HEALTHY CHURCH: Leading Leaders
Psalm 78:72 says, “So he (David) fed (shepherded) them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” In Leading Leaders, Mac Lake refers to this as one of his “life verses.” He wrote, “David was a great leader because he had both leadership skill and leadership spirit. When a leader has both, he or she is able to unite people together and mobilize them to make a kingdom impact.” First, you must lead yourself, and only then should you begin leading others. As your character and competency increase, the progression moves you to where you can begin to lead leaders.
This movement (yourself — others — leaders) involves your need to focus on developing a mentoring culture for leaders. It begins with four words — Love, Listen, Learn and Lead. Make sure you are expressing and showing your love for those on your team and those emerging around you as leaders. Then, make sure you are listening to them. What do they need from you? How can you best help them? What is working and not working? Learn from those who are around you because there is always something they can teach you, then lead toward the vision while pouring your life into theirs so they can impact others.
As you practice these four L’s, have an eye on identifying, investing in and initiating potential leaders. Find places of service that match their sweet spot with the need in your ministry. Leaders produce leaders, not a curriculum, classes, programs, or a pipeline in and of itself. It requires and involves investing time in small cohort groups while also building one-on-one relationships. If you want to know how well you are leading, look at how well those you are leading are doing in their leadership. Are they growing and maturing? Are they thriving and flourishing spiritually?
What does it require for a leader to lead others?
First, you must be willing to lead through other people. The temptation is to think you are the only one who can accomplish things the way you want them done. It is worth the risk of trusting other leaders to get the job done, and they just might do a better job than you could have.
Second, you must focus on training and equipping them. Jesus did not ignore the crowds, but He was focused on pouring into the lives of the 12 He had called. Jesus encouraged them, and encouragement can be defined as “pouring courage into someone else.”
Be willing to lead through others, focus on training and equipping them, then hand off tasks and responsibilities for them to carry out. If you are too busy to identify and invest in other leaders, you are too busy. Paul D. Stanley and J. Robert Clinton wrote, “A growing leader needs a relational network that embraces mentors, peers and emerging leaders in order to ensure development and a healthy perspective on his or her life and ministry.” You must be close enough to the leader you are leading to observe their spiritual walk, personality and abilities and learn in what role they would be the most compatible.
Mac Lake reminds us of three important elements in leading leaders — content, reflecting on the content and putting the content into practice. Debriefing after they have implanted the content into their context is very important by not forgetting the importance of walking them through a WIN — What did they do Well? What do they need to Improve? And what will they do Next? An open door must always remain so they know they have your prayers, support, and help throughout the process. Think of the MAWL method — Model it for them, Assist them in it, Watch them lead and Leave them to it by handing it off.
Mac Lake stressed that the real transformation of a developing leader becoming a leader as they continue to walk with Christ is through knowledge, experience and coaching. He stated this crucial truth: “The focus is on transformation, not just the exchange of information. Unfortunately, we have all witnessed people sit under preaching week after week with no apparent transformation or change ever occurring.” Mac continued, “The goal is not to ‘finish’ or ‘get through’ the training. The goal is shaping your (and their) character and competencies as a leader of leaders.”
This is not a “one size fits all” approach. It must be customized to the individual because some will learn and transform quickly while others will need more time. Think slow, not fast. Customization is defined as “a modification made to something to suit a particular individual or task.” That is why you also must think small, not big. Leadership development does not occur through mass production but by focusing on the individual and what they need personally customized for them to become the leader God desires for them to be. That brings us back to the truth that discipleship is not information transfer but rather life transformation.
Think through three spheres of cultivating a leadership culture in your ministry and or church:
First, focus on spiritual formation, which is the leader’s being — who you are. What you do for Christ must come from the overflow of who you are in Christ. Once more we repeat, who you are is far more important than what you do.
Then, focus on biblical study, which teaches the leader what they need to know through the Scriptures. Paul makes it abundantly clear, “Teach others also.”
Lastly, build a leadership culture where, once you have trained and equipped them, you release them to do what the leader has been called to do.
Leader, you cannot lead what you do not live. Lead yourself, lead others, then begin to lead leaders. It starts with you, and that is something that cannot be delegated. It focuses, first and foremost, with your intimacy with Christ and then a heart to lead how Jesus led, according to Mark 10:45!
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Larry Barker
Director of Church Planting and Church Health Larry Barker submits a weekly column titled, Healthy Church Solutions, designed to strengthen and encourage the local church.
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