I wanted to thank him for writing The Divine Conspiracy (a book that literally changed my life). But I felt that kind of nervousness you feel in the presence of a “celebrity,” and even though I was trying to play it cool, I’m pretty sure my attempt at thanking him turned into a slightly embarrassing gush-fest from a fan-boy.
I think I ended up saying something like, “I’m sure you get this a lot, but I wanted to let you know that your writing has literally changed my life.”
Dallas’ response was gracious and genuine. He simply said, “I thank God for that.”
Something about the way he said it made me believe it was more than a “supposed-to-say-that” response. It wasn’t a false piety; he was genuinely thanking God for the transformation in my life.
It was such a great example of how to graciously deflect misdirected praise toward God in a humble, genuine way. I’ve imitated it a lot since then!
3. Refuse to do everything.
Oh man, this one is so important. One of the main ways we cripple our congregations is by doing all the things.
There are so many little reasons this seems to make sense, though! We think:
I am being paid to do all the things.
I am better trained to do all the things.
Everyone likes it when I do all the things.
The last time I let Gertrude do one of the things, it didn’t go well.
When I have other people do some of the things, I get emails questioning why they’re paying my salary.
Here’s the truth: It’s not your job to do all the things. It’s your job to equip the saints to do all the things. Specifically, “the work of ministry.”
Sometimes the only way to let people step into ministry is for you to simply stop doing certain things and see who is most bothered by it. Perhaps they’re supposed to step into that area of leadership?
Learn how to leave strategic leadership vacuums, and then intentionally train those who step into the gaps, equipping them for the work of ministry. That brings us to the final point:
4. Learn how to train others and release them.
Instead of hoarding authority, always be seeking to give it away to qualified people.
This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote to his young protegé Timothy: “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
This means you can’t just delegate things to people willy-nilly. It means you have to invest time, energy and money into training them as leaders so you are truly multiplying the life of Christ in your ministry. (This is essentially what it means to make disciples, by the way.)
This was one of the biggest ministry shifts I had to make when I was learning to make disciples. I knew how to teach people, but I had to idea how to train people. They are VERY different skill sets.
This is why coaching was so important for me. To learn how to train others, I had to be trained myself, and books can’t train people. Digesting information alone never trained anyone. Content doesn’t train people. People train people.
(By the way, if you’d like more information about the coaching I do, email me and let’s talk!)
Training and releasing is what Jesus did and does. He didn’t just give his disciples new information, he trained and equipped them to do the exact same things he was doing.
Then, when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost they realized it was the presence of Jesus empowering them to do the kingdom stuff and train others to do it, too. A constant discharging of authority. Power being pushed to the edges and given to those with no power.
That’s the “flow” of the kingdom … Jesus has all authority, and gives it to his disciples. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom,” he says. “Everything I received from the Father I have passed on to you. … Whatever you ask in my name I will do. … You have my authority—just request what you need as you go about my work.”
That’s the paradox about authority in the kingdom of God, too. The more we give away, the more we have. As you give away power by empowering others, your authority doesn’t decrease, it increases! As you operate in the ways of Jesus, he gives you more authority, because he knows he can trust you.
So don’t be shy about giving away as much as you can! Train people to do the stuff as you learn how to do the stuff, and you’ll find yourself operating in the flow of God’s kingdom, where “all these things” are given to you as well.
Inching Toward Missional Movement
Transitioning your church from a fan club to a missional movement will take awhile, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results.
Whenever I’m tempted to give up because change is taking too long, I take great comfort in Jesus’ seed parables. The kingdom of God is like a seed, not a building project.
The seed is small, unimpressive, easily overlooked. The seed is planted in the ground, which is actually a death. The seed dies in the ground, but then is transformed and begins to grow. Slowly, but surely, the seed grows into a plant that fills a garden with fruit.
That’s what change will be like in your church. Plant the kingdom seed of a missional movement, and just keep tending to it. You can’t make it grow, but you can give it the right conditions for growth. It will eventually grow into a beautiful plant that gives life.
Which is way better than managing a fan club. Go for missional movement by planting the kingdom seed in your church!
