Over the past few weeks or so Annette & I have been in the process of compiling some paperwork for our upcoming 15 year review.
On the one hand, it’s hard to believe that we have been in Officership for that long, it has gone by so quickly and we have experienced many high’s and low’s over the years.
On the other hand there have been times where it has almost felt like time stood still during particular seasons in our journey. But through it all God has stood by us and blessed us in ways that we can’t fully have imagined when we started on this journey.
In some ways it is quite astounding that we (or maybe I should own it, that I) have lasted this long! In a couple of months we’ll be promoted to Major’s – Who would have thought 🙂
Our children have grown up and shared in most if not all of our experiences to date and even though they too would admit that there have been hard times, they are certainly outweighed by the good times, and the many friends and colleagues that they and we have made up and down the country.
However, one of the areas that the church universal (including The Salvation Army) has not done well in over the years, is in the area of developing others and recognising the importance of it.
Which kinda flies in the face of what true discipleship is, or at least what it should be, as discipleship is all about developing others in the faith, encouraging them throughout life and is one of the foundations of the early church.
This seems to have been recognised post covid lockdowns by some, so maybe change is on the horizon. However, we don’t want to just turn it into another programme or activity for some to attend at their leisure, as has been the emphasis in the past – We need to have a more hands on approach and involve others in the process.
You see, it’s difficult for someone to grow as a disciple without some connection to a local church, but going to church doesn’t guarantee growing in maturity.
The Bible frequently demonstrates the importance of developing others, through mentorship, coaching and walking alongside another person guiding them to a deeper understanding of and connectedness to God and to other people who are journeying this thing called life.
In an article written by Lee Kricher on The Lewis Center for Church Leadership*, Lee explores the importance of developing others when he writes about his own experiences and leadership within the church;
The primary role of every leader is to develop other leaders.
Leaders did not just make sure that their responsibilities were fulfilled with excellence, they were also committed to mentoring others to do the same.
Mentoring was not just the pastor’s responsibility. Every leader was committed to mentoring at least two people who could effectively carry out each of their key roles.
That allowed us to be “three deep” (the leader plus the two people being mentored) at every key role in the church. We built a mentoring culture by making it clear that leadership effectiveness is best demonstrated when the leader is not present. I was so pleased to hear one staff member say, “We exist to pull the gold out of people so they can fulfill their purpose.”
The leaders of tomorrow are already here.
Rather than assuming that we needed to hire new leaders from outside the church, we assumed that future leaders would emerge from those who attended the church.
Every leader was engaged in “shoulder-tapping,” inviting new potential leaders to unearth and develop their God-given potential. It was common for volunteers to become part-time staff members and for part-time staff members to become full-time staff members.
We paid for potential leaders to get the education and training they needed, including paying for advanced degrees for several staff members. In fact, we set approximately two percent of the church budget aside for professional development.
The benefits of this approach compared with hiring external were significant. We never had a question about the individual’s passion for the vision of the church. They had already bought into the vision.
We never had a question about the individual’s respect for those in church leadership. They had already been following the lead of those in positions of authority in the church. We never had a question about the individual’s sincerity and faithfulness. It had already been proven.
Leaders grow while doing.
While leaders can learn valuable truths through many avenues, they learn best when in action. That is why “shadowing” current leaders is the primary way we developed future leaders.
After watching and experiencing how a current leader fulfilled their role, future leaders tried it themselves with the support and coaching of the current leader.
Positive feedback coupled with feedback for improvement prepared the future leader for excellence in fulfilling their roles — and modeled for them how they would help to develop other leaders. By the way, shying away from feedback for improvement helps no one.
John Maxwell writes, “When a person’s behavior is inappropriate, avoiding confrontation always worsens the situation. First, the organization suffers because the person is not acting in its best interest. Second, you suffer because the person’s deficiencies reduce your effectiveness. And finally, when a person is acting inappropriately and isn’t told, you have robbed him of an important opportunity to learn and grow in his development process.”
We made providing timely, specific feedback to our emerging leaders a high priority. It is a gift that accelerated leadership growth, effectiveness, and impact.
With these foundational principles in place, we intentionally placed emerging leaders in viable leadership roles — often before some people thought they were ready.
Of course, placing proven, established leaders in key leadership roles is safer. Giving unproven leaders a platform comes with risks.
Some of the leaders we empowered disappointed us. Most did not.
We found that giving next generation leaders significant and visible leadership responsibilities was an important part of the equation when it came to shared leadership and developing a pipeline of leaders.
Annette & I are thankful that in all of our settings to date we’ve seen first hand the awesome privilege and responsibility that journeying with others brings and we have supported and encouraged the development of a number of people. Some of which are now Officers in their own right, others are working in a variety of ministry expressions.
I pray that God continues to allow us to do this going forward and that others would come to recognise the importance of developing others, especially in the area of their discipleship.
Blessings ’til next time 🙂
* The Lewis Centre for Church Leadership was formed within Wesley Theological Seminary in 2003 to promote the effective and faithful practice of Christian leadership in the church and the world. They were founded on the premise that effective leadership is critical to fruitful ministry, and they help develop and enhance that in people worldwide.
If you would like to know more about Natural Character Development (NCD), the 3 Color Discipleship Series or faith-based life coaching then drop me a line via email, or leave a comment below – I’d be more than willing to let you know about what’s involved and the costs etc. 🙂
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