Heather Zempel, the discipleship person at National Community Church, shares an important reminder about making disciples. We have to work at making disciples just like a farmer has to work to bring forth a crop. Grabbing a “pre-ripened” disciple and showing others the fruit of your efforts is a short-cut. Do the hard work!

The last command Jesus gave his disciples was “go make disciples.” There are many things we focus on in church leadership- vision, communication, relevance, preaching, programming, etc. But if there is anything we must get right, it’s discipleship. The problem is that it’s often easier to focus on other things because discipleship is so stinking hard.

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We often look for disciples. We look for a potential leader. We hope to find someone with maturity and gifts that we can raise up. We forget that Jesus told us to go make them. Not find them. If you can’t find a potential leader in your group, in your ministry, or on your team, it’s not their fault. Don’t blame them for being immature or needing to grow. It’s your fault. It’s my fault. We are supposed to make disciples. And making disciples is long, hard work.

Key takeaways: You have to live they vision — you must embrace the vision personally and publicly.

Key takeaways: Repeat the vision regularly. (North Point’s annual vision-casting in January and small group invitations and calls to service are tied to the vision as well, weekly announcements). Regularly we needing to be saying “Here’s what we’re doing, here’s why we’re doing it, here’s how you can be a part … here’s the problem, here’s our solution, here’s why we need to do it now … ”

Celebrate the vision systematically. The things we celebrate are repeated. Nothing reiterates vision and values like a story … warm other hearts with a great story. (Baptism stories are key at North Point).

Why are so many of us drawn towards the image of the humble &reluctant leader, and not drawn to the image of the inspired, impassioned leader with a dream?  I’m aware that my own vocational story can be told from either perspective, and I most often choose to relay it through the lens of humble reluctance.  Does this say something about me as an individual, about our culture, or about the times that we find ourselves in?

Here’s the bottom line. If I am a humble, reluctant leader then the primary means by which people will measure my ministry is through my faithfulness. They will admire the fact that I gave up an easier path in my determination to be faithful to God’s call on my life. They won’t really expect much from me, other than my faithfulness. On the other hand, if I tell my story through the lens of the gifted and called, passionate leader with a vision for something more for the Church and the determination to pursue that call, then I had better be prepared to deliver something substantive. It’s a lot safer to be reluctant and humble in our leadership narratives, than it is to be bold, passionate and persistent.

Would it make a difference, in this chapter of church life, if we reexamined our vocational stories and more carefully told the part of the story that focused on our pursuit and passion for ministry?  Might we energize our congregations in some different ways? I wonder.