SEND THEM OUT
For too many years I spent a lot of wasted time building leaders. I remember getting frustrated that I would develop them and then they would leave and do ministry somewhere else. Sometimes outside the church, but more often than not – to other ministries in the church. It was one familiar case when I went to God pretty upset. I told Him, “I’m so frustrated!”, and His response is – So are they! Wait, you mean that they are leaving because they are frustrated? How can that be? I have spent time with them, I have built them up, I have developed relationships with them. Why are they frustrated?
That is when I began the next step of my journey. Matthew 28:19 is a fine example of this principle. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Go and make disciples. But disciples that do what? Simple, make more disciples.
You see, Christ came to the earth to die for our sins, to pay the price for us to have an intimate relationship with Him and to do His work. If salvation were the end all, then we would disappear when we asked Him into our lives. No, there is more to this life than just salvation, it is the salvation of everyone! Christ knew the VISION, built His TEAM, developed His team, invested in his team through relationships, and then he SENT THEM. Had it not been for this “walking” portion of the end VISION then we would have never known about the salvation price He paid, cause there would have been no disciples to “go”. Romans 10:14-15 is a favorite scripture of pastors, but it is speaking to the great call (commission) that has been placed in each of us. The charge to go!
How do I let them go? What if they are not ready? What if they don’t do it as well as I would do it? What if I have to come back and do all the work again? And my personal favorite phrase of failed vision is “It is easier if I do it, then I know it is done right”. The famous last words of a dying ministry. I apologize if that all comes across as harsh, but if I step into a church where the pastor is doing the Welcome, Worship, Offering, Announcements, Message, Altar Ministry and the Dismissal, I have one thought that comes to my mind “There is NO room for me in the INN”. We have a responsibility to develop those around us to DO something. Here are two practical steps to follow up on all your hard work:

Practical Step 1: Delegate
Give your leaders something to do. If they are “all trained up” and have nothing to do they will become frustrated, guaranteed. If we look back, we have to realize that we didn’t know what we were doing either, but somebody PLACED trust in me and let me go. Wow – and look at what I get to do now! God is amazing.
***Don’t do what everyone else can do. John Maxwell is so accurate when he says that doing work that anyone else can do is a waste of time. You have been called to a higher level of leading, then let someone else take where you were and you do what only YOU can do.
***Let them go – give them real responsibilities. Don’t delay delegation. If you give someone the “great task” of putting out the chairs after developing them… they will do it for three weeks and they are gone. However, if you give them the entire set up responsibility then you will be surprised by the results!

Practical Step 2: Teach the PROCESS. Judge the PRODUCT
God has placed in your hands the lives of those volunteers. Equip them, let them grow, let them go, and then watch the results. Do not micromanage.

***Judging the product puts value in their WORK, however micromanaging the process degrades their WORTH.

We want people who have been set up for success and growing in confidence. I truly believe that I am surrounded by a bunch of people who are better at what I do than I am, or at least have the potential. I look forward to moving out of the way for them to arise and shine. We have to place the value on their growth and not on our ego. Love people through allowing them to fail, learn, grow and succeed.

I hope that this has been a blessing over the past few days. I will continue to post my leadership development topics along with some projects that I will encourage you to participate in. If you are new to this blog, thank you for taking the time to check it out. I am not claiming to be anyone other than the guy who wrote this. I am simply a man who is love with God, much like you. If you are a regular, or want to be, please subscribe to the feed so that you know when updates have taken place. I am trying to get this information to as many people that I know. Not because I need anything, just simply because the church needs to hear this and grow closer to God and in turn closer to reaching people! Thank you for taking the time, and leave me a comment. See you tomorrow.

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