Here’s a follow-up quote by Mr. Hirsh from The Forgotten Ways
Only to the extent that we can develop self-initiating, reproducing, fully devoted disciples can we hope to get the task of Jesus’ mission done. There is no other way of developing genuine transformational movements than through the critical task of disciple making. Or as Neil Cole wryly notes, “If you can’t reproduce disciples, you can’t reproduce leaders. If you can’t reproduce leaders, you can’t reproduce churches. If you can’t reproduce churches, you can’t reproduce movements.
I’ve recently been thinking quite a bit about the role of leadership in the church– especially as I consider my own next season of ministry. Since my days in seminary, I’ve read and been taught quite a few leadership principles, vision-casting tips, best practices in inspiring and influencing others toward a common cause; I’ve gone to leadership conferences, and I’ve spent much time attempting to develop leadership in myself and others.
Recently I’ve been wondering if some of these efforts have, in a way, distracted me from the importance of simply developing good disciples. I’ve wondered if I’ve placed as much emphasis as I could on just helping people become more like Jesus rather than simply equipping volunteers to execute “church tasks,” and leaders to be effective influencers.
So, I found Alan Hirsch’s statement pretty refreshing. I need the reminder that, at the end of the day, my calling is to help people look and act more like Jesus first. In other words, we have to be equipped to be good followers first before we can be well-equipped leaders. You have to be a humble follower of King Jesus before you can carry the burden of being called “leader” in church.
And I think there’s more to that than simply being a person who can check the correct boxes in terms of their salvation. It’s a person who is carrying the character qualities of Christ.
A few questions I’m thinking about . . . How do you recognize a true disciple of Jesus? What does he/she look like? Specifically, what are the qualitative character traits that indicate a person follows Jesus (besides the usual quantitative indicators such as “he goes to church,” “she reads her Bible,” etc.)?
I’m thinking in this next season, I want to do a better job focusing on those than on the nuts and bolts of leadership. My feeling is, if I do a good job making disciples, I’ll get good leaders too.
