VISION NEW ENGLAND

I used to attend a church that had a fancy pipe organ, but no one could play it. On special occasions, we hired a local gentleman to do the honors. He was not a member of the church, and his talent did not come free, but he knew what he was doing, which is more than could be said for the rest of us. We had to book him well in advance because we were sharing him with several other congregations who had pipe organs that no one could play. I am not sure he was a Christian.

In asking around I discovered one of the reasons the pipe organ seems headed in the direction of Darwin’s Dodo is that apparently too few organists have taken it upon themselves to train others in the craft.

Discipleship, in the basic sense of the word, means teaching what you know to someone else. The word disciple(mathetes) literally means one who has been taught. Whether we are talking about understanding the gospel or imparting a useful ministry skill, it stands to reason that if we are not intentional about sharing what we know, eventually no one will know what we know, and I believe this is a major challenge in the church today. 

How do you understand your responsibility in ministry? Effective churches, without exception, give priority to helping people identify and use their God-given gifts. We are told it is our responsibility to use the gifts or talents God has given us for the glory of God and the good of others. I agree. But is this the full extent of our responsibility in ministry?

If you believe effective ministry means doing what you do to the best of your ability, you are only partially right. The other part of your job is to multiply yourself. Any ministry which depends on the gifts and talents of one person is precarious.We all know that sometimes in the church we have no choice. Sometimes it is a question of limited resources, human or otherwise. But this dependency should always be regarded as a temporary and undesirable state. A disciple making church must have a clear and well articulated plan for duplication and succession in every area of ministry. What are the obstacles to ministry duplication in the local church?

• Tradition – we’ve always done it this way. I would venture to say that this is probably the norm. The fact is most churches are not adept at duplication. A church which emphasizes and insists upon ministry duplication will be the exception and not the rule. So break the rule! Every church needs to examine its assumptions and beliefs in the light of scripture and have the courage to make changes wherever necessary in order to become an exceptional church.
• Pride and insecurity.There is a dark side to leadership which sometimes equates the possession of expertise with job security; as long as I am the best and the only one doing this, my place on the team is assured and my identity is secure. Whenever we see this tendency in ourselves and others we should address it with grace, but such an attitude can never be left unchallenged as it is utterly contrary to the spirit of Christ. The leader who is committed to duplication is never concerned for his own relevance, or that someone will eclipse him in the church. On the contrary, such a leader delights in the success of his or her protégés and longs to see the student excel the teacher. The animating passion of the duplicating leader is concern is for Christ’s kingdom; he wants to see it advance by any and all means. Petty insecurity cannot abide in his heart; the more he gives the more he receives, his worth increases because his leadership is truly extraordinary.
• Money – we can hire somebody to do that.On the surface, having the resources to solve problems with money appears to be a strength of the larger church. Often it is. But if we are hiring because we have not developed a “duplicating” culture within the church, meeting our ministry needs with money may actually be a sign of weakness. A strong church produces strong people. As a rule, it is generally easier to hire talent than to develop it but whatever your church size, disciple making and duplication should be a clearly expressed requirement at every level of leadership. Every church needs to be developing its “bench” strength; this means every leader needs to be developing a protégé. If you are hiring new staff, make sure they understand this expectation from day one, and keep them accountable to it.
• Sloth and lack of discipline. Have you ever heard someone say “It is easier to do it myself than to explain it to someone else”? They were right! It is true. Training others takes lots of time and patience. It is labor intensive, especially at the front end of the process. Sometimes it does not work out and we have to start all over again with someone new. Lots of work. But it is not half as much work as the church is stuck with when its leaders fail to train, disciple, and duplicate. The disciple making leader must constantly remind himself that duplication is a non-negotiable and indispensible part of the work of ministry and he or she must be willing to “take the pains” necessary for duplication for the sake of the kingdom. It is not the normal way but it is the only way.

Whatever you are doing for Christ today,be sure you are investing in the continuation and expansion of the ministry tomorrow. If we are not intentional about sharing what we know, eventually no one will know what we know. Failing to attend to duplication is to plan for obsolescence, and the cause of Christ’s kingdom is too important for that.

(blog post by Steve Poole, Director of Spiritual Formation, Vision New England)