In the last blog of this series, we talked about the importance of a Worship Leader having community with others because it helps shape who you are, it gives you like minded people to be on mission with, and it allows you to be vulnerable in a way that makes you a better leader. Being a leader comes with great responsibility. As spiritual leaders, we are called to point people to our Good Shepherd. Part of that calling, is to make Disciples.
Discipleship seems like it’s becoming a bit of a buzzword these days. You hear about this conference on Discipleship and that curriculum for making Disciples. The truth of the matter is, we call lots of things Discipleship. Webster’s dictionary defines a Disciple as “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.” That, at a base level, is true. Why do we make it so complicated? I believe that sometimes we overcomplicate Disciple-making so much that many of us never start.
I had to take a CPR class a few years back. The instructor showed us how to do everything by the book… how to look for a blocked air passage, how to count out each breath, how to count out the compressions. I thought to myself, “I’ll never remember all this”. At the end of the class the instructor made a statement that I’ll never forget. He said “If you can’t remember all the steps and numbers and compressions and order, its okay. At least do something! Doing anything is better than doing nothing!” I think this rings true for making disciples as well. Doing anything is better than doing nothing. My intent is not to water-down Disciple-making by any means. What I want Worship Leaders to begin to do, is invest in those who are younger, less experienced, and called to be spiritual leaders.
When we think of “The Disciples”, most of us think about the followers of Christ… the 12 who followed his teachings and spread them so others might know. But also think about the people who Christ had an influence on, and whom they may have had influence on. There were thousands who heard Christ’s teachings and potentially passed it on to thousands more. Every time Christ taught or spoke or responded was a teaching moment. Everything He did in life was making disciples.
“We must be reproducing what has been formed, shaped and grown in our own souls.”
This is a huge part of the foundation for spiritual leadership. We must be reproducing what has been formed, shaped and grown in our own souls. We must have people that we spend tons of time with to help shape them and grow them into mature Christ followers. I believe that to follow the model that Christ laid out for us, we have to structure our lives in a way that creates “teaching moments”.
I attended Verge 2013 here in Austin last year. I’ll never forget hearing Dhati Lewis, the pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta, talk about discipleship. He charged us to “use our homes as weapons for discipleship!” This statement challenged everything I had ever been taught about disciple-making. It’s easy to set up a coffee meeting with someone every other Tuesday to look at the scriptures and pray together. But what happens when you open the door of your life, your home, the relationships with wife and kids to create teaching moments?? I then realized that disciple making had to be more than a weekly meeting. It has to be me opening my life to someone in order to pass on what Christ has taught me over the past 20 years in ministry. I definitely don’t have this all figured out. I’m still learning how to make disciples… but I’m doing something.
A leader who creates leaders who creates leaders will leave a legacy that goes on forever. My friend Aaron Ivey once reminded me “No one will remember what songs you led or how gifted you were on stage. What people will remember is the investment you made in them.” It’s true. Making an eternal investment in someone is the best investment you can possibly make during your time on earth. Christ did it, and He tells us to do it (Matthew 28:19). Disciple-making is a lifestyle that has a ripple effect into the fabric of our culture. It will change you and the person that you pour into in ways that you might not know about until eternity.
*some great reads on practicle Disciple making:
The Cost of Discipleship – Bonhoeffer
The Lost Art of Disciple Making – Eims
Experiencing God – Blackaby
The Pursuit of God – Tozer
