to ask leaders about the position they lead from:
- What position are you currently leading?
- Where do you need to move?
- How can you make the shift?
Empowering is an important step in the Leadership Development Process. But Empowering in itself is not enough. In fact, going to a workshop, listening to a podcast or even receiving a degree in leadership does not guarantee a person can lead. I’ve found that many people have knowledge but lack the experience of actually leading a team. Applying the knowledge and learning from success as well as failure is critical in the development process.
Questions for your reflection:
- Who are you empowering?
- How are you helping them increase their capacity to lead?
- What possibilities are there for them to take the next step forward?
The next step in the journey to develop as a leader is – Assess. Assess team members to help them clarify “whats next”. This is where we will pick-up next week.
InFocus is responding to the need to help leaders empower their team through our Live Courses called Collectives. Learn about the 2019 Collectives. Each Collective will engage you in the 6 Step Leadership Development process above.
Related Leadership Development Resource:
Effective Leadership Storyboard
by Gary Reinecke | Nov 21, 2018 | Disciplemaking, Leader Development, Personal Development |
LEARN-EMPOWER-ASSESS-DECIDE-EVALUATE-REVIEW
Life-long learners constantly cycle through a developmental process to sharpen their leadership skills. It may be intuitive or it may be intentional. But the 6 steps are real: LEARN-EMPOWER-ASSESS-DECIDE-EVALUATE-REVIEW.
John was struggling. He served as a volunteer organizing various mission events, with amazing results. But then he was asked to lead the Global Outreach Ministry for his church.
He was flattered, excited – but overwhelmed.
- How was he going to lead?
- Who was he leading?
- And most important, where was he supposed to start?
That’s when we met.
Too often, people are put into leadership positions without the tools, skills or understanding required to lead. What normally happens to people is that they either pursue help OR they die! The death of a vision leads to the death of a leader. Worse yet, the leader becomes frustrated, apathetic and disinterested in everything to do with the “church”.
Back to John, after he brought me up to speed, I asked him some questions and as he reflected – he began to calm down. John shared his heart for missions, and for the Global Outreach Ministry.
- He had a vision.
- He had ideas of what he didn’t want – essentially he did NOT want to work alone!
- He DID want to become more effective at helping others lead essential areas of the Global Outreach Ministry.
As a leader, one thing you must ask is – Where do I begin?
Here are three questions I asked John:
- What are your strengths?
- What essential skills are necessary?
- Who do you need?
John had recently completed an assessment that the entire church staff was asked to take. We discussed the strengths he brought to a team. And then identified some areas he did not enjoy, what he lacked and potential blind spots. Finally, we identified what it would take for his team to be successful and who would be good to have on his team.
John is in the process of:
- Learning who he is as a leader.
- Learning about the various roles he needs to fill on his team.
- Learning who he could approach as potential members of his team.
Learning is an important step in the Leadership Development Process. But Learning in itself is not enough. In fact, going to a workshop, listening to a podcast or even receiving a degree in leadership does not guarantee a person can lead. I’ve found that many people have knowledge but lack the experience of actually leading a team. Applying the knowledge and learning from success as well as failure is critical in the development process.
Questions for your reflection:
- Who are you developing?
- How are you helping them learn about themselves and the people on their team?
- What possibilities are there for them to take the next step forward?
The next step in the journey to develop as a leader is – Empower. Empower team members to help them clarify “whats next”. This is where we will pick-up next week.
Learn about the 2019 Collectives. Each Collective will engage you in the 6 Step Leadership Development process above.
Related Leadership Development Resource:
by Gary Reinecke | Nov 18, 2018 | Church Multiplication, Disciplemaking, Leader Development |
Wishing you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving!
As Christians, we have so many privileges to be thankful – but they can get lost in the midst of the daily grind.
Be mindful this Thanksgiving to recall all that God have given, especially the people He was surrounded you. Remember that every human being has worth, value and significance. That your friends, family and even those God has put in your life that might not see the world as you see it are created in His image.
This Thanksgiving, receive with a heart of gratitude, share what He has blessed you with and give thanks.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
His love and his kindness go on forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34 Living Bible (TLB)
Thank you for being a friend to InFocus,
for serving the Lord as you make disciples
and develop the leaders around you!
