Leading a Disciple-making Staff - Discipleship Conference 2022

Introduction

Five years ago, I was in a pastor’s training in Swaziland, Africa.

We were teaching for a week on the five solas b/c of 500 year anniversary of the Reformation.

Met with unexpected hostility.

Realized that a large percentage ascribed to the Prosperity Gospel, and we were an affront to everything they knew about Christianity. Many of them didn’t use Bible; rather, they were regurgitating what they had heard the pastor in their village do.

We had to be very deliberate, measured, and clear in our response and teaching so that they could understand why what they inherited was false and why the true gospel offers greater, truer hope.

In many ways, the realization of the church’s mission in the Great Commission can feel like that.

You recognize what the mission is, and you’re excited to teach it.

Met with unexpected hostility.

You begin to realize that you’re now an affront to how ministry has always been done and how your staff has been trained to do it. They’re doing what they inherited from previous experience and pastors, and most of them have never been discipled, let alone led a disciple-making church.

We must be deliberate, measured, and clear to show and teach them what they’ve never seen and why it’s the only way to kingdom to fidelity.

4 Clear Steps Toward Leading a Disciple-making Staff (and one bonus!):

Step one: Live as a disciple, not an executive.

Consider how different the view of pastoring is from Peter’s perspective compared what we commonly hear.

Not a CEO, but a shepherd. A disciple of Jesus who is leading other disciples of Jesus.

CEO: I’m leading you “because it’s my job” (Under compulsion); so that “I keep my job and livelihood” (not for shameful gain); and you must “do what I say because I say it” (domineering).

Shepherd oversees because “its his desire to honor God” (willingly, as God would have you); and “it’s his passion” (eagerly); so, he becomes “an example of who Christ would have them be.” (example)

1 Peter 5:1-3 “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

We are the vision embodied.

Whatever life we live establishes the life that we hold up for our disciples (and staff) to emulate.

True teaching requires an example in close range to show how truth looks in real life. This is how Jesus taught.

Discipleship in the first century. a disciple would literally shadow and memorize every last thing their teacher did. How many steps on the Sabbath? How many hours studying and memorizing scripture? How did they play with their kids? When did they eat their meals? How long did they grow their hair? The disciples spent so much time with their teachers that they became perfect duplicates. That’s what Jesus is calling for here. As disciples we must spend so much time with Jesus that our lives become indistinguishable from his, and then, as teachers we reflect what Paul says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” (1 Cor 11:1)

We must live as disciples of Jesus in close range to our staff. Shepherds before we’re managers. Servants before we’re bosses. Ministering with passion, not obligation.

Three questions that establish credibility and context for a disciple-making staff:

Do we treat them as well as we treat our church members?

Do we hold ourselves to the same standards to which we hold them?

Are we an example of what we want them to become?

ICBC: a mature disciple is Spirit-filled, self-feeding, and serving others. Am I? Am I embodying the vision of what we’re seeking to attain? If not, I have forfeited the credibility to lead a disciple-making movement with those who know me best and who I need most.

Step two: Lead by discipleship, not decree.

Second Timothy is a transfer of leadership from the Apostle to the following generation.

Loaded with imperatives: Suffer; follow; guard; preach; strengthen; remind; avoid; reprove; rebuke; exhort

Anchored to and given in the context of: You’re my son in the faith, and I’ve shown you what it looks like.

2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

The exact wrong way to lead your staff to be disciple-makers is to issue a disciple-making to decree.

You’re likely commanding them to do something they haven’t seen before. Doin’t assume they’ve ever been discipled.

It will lead to frustration and disillusionment.

The first step to beginning a discipleship movement in your church is to disciple your staff.

Give them the full treatment of a normal d group — measure for measure. (not more or less)

Bible reading; scripture memorization; supplement reading; journaling

This will slow your pace, but ministry is always done with “complete patience.”

Building a disciple-making culture in the way of Jesus according to Mike Breen:

“I do; you watch.”

“I do; you help.”

“You do; I help.”

“You do; I watch.”

The process of disciple-making has to become second nature: intellectual —> Practical —> Instinctive

On the job training as disciples that they might ultimately make disciples.

There should be a change in the way that you relate to your staff and your staff relates to you.

(approachability) You’re a discipler before you’re a supervisor or boss.

(access) You spend time together outside of the office, just like you would with any disciple.

(accountable) You invite their accountability toward you. You have to do the work also.

Then, send them to “follow the pattern”.

Step three: Call to a mission, not a job.

Jesus has to reframe the disciples’ understanding of their role in the ministry.

Matthew 18:1-6 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

The disciples were operating with an incorrect understanding of the Messianic mission.

Many staff members are operating with an incorrect understanding of their Kingdom mission.

We must reframe our staff’s roles so that they are mission oriented.

We have too many doing a job and not living on mission. We need to call them back to a mission, not a job.

All responsibilities and job descriptions should be reframed so that they are oriented toward disciple-making.

Show ministry wheel vs. discipleship wheel

Ministry wheel represents how ministry is ordinarily viewed.

Goal: Glorify God by doing ministry.

Discipleship is one program among many.

Only one program/event/environment is aimed at discipleship.

Discipleship wheel represents mission-oriented ministry.

Goal: Glorify God by making disciples.

Discipleship is the whole wheel.

Groups are one method among many aimed at making disciples.

Ministry becomes sustainable and enjoyable.

Reframing will require allowing freedom to let some things go.

Typical office hours

Traditional events and programs

Step four: Measure by the mission, not corporate metrics.

One of the primary hesitations of staff to make disciples is that they fear that they will still be measured and evaluated by traditional metrics, rather than disciple-making kingdom values.

Paul is teaching his young protege for what he should be accountable:

1 timothy 4:6-16 “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

training for godliness

Teaching the true gospel

Leading by example

Not neglecting his gift

Faithfulness

It is right and good for us to hold our staff accountable, but it is self-defeating to measure them by the wrong metrics.

Most of us inherited a form of evaluation from the world that destroys good ministry.

I served at a large church, and we were evaluated on only four criteria on a sliding scale of 1-5:

Punctuality

Professionalism

Performance

Personable

What’s missing? The Great Commandment? The Great Commission? The character of an elder?

We value what we measure.

God-centered, mission focused measure-ables

Our staff fill out a yearly personal development form:

(Show form)

Life as a personal disciple

Ministry as a disciple-maker

Evaluated quarterly

Our staff is evaluated by our values in-depth annually.

(Show evaluation)

Purpose: They don’t just have a job. They have a mission! And, they must be faithful to that mission.

Bonus step: Hire disciple-makers, not mercenaries.

We need to look at future hires through a new lens.

Character > Culture > Competence

I don’t ask: “Are they ready to do this?”

Not necessarily ready made.

I ask: “Do they have what can’t be taught?”

Passion

My heart

Our church’s best interest > resume

Disciple-making should develop a farm system for your church.

2 Timothy 2:2 “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

This is about as close as we get to a first century staffing strategy.

1 Timothy 5:22 “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.”

Seems like we’re supposed to KNOW our elders before we hire them.

Hire disciple-makers = Hire disciples that you’ve made.

Both of our full-time staff members were in d-groups with me before they were in their current roles.