Daniel Im's Blog, page 16

Echo Chambers in Discipleship

What do you think would happen if a black man became an undercover spy in the alt-right?

Could it work? What would that even look like? How would a black man have to dress to “fit in” as a white supremacist?

In a recent TEDxTalk, Theo E.J. Wilson shared how he did just that…via Facebook.

In this talk, he shared how he was not only a survivor of police brutality during the height of Black Lives Matter, but also how he woke up one day to more racial slurs, internet trolls, and white supremacists than he had ever experienced before. These people treated him like he wasn’t even human. To the alt-right, he was “an idea, an object, a caricature.”

After reflecting upon this experience, Wilson shared on the TED stage,

I also began to notice that a few of my trolls actually had brains, which made me even more curious and what to understand them even further. And although these supposed morons engaged in what appeared to be original thought, I said to myself, “Um, these guys are highly misinformed, at least according to my knowledge.” Where are these guys getting these arguments from? Like, was there some kind of alternative universe with alternative facts?

Was history and gravity optional over there? I don’t know. But I needed to know. Like, I wanted to know. And as it turns out, I had no idea about digital echo chambers. That same target marketing algorithm that feeds you more of the products you like to buy also feeds you more of the news that you like to hear. I had been living in an online universe that just reflected my worldview back to me. So my timeline was pretty liberal. I had no Breitbart or Infowars or Fox News. No, no, I was all MSNBC and The Daily Show, CNN and theGrio, right? Well, these trolls were hopping the dimensional doorway and I needed to figure out how.

After this realization, Wilson decided to setup a profile on Facebook as a white supremacist in the alt-right, in order to personally experience the echo chamber that these trolls lived in. In the online world, he switched identities and became Lucius25—the white supremacist lurker. He friended white supremacists, he liked American Renaissance and the National Vanguard Alliance, and he began talking bad about Black Lives Matter and Al Sharpton.

Guess what happened? He entered into another reality—the echo chamber of the alt-right where all he began to see was other viewpoints, ads, and comments that perpetuated this worldview.

Isn’t that scary?

Just think about the recent American election. Why was the media so surprised that Trump won? Especially when they were convinced that Clinton had it in the bag?

Two words: Echo Chambers.

Marketing, media, and technology are conditioning us for highly specified, focused, and personalized messages that we’re more likely to comment on, like, and share.

As a result, we’ve learnt that the more general something is, the less likely it is going to relate to me. So we just skip over it and let it go in one ear and out the other. In other words, if it’s for all, it’s not necessarily for y’all.

The more general something is, the less likely it is going to relate to me.
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So what does it look like to leverage these cultural shifts in your church? And for the way that you disciple?

In my last article, Systemic Issues in Discipleship, I shared how every church must develop disciples that are self-feeders, rather than consumers. Unfortunately, when church’s make discipleship all about attending events, classes, and studies, they’re actually subtly celebrating and promoting a consumeristic approach to faith.

Just think about all the words you use to try to get people to attend these events, classes, and studies:

Come to my study. Register for this event. Look at what you’ll learn and take away. Look at how this will benefit you. It’ll be worth your time. It’s a good investment.

Every church must develop disciples that are self-feeders, rather than consumers.
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Do you see how the words that we use can subtly promote a consumeristic approach to faith? After all, it’s like we say on our New Churches Q&A Podcast, “words build worlds.”

So is the solution to throw the baby out with the bath water? And to get rid of all events, classes, and studies in your church?

No. Not at all.

The solution is to see these events, classes, and studies as pit stops, rather than as the destination.

These are first steps or next steps, that ultimately get you to the ongoing steps of growing as a disciple, as I articulate in my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

The distinction between these three steps is key and that’s why I started this article talking about echo chambers and targeted marketing.

Here’s how to use this.

The next time you’re introducing an event, class, or study, you have to articulate who this event, class, or study is for. While you may want everyone to attend or join, you know that this is not realistic and it’s actually going to weaken your messaging. So who is going to benefit most from this event, class, or study?

Specifically call them out.

So from the stage, in your bulletin, and when you talk to people in the hallway, on Facebook, or via text, say something like this,

If you’re a newcomer here, or you’re exploring faith for the first time, then I want to specifically invite you to take your first step by joining our Alpha class. Alpha is…

Or let’s say, you’re wanting to announce an evangelism seminar that you’re hosting on a Wednesday night. You want all of your leaders, volunteers, and members to attend, but you don’t want to disrupt or take them out of their group. So consider announcing it like this,

This one-night evangelism seminar is not intended to be your community or an ongoing place to get plugged in. In fact, if you’re in a small group, I want to encourage you to come together and learn with one another! If you’re not in a group, then perhaps this is a way for you to meet others and take your next step in your relationship with God.

In both instances, do you see how you’re communicating that both Alpha and the evangelism seminar are not the destination point for discipleship? But how they’re pit stops?

We’re just scratching the surface here, but I wanted to give you an idea of how important wording and messaging is when communicating opportunities for discipleship and your discipleship pathway to your church.

If you want to dig deeper into these three steps and understand how to implement a discipleship pathway in your church, then I want to strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of my latest book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

You won’t regret it.

Systemic Issues in Discipleship

Is discipleship directional or about getting to a destination?

Do you ever “arrive” on this side of eternity? Or is it “a long obedience in the same direction,” as Eugene Peterson so aptly put it?

These are the types of questions and tension that I pose in my newly released book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry. As I’ve continued to think through, speak on, and coach/consult churches on this direction/destination spectrum as it relates to discipleship, I’ve begun to notice something…

It’s actually quite frightening.

While most pastors and church leaders would agree that discipleship is directional by quoting passages like Hebrews 12:1-2 or Philippians 3:13-14; unfortunately, when you take a look at how discipleship happens in a typical church, we’re not practicing what we preach.

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (‭Hebrews 12:1-2, CSB)‬‬

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14, CSB‬)‬

Our messaging and our methods do not align.

Since culture and normative behavior is highly shaped by what’s communicated, emphasized, and celebrated, have you ever considered what your bulletin and announcements are saying to your church?

Have you ever considered what your bulletin and announcements are saying to your church?
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For example,

If your stage time and print space is always full of events, then you’re (subconsciously) saying that a healthy disciple is one that attends lots of events
If you always find yourself promoting different classes and studies, then you’re (subconsciously) saying that a healthy disciple is one that studies

Do you get my point?

Now don’t get me wrong, events, classes, and studies can be very helpful, meaningful, and lead to life transformation, but do they actually lead to maturity? Do they lead to maturity for everyone? How do you know for sure?

I’m not advocating or suggesting that the solution is to get rid of events, classes, or studies! In fact, if your church isn’t offering any of those, that’s another issue.

Here is what I’m trying to say:

When we make discipleship all about attending events, classes, and studies, we’re actually subtly celebrating and promoting a consumeristic approach to faith.
In fact, I’ll even go to the extent that we’re conditioning our members to see discipleship in this manner.

The solution isn’t to throw the baby out with the bath water. It’s to actually shift your messaging so that your congregation sees the events, classes, and studies as pit stops, rather than as the destination.

And the only way that this can happen is to make the goal of your discipleship pathway self-feeding.

Are you unintentionally promoting and rewarding a consumeristic approach to faith?
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Next week, I’ll continue to discuss systemic issues in discipleship by addressing the problem of echo chambers.

If you want to learn how to develop a discipleship pathway for your church, how to really know whether or not someone is mature in Christ (from research), and more on the idea of self-feeding, then check out my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

How Do You Disciple Others?

When was the last time you reflected on the way that you personally disciple others?

Are you more of a teacher or a shepherd?
Do you like to take people through formal curriculum, or do you use their life situation as the starting point?
Do you like to disciple one-on-one, in triads, in small groups, or in classrooms?
When are people most apt to change?
What role does the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and prayer play in the discipleship process?

Enter the draw at the bottom of this article to win one of three copies of the new Brown Leather CSB Pastor’s Bible, where my article here first appeared.

Unless you have intentionally spent time studying the way people learn and different methods for discipleship, you probably disciple others the way you were discipled (or in the exact opposite manner). This is because our natural bias is to start with what we already know and have personally experienced.

Our natural bias is to start with what we already know and have personally experienced.
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If you are a parent, have you ever caught yourself saying or doing something to your children that your parents use to say or do to you?

I catch myself doing this all the time.

When my children are not listening, I just begin counting down from the number five. It’s not like my parents told me this is what I should do, but it’s what they did to me, and it worked.

When I stop to think about it, I don’t even feel like this is the best method for discipline; in fact, my wife, Christina, and I agree that it’s not! But I often catch myself still doing it because of that natural bias.

Our natural bias is to teach the way that we have been taught, and lead the way that we have been led, unless we make a conscious effort to change.

In other words, until you reexamine the way you approach discipleship, you will naturally revert back to using the methods that others used to disciple you. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since you may have been discipled by some of the best deacons, elders, pastors, and small group leaders.

But until you take a step back and realize why they did what they did, you will consistently hit a glass ceiling and have a hard time growing in the way you disciple others.

Discipleship is not about a transfer of information, nor is it about behavior modification. No amount of knowledge or list of do’s and don’ts have the power to change one’s heart. After all, wasn’t it the prophet Jeremiah who wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

Discipleship is not about a transfer of information, nor is it about behavior modification.
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As much as our hearts are damaged and diseased because of sin, it’s amazing that through the same prophet, Jeremiah, the Lord revealed that “the days are coming…when I will make a new covenant” (Jer 31:31). Through this new covenant brought about by Jesus Christ, “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be my God, and they will be my people” (Jer 31:33).

The Lord declared the same thing through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances” (Ezek 36:26-27).

From one discipler to another, and from one church leader to another, we need to commit ourselves to relying wholeheartedly on the transforming power of Christ, as well as continually growing in the way that we disciple, teach, and lead others towards Christlikeness, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Ephesians 4:13).

Enter to Win

Next Steps:

Enter the giveaway to win one of three copies of the new Brown Leather CSB Pastor’s Bible, where my article here first appeared.
Learn more about the CSB translation.

A Both/And Approach to Sharing the Gospel

I remember walking through my college cafeteria with the Four Spiritual Laws in hand looking for people who might be interested in having a spiritual conversation with me.

Sometimes I’d open up the conversation with, “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would go?” Or I’d ask, “On a scale of 1–10, how interested are you in spiritual conversations?”

I was often rejected…

Other times, I was met with skepticism. And on the odd occasion, I was actually able to share the gospel and see that individual discover a new life in Christ.

While evangelism strategies that rely solely on the verbal proclamation of the gospel still have their place, they are definitely waning in influence.

The solution is not necessarily to swing the pendulum the other way and just live out the gospel and love people to conversion, either.

Tim Keller frames it well,

If the gospel were primarily about what we must do to be saved, it could be communicated as well by actions (to be imitated) as by words. But if the gospel is primarily about what God has done to save us, and how we can receive it through faith, it can only be expressed through words. Faith cannot come without hearing.[1]

Since the gospel is more about what God has done than what we can do, it needs to be proclaimed through words.

But since crusades, street preaching, and spontaneous evangelism are waning in their effectiveness and influence in many parts of the West, we need to figure out different ways to invite non-Christians into the types of environments where they can hear the gospel proclaimed to them.

This is why we need a both/and approach to sharing the gospel!

There needs to be something different about the way Christians live that forces non-Christians to ask questions. If a non-Christian looks at your life and sees the same fruit, or lack thereof, as theirs, they will see your faith as mere empty religious behavior. Isn’t that why Peter urges us to live as “foreigners and exiles” and “to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11)?

We need to live as outsiders and be distinctly different from society. We need to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Pet. 2:12)!

We need to live as outsiders and be distinctly different from society.
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It’s important to understand that this is not a solo effort.

Though Western culture is staunchly individualistic, the Scriptures aren’t.

In 1 Peter 2:12, Peter isn’t talking to an individual; he is talking to the church corporate. We know this because he uses the plural form of “you.”

It’s like Peter is saying, “Now y’all live such good lives . . .” It’s the same way with the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is saying, “Y’all are the salt of the earth, and y’all are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13–14).

I guess living in the South is rubbing off on me…

Though Western culture is staunchly individualistic, the Scriptures aren’t.
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Seriously though, this plural use of the word you has massive implications for the way we need to live out our faith.

Since these passages are written to a community, rather than an individual, you cannot actually live these out alone!

God has intended for the gospel to be lived out and proclaimed together in community. Isn’t that why we have the body of Christ, rather than the individual of Christ? “For the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Cor. 12:14).

I’m convinced that the early church saw the results they did because they both preached the gospel in word and lived it out together in deed.

The early church understood that when they functioned as God intended them to, they would be a living demonstration of the gospel.

Lesslie Newbigin put it well: “The only possible hermeneutic of the gospel is a congregation which believes it.”[2]

In other words, a congregation that believes in the gospel and lives out its implications together as a community is the way the gospel comes to life.

A healthy church is how the gospel takes on flesh today! A healthy church is how this lost world will actually “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8). And it’s precisely through experiencing the gospel lived out through healthy churches that this lost world will want to hear the gospel.

So here’s my question to you today, how can you live in a way where the gospel comes to life?

*This was a modified excerpt from my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

 

End Notes:

[1] Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 34.

[2] Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 232.

Freelancing and Pastoral Ministry

Have you got your side hustle on?

“I love it, I’ve been ubering for the last year, and for the first time in my life, I actually have spending money!”

This past year, when I was invited to speak on No Silver Bullets to a group of church planters in the San Francisco Bay Area, I ubered over to see one of my friends in the city. During the 30 minute ride, it was fascinating to hear the story of a mid-50s Mexican mother who immigrated 30+ years ago.

Although she had been working full-time for the last 30 years taking care of her family, she had never brought home a paycheck that could be deposited at the bank. While she was definitely competent to work outside the home, adhering to a strict part-time work schedule simply wasn’t manageable due to her family life.

Enter Uber.

Since she could drive whenever she wanted to, Uber was a perfect fit for her. So for the last year, this mother of teenagers has been driving from 9 pm-1 am, since by that time, everything’s settled down at home.

When asked whether or not she enjoyed driving, her response was eye-opening, as it precisely illustrated the new economy that we’re now living in,

“I love it, I’ve been ubering for the last year, and for the first time in my life, I have spending money!”

Welcome to the “gig economy”

The “gig economy” was originally coined during the financial crisis of 2009, when so many people were forced to “gig” or freelance to make a living by working one-or-more part-time jobs.

Though this phrase is now almost 10 years old, it has only recently normalized and become a part of our everyday language.

There are many reasons for its normalization, like the affordability and mass adoption of smart phones, our shortening attention span, our desire to be our own boss, our culture’s obsession with experiences (we are living in the experience economy), and the rising number of jobs that an individual will work in his or her lifetime, just to name a few.

So today, if you have a car, you can drive for Uber or Lyft (click here to read an article I wrote on What Church Leaders Can Learn From Uber and Lyft). If you have a spare bedroom, you can rent it out on Airbnb. If you are handy, you can charge for your services on TaskRabbit. And if you love pets, you can take care of them through Dogvacay.

According to a recent study, on freelancing and the “gig economy,” there are now 55 million freelancers in the U.S.

That’s 17% of the population! Digging a little bit deeper, this study discovered that freelancers now make up 35% of U.S. workers and they collectively earned $1 trillion in 2016. Among freelancers, Millennials definitely win the day. 47% of Millennials aged 18-24 are freelancing either part-time or full-time, versus 28% of Baby Boomers.

In the past, “gigging” and freelancing were often reserved for occupations that required a highly specialized skill set, like music, design, consulting, or software development. However, with the rise of platforms and entrepreneurial business’ like Uber and Airbnb, it’s now easier than ever for your everyday person to “gig” and make a few additional bucks, without quitting your day job or going back to school.

What does this have to do with pastoring and church leadership?

More than you can imagine.

Let’s examine the implications from two sides: 1) the pastor or full-time paid staff member, and 2) the volunteer church leader or attendee.

1) The Pastor or Full-Time Paid Staff Member

While I don’t necessarily see the end of full-time paid pastoral or staff roles in churches (at least in the near future), I have noticed a shift in the way churches are building their staff teams. Instead of opting for a large team of part-time specialists, many churches are hiring full-time generalists who know how to develop volunteer leaders. In other words, the trend is toward hiring developers, rather than doers. So if a ministry area is stretched thin, the solution is not to hire a staff member; it’s rather to develop volunteer leaders and their competencies.

The trend in church staffing is toward hiring developers, rather than doers.
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Does this mean that there will be less staff positions tomorrow, than there are today, or were yesterday?

Perhaps…but this is what’s interesting about this whole conversation. Millennials, as a whole, like variety and are “gigging” or freelancing more than previous generations. So even if they were to get a full-time staff position at a church, more likely than not, most will have a side hustle and be doing something else. While some will need to “gig” in order to pay bills, others will do it as a hobby or for disposable income, just to name a few reasons.

In any case, I am convinced that if we want to see a church multiplication movement in our lifetime and see the Great Commission fulfilled, we cannot solely rely on full-time paid staff positions (nor am I advocating that we get rid of them). What we need are additional lanes for ministry, like bivocational. And it’s time that we legitimize and normalize them.

This is what needs to be shouted from the rooftops and proclaimed on the hills: Bivocational ministry is not something that you are forced to do if you’re not “good enough” to get a full-time position. It’s a valid and needed lane for ministry! In a course on Bivocational Ministry at NewChurches.com, Hugh Halter says it well, “bivocational ministry is not about doing two jobs poorly.”

Bivocational ministry is not about doing two jobs poorly.
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More than anything, bivocational ministry is now becoming a preferred option for church planters and pastors alike because of the “gig economy.”

In fact, just imagine what would happen if every pastor began driving Uber or Lyft at least 10 hours a week.

Not only would that provide an additional source of income, but more importantly, it would offer opportunities to pray for their city as they’re driving through it, and opportunities for evangelism and spiritual conversations! The same is true if every pastor rented out a room in their home with Airbnb. Imagine the number of spiritual conversations that would happen on a regular basis.

2) The Volunteer Church Leader or Attendee

The “gig economy” has affected church attendance and volunteering.

The reason is two-fold. With the additional income that comes with “gigging,” individuals now have more disposable income to travel. And let’s be honest, what better time to travel is there than Friday to Sunday night? Secondly, since “gigging” is often done in addition to a full-time job, this typically cuts into the time that individuals could be using to lead a group, serve in a ministry, or take a discipleship seminar at your church.

So what can we do? First of all, I don’t think it’s realistic to not do anything or to stand against “gigging” or freelancing. After all, wasn’t the Apostle Paul bivocational? Wasn’t making tents his side hustle?

As a result, I want to leave you with two ideas to consider:

1. Podcast your sermons or livestream your service

If you aren’t already doing this, do it! For pete’s sake…it’s 2017.

Read this article about the power of podcasts, that I wrote last year, if you aren’t convinced. Now if you’re worried that people will just listen to your sermon online, instead of coming to one of your physical services, I get it. It’s a valid concern. However, if someone is going to miss your service, they’re going to miss it anyway. So why not give them the opportunity to listen to the sermon during the week, or watch your service live from their cabin?

2. Talk about the Sabbath

As a society, we are overworked. The “gig economy” is not helping either. So model the Sabbath, talk about the Sabbath, and make sure that your preaching and teaching of the Sabbath is Christ-centered, rather than works-centered.

What are your thoughts on the implications of the “gig economy?”

 

Building a Discipleship Culture That Will Grow Your Church

Are you happy with your existing vision, strategy, and values, or do you need to revisit them?

Are you producing disciple-makers, disciples, or consumers? Are you worried that what you’re currently doing isn’t sustainable or scalable? Do you need to overhaul your church, but aren’t sure what to do differently?

The fact is, we often lead the way we’ve been led, disciple the way we’ve been discipled, and teach the way we’ve been taught…unless we consciously decide to do otherwise.

We often lead the way we’ve been led and disciple the way we’ve been discipled!
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And with the accelerated pace of life, the unceasing demands of ministry, and the relentless fact that Sunday is always around the corner, who has the luxury of time to stop, audit, and make systemic changes to the way we lead, disciple, and teach?

As a result, the two things that we often (unintentionally) end up neglecting is self-development and team-development.

In a previous article, I address the issue of self-development and provide you with a list of questions from my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry. So be sure to go back and answer those questions before moving on.

Let’s now talk about staff or team development.

The fact is, as a pastor and church leader, you are both a boss and a disciple-maker—and this applies whether or not you’re the senior leader.

(Now I understand that you may not like the word boss because it sounds domineering, but I’m simply trying to emphasize the fact that you’re the leader and that you have responsibilities that directly affect others.)

So take a moment and think about everyone on your team—whether it’s your staff team as the senior leader, or your volunteer team as a staff member.

On the one hand, you are responsible for the ministry that God has entrusted you with.

So in order to get things done in a scalable manner, you can’t do it yourself. You need to work with and through your team—just think about Exodus 18 and the account between Moses and Jethro. This makes you the boss, the leader, or depending on your culture, the chief cheerleader or number one servant.

On the other hand, you are also responsible to equip those under and around you for the work of ministry (Eph 4:12-13).

And I’m not talking about equipping others to make coffee, clean the toilets, and carry your purse, or murse…I’m talking about “equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Eph 4:12-13).

While making coffee and cleaning toilets can definitely be a character shaping exercise and be a part of moving you to maturity, that’s not what I’m talking about…

I’m talking about building a culture that allows your team to develop both professionally and spiritually.

In my book, No Silver Bullets: 5 Small Shifts That Will Transform Your Ministry, I have a chapter entitled, From Sage to Guide. In this chapter, I unpack what it looks like to move from being a sage on the stage to a guide on the side when it comes to discipleship and leadership development.

There’s a concept in this chapter that I’d like to share with you: it’s called the 70:20:10 principle.

This principle originated with Dr. Allen Tough in his book The Adult’s Learning Projects and has since been elaborated and expanded by many others.

The principle states that 70 percent of our learning comes by doing.

This is informal, on- the-job development that comes through trial and error, and growing in experience, like when we’re preaching, fleshing out strategic ends into key result areas, writing a ministry action plan, recruiting leaders, discipling others, or when we’re teaching a class. It’s learning that comes by doing.

70 percent of our learning comes by doing.
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Next, 20 percent of our learning happens when we receive informal feedback from others, or through more formal coaching, mentoring, and employment relationships.

This is primarily the type of development that happens through interacting with others. This is about receiving feedback and actually doing something with it.

The last 10 percent of our learning is through conferences, seminars, and courses.

This is structured formal education.

Is this principle true for you?

Why do you preach the way you preach? Disciple the way you disciple? Lead the way you lead? Is it because you’re following the steps outlined in a textbook or from a course? Is it because someone coached you? Or is it because you’ve just done it over and over again and learnt what works and what doesn’t through trial and error?

(Once again, if you haven’t yet answered the questions from my previous article, What Kind of Church Leader Are You?, be sure to do so!)

Most likely it’s a combination of all three, but according to this principle, one of the most significant ways to develop is just by doing it.

Now I’m not talking about swinging the pendulum the whole other way. Doing something without actively seeking out feedback, coaching, and new perspective through conferences, seminars, or courses is unwise. And that’s why it’s not the 100:0:0 principle.

All that to say, if you want to develop in an ongoing manner, don’t just relegate development to formal education. Think of the 70:20:10 principle.

Doing something without actively seeking out feedback, coaching, and new perspectives is unwise.
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What’s interesting is that most churches are unintentionally aware of the 70:20:10 principle and are living it out, but their application of it is backward.

Seventy percent of their time is devoted to teaching, 20 percent to talking about it, and 10 percent to doing it.

What would happen to your church if you applied the 70:20:10 principle accurately?

What if 70 percent of the time that you spent developing your team and discipling them was helping them do the very things that made them a great leader and disciple-maker? You would then talk about what they’ve done and provide them feedback 20 percent of the time, while only formally teaching them 10 percent of the time. Imagine the transformation that would happen in your church.

Imagine what kind of culture would develop in your church…

Unfortunately, many churches are living out and applying the 70:20:10 principle incorrectly!
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What Kind of Church Leader Are You?

In order to grow and multiply your church, you have to start with yourself.

I’m not talking about picking up a self-help book to learn how to get your best life now. I’m talking about figuring out why it is that you lead the way that you do.

But Daniel, that means I need to slow down and reflect…I don’t have time for that! Sunday’s coming, and I need to…

Yes I understand that Sunday is coming and that you have things to do! But here’s the thing…

If you don’t take the necessary time to learn why you lead the way you lead, disciple the way you disciple, and teach the way you teach, you will never be able to grow and multiply your church.

In order to grow and multiply your church, you have to start with yourself.
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In my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry, I start the first chapter with a self-assessment to help you discover why it is that you lead the way you do.

Here’s a portion of it. I hope you’ll slow down and take a moment to work through each of these questions:

1. Who do you look up to as a pastor and church leader?

Who has shaped your view of church practice and practical theology? Is it Eugene Peterson? J. I. Packer? Tim Keller? It could be someone you know personally, or someone you’ve admired from a distance.

The people you look up to hold the greatest power to shape you.

In other words, the ones you follow are the ones you model. Write down the names of the pastors, missionaries, theologians, leaders, and thinkers that have shaped you most.

The people you look up to hold the greatest power to shape you.
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2. How have others shaped you?

How have the individuals above shaped the way you approach church practice and practical theology? Is it the way you preach? Or the way you approach discipleship? Perhaps it’s the way you cast vision, or your view of church planting, multisite, and multiplication?

Write down the ways that your church practice and practical theology have been shaped by the previous list of individuals.

3. What type of leader are you?

Let me paraphrase one of my favorite quotes from the Chinese general, military strategist, and author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu:

If you know your enemy, you’ll win half of the battles. But if you know yourself, you’ll win the other half.

We too often model our ministries after the ones we follow—sometimes intentionally and other times unintentionally. As a result, their influence on us inevitably leaves a mark on the way we view and do ministry.

This is not a bad thing per se, but it has the potential to turn into a bad habit if left unchecked.

So going back to Sun Tzu’s wisdom on war—are you only winning half of your battles? Do you know what type of leader you are? Are you more task-oriented or people-oriented? Do you like solving problems or finding solutions? Do you like starting things, improving them, or maintaining them? Do you know your strengths? Are you managing your weaknesses? Do you like to do everything, or do you develop, delegate, or dump?

Take a few personality profiles and write out your results (I recommend StrengthsFinder, Kolbe, and any of the numerous versions of DISC, just to name a few).

4. How do you view accountability?

Is it your direct responsibility to grow those in your church as disciples? Or rather, is it your responsibility to create an environment in which they can grow? Do you have someone that holds you accountable as a leader?

These questions are important because your view of accountability from a systems perspective directly influences the way your church measures growth (this is what I cover in chapter 1-2 of No Silver Bullets).

The ones you follow are the ones you model.
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Take the time to work through each of these questions.

Next week, I will address the other aspect of leadership that we often neglect—staff and team development.

The Obscure Link Between Instant Gratification and Change

Do you remember when it would take so long for your computer to start up, that you’d have time to brew a cup of coffee or make yourself a sandwich?

Oh how times have changed…

If we want to read a book, we can download it instantly. If we want to listen to one, we can literally press play the moment after we purchase it. If we want toothpaste, laundry detergent, or a few bananas, we can order it on Prime Now and get it within two hours. And now, with the launch of Amazon Go, we don’t even need to line up and pay the cashier at the grocery store!

Sure, this is convenient, but the unfortunate side effect is that we’ve been conditioned to need, want, and long for change.

We’re addicted to change…and secretly we love it.

Now change isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but change for the sake of change must be avoided. It demoralizes your team, causes unnecessary stress, and is simply unproductive. However, if you have decided that change needs to take place in your life and in your ministry, following this eight-step process that I wrote about in a previous article, is critical.

Change for the sake of change must be avoided at all costs.
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Now while the likelihood of succeeding in leading change without the eight-step process—or some variation of it—is pretty low, how you view and approach change matters even more.

When burdened with a new idea, or a desire to change something specifically in your life or your church, definitely start with prayer. But don’t move straight to implementation after you say “Amen.”

We need to slow down and take a different approach.

Now I understand that this is hard to do because of our on-demand, stream-anytime, find-an-answer-to-anything, go-anywhere, and swipe-now-pay-later instant gratification culture.

In fact, it’s because of this that we often misinterpret a conviction from God as permission to drop everything and engage it, rather than waiting on him for our next steps. However, unless we introduce change in a fundamentally different manner than we are doing now, these eight-steps will not work.

While it’s pretty easy to follow these eight-steps for change, since they are easy to understand, systematic, and proven…

…when introducing change, I’m convinced there should be always be a sticker that says: “Buyers beware: You will have to live with the change once it’s implemented.”

Buyers beware: You will have to live with the change once it’s implemented.
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Are you prepared for that?

Or will you change your mind and introduce change that reverses the effects of your original change initiative after a couple of months?

Unless your change effort leads you closer to the vision, strategy, and values that God is calling your church to embrace, you’re wasting your time. You’re introducing change that will merely be overturned at a later time. You are allowing yourself to settle with mediocrity. After all, isn’t good the enemy of great?

Learn about the three steps for introducing change in chapter 6 of  No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

*This was a modified excerpt from my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

Systems and an Encyclopedia

As a child, I remember flipping through the human anatomy section in the Encyclopedia Britannica.

As a curious child with an insatiable love for learning—I remember times when I would just open up the encyclopedia and read. My favorite section was the human anatomy, since I wanted to be a doctor. In fact, I vividly remember looking through and being amazed by the layers of complexity that the human body presented.

This section was always several pages long.

In fact, it always stuck out from the other pages in the encyclopedia, since each system in the human body was printed on its own plastic, transparent page.

If you had one of these old-school encyclopedias in front of you, the first system you’d see would be the integumentary system—the body’s outer covering. In other words, you’d see a naked human body with skin, hair, and nails. If you flipped that transparent page over to the next—I apologize for the graphic nature of this next phrase—it would almost be like you were peeling the skin off of a human. You’d be left with the muscular system. If you flipped that page over again, you would see the circulatory system.

With every progressive page turn, you would uncover another system that makes up the human body. The nervous system, the lymphatic system, the skeletal system, and so on.

Just like there are different layers of systems in the human body, so it is with the church.

The systems in your church are designed to work together, like they do in the human body, to help your church function as God intends it to. After all, “God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted” (1 Cor. 12:18).

So what exactly are those systems for your church?

While there are many more than just these two, your discipleship pathway and leadership pipeline are what makes up the two core systems that drive everything in your church.

Your discipleship pathway & leadership pipeline are the two core systems that drive everything.
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Here’s a quick comparison of the two and how they relate with one another:

Your discipleship pathway will form your church into missionary disciples, while your leadership pipeline will equip your church to live as missionary disciples
Your discipleship pathway will shape your people’s character, while your leadership pipeline will develop their competencies
Your discipleship pathway will transform hearts, while your leadership pipeline will train transforming agents
Your discipleship pathway will develop, while your leadership pipeline will deploy.

Using an analogy, if your church were a car that had to get to a particular endpoint, which would be the vision, the discipleship pathway would be the fuel, and the leadership pipeline would be the engine.

Both are equally important and have to rely on each other if the car is going to experience any movement.

Your discipleship pathway will develop, while your leadership pipeline will deploy.
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My book, No Silver Bullets , will help you build and develop a discipleship pathway from scratch.

Now if the necessary systems are already set up in your church, but you aren’t quite sure they are the right ones or if they’re performing at full capacity, then I will help you clarify and tweak them, so that your ministry is unleashed toward greater Kingdom impact.

Learn more by watching the video below and picking up a copy of the book today.

*This was a modified excerpt from my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.

The 5 Small Shifts

Are you happy with your existing vision, strategy, and values? Are you producing disciple-makers, disciples, or consumers? Are you worried that what you’re currently doing isn’t sustainable or scalable? Do you need to overhaul your church, but aren’t sure how?

I want to invite you to consider what God might do through you, if you were to implement five small shifts.

In my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry, you’ll discover five micro-shifts that have the potential to produce macro-change in your church. Here’s a quick overview.

Shift #1: From Destination to Direction

This first shift is about viewing discipleship from a systems perspective. In this shift, you’ll uncover the various ways churches approach discipleship from a fifty-thousand-foot level. We’ll do this by looking at the two spectrums that influence your approach, and then by examining how they intersect.

Shift #2: From Output to Input

In this second shift, you’ll zoom into discipleship at the individual level. We’ll go from looking at the systematic discipleship of the many to the personal discipleship of the one. We’ll do this by unpacking the results of one of the largest research projects on discipleship to date, in order to determine the right metrics for maturity.

Shift #3: From Sage to Guide

Technology has forever changed the way individuals learn. Moreover, adults learn differently than children. We simply can’t teach the way we were taught. In this shift, we’ll unpack these issues and you’ll explore what it looks like to move from being a sage on the stage to a guide on the side when it comes to discipleship and leadership development.

Shift #4: From Form to Function

In the New Testament, we read more about the function of ministry, which is to be in community, than any particular form or model of ministry. As a result, in this shift, we’ll survey four environments where discipleship and development occur. This will help you uncover and adopt a kingdom vision for community, rather than a whatever-works-for-the-successful-church-down-the-road model.

Shift #5: From Maturity to Missionary

How do you define the church? Through the lens of God’s mission or your mission? In this shift, you’ll look at the marks of a church and compare what happens when the end goal for discipleship is maturity versus what happens when the end goal for discipleship is mission.

Have you ever participated in a team brainstorming session or strategic planning time?

These meetings are often simultaneously invigorating and frustrating. They are invigorating because it’s fun to dream up new realities for what could be. However, they can also be incredibly frustrating if these ideas never come off the whiteboard.

So with these five shifts, the last thing I’d want to do is provide you with mere ideas. That’s why, in the second half of No Silver Bullets, I outline a path to implementation.

Your church is a system and it’s interconnected.

To think that you can introduce change quickly and easily, without it affecting the other areas of your church, is naïve at best. This is why, the second half of the book starts by examining your expectations, outlining the change process, and then articulating three steps for introducing change.

Afterward, we’ll then focus on your church’s discipleship pathway by discovering how to uncover and/or create the intentional route, steps, and paths for developing missionary disciples for kingdom impact.

If your church does not have a discipleship pathway, the second half of the book will help you uncover what’s underneath the skin of your church, so that you can build one that’s right for your context.

However, if your church already has a discipleship pathway, I want to challenge you to consider how the vision, strategy, and values of your church are getting you there.

Are they integrated and working with one another?
Or are they like the situation we read of in 1 Corinthians 12, where each body part is saying they don’t need the others?

The second half of No Silver Bullets will offer you ideas to integrate the five micro-shifts into the way you disciple and lead your church.

In other words, if you’re planting a church, replanting, or revitalizing it, you’ll learn how to build a discipleship pathway from scratch. If, however, these systems are already set up in your church, but you aren’t quite sure if they are the right ones or if they’re performing at full capacity, then you’ll learn how to clarify and tweak them. In both instances, the goal is to unleash your ministry toward greater Kingdom impact.

Discover five micro-shifts that have the potential to produce macro-change in your church.
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Learn more by watching the video below and picking up a copy of the book today.

*This was a modified excerpt from my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry.