Both equipping and developing are needed and important. They are both good! It’s significant to note however, that equipping usually emphasizes the church’s growth, and development focuses on the person’s growth.
For example: You can gather seven ushers and EQUIP them in basic skills, from how to take an offering, first aid and CPR. You can gather the same seven ushers and DEVELOP them with principles and practices that contribute to the larger scope of their personal and professional success and wellbeing. (The topic of “how to usher” probably never comes up!)
Of course there is a blend and blur between equipping and developing, but it’s important to differentiate between the two. If you don’t, the default is always equipping.
Through equipping you can build a good, even large church. Through development you can build a great church! Equipping builds great individual contributors, developing produces leaders who can lead through others. Developing empowers people to lead in such a way that increases the capacity and potential of your church because it increases the capacity and potential of the leaders!
True & Consistent Empowerment
Equipping and developing (primarily developing) sets the stage for empowerment. And it is only through true and consistent empowerment that your leaders can actually lead.
There are five elements to effective empowerment:
1. Trust with responsibility.
2. Train for competency.
3. Unleash with authority.
4. Communicate clear expectations.
5. Love and believe in each one for maximum results.
I’ll return to these five elements of empowerment and develop them further in a future post. But for now, I trust these thoughts are helpful to you and you are even more fired up about your leaders truly leading!
