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The Leader as Sower.qxd
"Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth
grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty
and sixty and a hundredfold." And he said, "Let
anyone with ears to hear listen!"
Mark 4:8-9
I m a g e s o f
L E A D E R S H I P
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 0 3
L E A D I N G E D G E®
MULTIPLICATIVE MINISTRY
2
MARK 3:7-10, 13-19
Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude
Identify
principles of
from Galilee followed him; 8 hearing all that he was doing, they came to him
multiplication
in each
in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and
section.
the region around Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready
for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; 10 for he
had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch
him. ...
13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he
wanted, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, whom he also
named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the mes-
sage, 15 and to have authority to cast out demons. 16 So he appointed the
twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee
and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that
is, Sons of Thunder); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and
Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and
Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
MARK 6:7-13
He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and
gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take noth-
ing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;
9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any
place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake
off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." 12So they went
out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons,
and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
MULTIPLICATIVE MINISTRY
3
JOHN 13:3-5, 12-17
And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things
into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up
Identify
from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he
principles of
poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them
multiplication
in each
with the towel that was tied around him...
section.
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned
to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call
me Teacher and Lord-and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord
and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messen-
gers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are
blessed if you do them.
ACTS 20:17-21, 32-36
From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church
to meet him. 18 When they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know
how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,
19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to
me through the plots of the Jews. 20 I did not shrink from doing anything helpful,
proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house,
21 as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus. ...
32 "And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a
message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who
are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or clothing. 34 You know for your-
selves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions.
35 In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the
weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, `It is more
blessed to give than to receive.'" 36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down
with them all and prayed.
MULTIPLICATIVE MINISTRY
4
MARK 2:18-22
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and
said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your
disciples do not fast?" 19Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while
Put new wine
the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with
in fresh skins.
them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away
from them, and then they will fast on that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk
cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old,
and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; other-
wise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one
puts new wine into fresh wineskins."
Multiplicative ministry is dangerous, because when our ministry is
multiplied in people we lead, we multiply both 1) our convictions from
scripture, and 2) the specific ways those convictions are contextualized.
Scripture is transcendent, and will speak afresh to every generation, but our
own models and strategies are not.
The Pharisees were once a reform movement within Judaism, calling people
not to turn away from God, the scriptures, and the temple. But 150 years
later, they were a part of the religious establishment. What had once been
fresh wine of renewal put in new wineskins of faithful zeal became over time
the old and crusty wineskins, empty of the Spirit of God and devoid of real
faith. These, in turn, needed to be replaced by new wine of the Kingdom
poured into fresh wineskins.
Unfortunately, this pattern has repeated itself many times in the history
of the people of God, right up until the present. What begins as a renewal
ministry, a fresh outpouring of God's spirit, becomes rigid and stale as it
is multiplied through succeeding generations. This warning from Jesus becomes
a crucial byword to those who would reproduce their ministry in others
through multiplicative ministry.
Therefore, we are not done multiplying our ministry until we have also
reinforced the need for every generation to get fresh wine and put it into
new skins. Many of the principles will stay the same, but the context for
those principles, and the strategies thus employed, will change. Each
generation needs to hear from God anew, a fresh outpouring of God's Spirit.
Get new wine, and put it into fresh skins.
MULTIPLICATIVE MINISTRY
5
CONTRAST MULTIPLICATIVE AND ADDITIVE MINISTRY:
ADDITIVE MINISTRY
MULTIPLICATIVE MINISTRY
Training a few leaders. The leader focuses
Preaching to a crowd. The leader focuses
on developing the most faithful leaders.
on the needs of the weakest members.
You cannot
train a crowd.
Leading a Bible study prep session for lead-
Leading a Bible study. The leader enjoys
ers. The leader hands over teaching and
teaching.
empowers people to lead.
Leading a prayer meeting. The leader stays
Helping a person lead their first prayer
at the spiritual center of the group.
meeting. The leader is willing to get out of
the way.
Gathering a team of worship leaders for a
Leading worship. The leader looks for
jam session to learn songs and styles. The
opportunities to use his/her gifts.
leader looks for opportunities for others to
use and develop their gifts.
Leading a small group in concerted prayer
Praying one-to-one for a small group mem-
for one of its members. The leader looks
ber. The leader expects that his/her rela-
for ways to help group members to devel-
tionship with a member will be key.
op trusting relationships with one another.
Talking to a leader about his/her team
Talking to a follower about lifestyle issues.
members' growth and development. The
The leader uses his/her insight to help others.
leader tries to help younger leaders devel-
op insight into the people they lead.
Serving people: the leader is special and
Calling people to commitment: the people
available for anything.
are capable and available to try anything.
People may think, "I could never do what
People may think, "I think I'd like to try to do
he/she does." Ministry frequently is daunt-
that." Ministry is accessible and attractive.
ing and intimidating.
L EADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
6
WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN YOUR
CHURCH OR FIELD OF MINISTRY?
You cannot
achieve
development
when your
mentality is
recruitment.
MINDSET
LEADERSHIP RECRUITMENT
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Filling empty slots or supplying people for
THE FOCUS
Investment in the people involved, providing tools,
needed roles
training, support, and partnership.
The task, the ministry, the program:
Leaders' own growth and development: growth
TOP PRIORITY
growth at the outside.
at the core.
The fringe at the expense of the core. If new-
The core for the sake of the fringe. While vitally
comers are having a good time, then the
PEOPLE FOCUS
concerned about the experience of newcomers,
costs leaders pay are all worthwhile.
unwilling to sacrifice the support and development
of the leaders.
·"We really need you."
·"I think this opportunity will help you grow in
·"You haven't served as _______ in a while."
these ways:______."
·Guilt, manipulation, getting people to do
·People want to be leaders.
what they don't want to do.
·They hear about the experiences of previous
·People do a year of ministry leadership
leaders and want to experience leadership for them-
then want out.
selves, not to achieve status but to grow.
EVIDENCE
·Commitment is stressed, but meetings
·People get into leadership and don't want to
aren't seen as integrally connected to the
leave. They begin to organize their lives around it.
ministry or as resourcing the leaders.
·People fall in love with ministry. They can't get
·When people even think of ministry, they
enough of it.
get tired.
Lower the net so everyone can get over:
Ask for big commitments and make it worth their
make requirements for leadership as low and
while. Take the people who'll make those commit-
RECRUITMENT
as flexible as possible. Use extrinsic rewards or
ments and give everything you can to them to make
STRATEGY
threats: "You cannot be a leader if you don't
their experience strong. Intrinsic rewards of leader-
go to the church retreat."
ship and commitment are stressed.
RESULT
USES LEADERS
= BURNOUT
SERVES LEADERS
= GROWTH
L EADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
7
IMPLICATIONS OF A LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
vs. recruitment: We spell out clearly the costs and ben-
efits of being involved in leadership. No one is manipulated or influenced
Ask for
commitment
by guilt or need. We stress the opportunity to learn and be developed.
and make it
Regret vs. resentment: I'd rather have three prospective leaders decide not to
worth it.
be leaders and
it later than even to have one person
decide to be a leader and
it later.
Selection
vs.
: The leadership selection
process is not fundamentally about dispassionately evaluating the prospec-
tive leader (Can she do it? Is he mature enough?) but rather it is about talk-
ing with that person about their gifts, interests and experiences and trying
to find the best place (team or ministry context) in which they can be devel-
oped.
vs.
: We will not be pressured by the scope
of the need to spread people too thin, especially in their training. Everyone
is given partnership; no one goes it alone.
Gifts inventory
vs. Gifts
: While gift inventories can be
helpful, we expect that gifts will emerge and develop in the course of exer-
cising leadership in a ministry context. This emergence may guide a further
focusing or refocusing of the leader's ministry role as time goes on.
Character and skills: While leadership development sharpens skills for min-
istry, it also addresses
: people fall in love with lov-
ing God and people.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING.
We don't train people so we have leaders; rather we invite people into lead-
ership so we can develop them as disciples, as ministers, as leaders, as mul-
tipliers of leaders.
Leadership =
role +
role
Leadership development involves ongoing training for both roles.
What keeps people in leadership? Fundamentally, leaders need to know
and
TEAMWORK AND PARTNERSHIP
-- TRAINING AND SUPERVISION
L EADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
8
Honor
people's time:
make training
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INVOLVES CALLING FOR COMMITMENT .
high density.
How do we communicate the value of on-the-job leadership training?
By making it
·Biblical: Scripture is the text, not the latest leadership guru.
·Purposeful: don't leave it to last minute planning.
·Relational: interactive, but not sharing.
·Fun: multiple learning styles.
The crucial question of time.
Fear of burnout leads to
Multi-year leadership development strategy:
Optional
Required
STRUCTURES FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT:
Regular small group leader meetings.
Periodic leadership training time for all leaders, regardless of task role,
focusing on relational influence dynamics of leadership
Pre-leadership on-ramps aimed to invite people into ministry and
leadership..
Youth ministry teams, Cross-cultural mission teams, urban/social jus-
tice teams, evangelistic teams, worship teams, prayer teams, etc.
SOWER CASE STUDY
9
1 Pastor Bob is a really good guy. He's been at his church 5 or 6 years, and
he's noticed a trend. People tend to serve in their lay ministries from about
September to June. If they don't enjoy what they're doing come June, they resign,
to take the summer off, and then they don't sign up again the following fall. Bob
has been noticing that the numbers of people serving in his church have been dwin-
dling, and he wants to turn this trend around.
So Bob gets all pumped up one summer. He decides he's going to preach a sermon
series that will make a difference. The first sermon is entitled, "Whatever Happened
to Commitment?" He says at the end of the sermon, "If you want to show your
commitment, you need to fill one of the open serving positions on the sheet at the
table in the foyer." Next week he preached from the text, "Deny yourself, take up
your cross, and follow Christ." He said, "Deny yourself" basically means whatever
you like to do, stop doing it. "Take up your cross" means "There are chores around
the church that need to be done. Of course, you don't like doing it, but you've got
to pick up something like a cross and carry it for the sake of Christ."
The third week he spent the entire sermon reading from Foxe's Book of Martyrs. He
says, "Our ancestors in the faith were thrown to the lions and burned at the stake.
All I'm asking you is to teach fourth grade Sunday School. If you mean business like
these heroes of the faith did, I'm asking you to go back there and sign up."
The next week he pulled out all the stops. He brought little Jamie, a fourth grade girl,
up to the podium with him. He said, "Jamie, I'd like to ask you a couple questions.
How's it going to feel to be down in your classroom with no teacher for a whole
year? Isn't it true that if kids like you don't get loving instruction in the faith that you
wind up becoming an alcoholic and using drugs and falling away from God?" Jamie
shyly mumbles the appropriate responses. Bob then says to the congregation, "I
don't care if you don't like to teach. I don't even care if you don't like kids. But we
need somebody to help Jamie and her friends this next year learn about God."
Pastor Bob went home that day thinking, "I won the August recruitment war. I filled
every position."
·How has Pastor Bob "won"? By what strategies did he fill his slots?
·What has he lost? What are some of the predictable results of his strategy?
[
adapted from Bill Hybels, Willow Creek Association, Network: The Right People... In
the Right Places... For the Right Reasons.]
A NSWERS AND RESOURCES
10
PAGE 7
Invitation; regret, resent; deployment; Partnership, coverage; Emergence;
the heart.
task, influence; they are not alone, they are going to grow
PAGE 8
worth their while; burnout; recommended, prerequisite
PAGE 9
1. Bob has lost by "winning". His stress of commitment, apart from the promises of
blessing, work against the very attitudes that would in the long-run yield multiplica-
tive ministry and motivated servant leaders and teachers in the church. When Jesus
says, "deny yourself" he says it in the context of his promise, "Whoever loses his life
for my sake, and the sake of the gospel's, will save it." Failure to stress the blessing
associated with the call to commitment produces people who work for God, failing
to see how God is at work for and in them.
Bob's heart-string pulling and guilt-manipulation may have yielded results for the
day, but very soon after his whole church will feel the cost.
1) The Sunday School classes who experience teachers who aren't gifted as
teachers and have little or no love for kids will feel the cost of not having
effective and caring people in those roles.
2) The task roles of the church will soon be neglected by people whose
guilt trips in the moments after a Sunday sermon have been assuaged by
time and lack of interest in the work.
3) The people who have responded to Bob's call have lost the chance to
expect that they will grow and develop, learn and be blessed through their
choice to serve and minister in the context of the church. This is the most
costly of all. One miserable year as a Sunday School teacher could sour
people on ministry for years after.
4) Next August, Bob will once again be cranking up for a "recruitment"
war, as he once again finds the ministries of the church lacking in teachers
and servants. Yet because of this years' casualties, he will find it increasingly
hard to support the effort. Bob may himself eventually become a casualty
to his own war, discouraged by the difficulty of drawing others into the
ministry and disillusioned by defeat.
FURTHER RESOURCES
The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman. Grand Rapids: Fleming
Revell, 1963.
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will
Follow You, John C. Maxwell. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998.
Developing the Leaders Around You: How to Help Others Reach their Full
Potential, John C. Maxwell. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995.
Scriptures taken from New Revised Standard Version of the Bible,
© U.S. Council of Churches. Used by permission.
L E A D I N G E D G E® ©InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 2003
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