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I've discussed the distinction between "leadership" and "discipleship" before. They are two disciplines/functions that have so much interplay that they are often blended together, which can be hazardous at times.

In a recent discussion about cross-cultural leadership/discipleship issues within the context of global missions, Keith Anderson reiterated how much a healthy understanding of the relationship and distinctions between L&D is to the deployment of healthy practices - particularly with church planting.

Before referencing some outstanding scholarship that has been produced recently around cross-cultural leadership dynamics (GLOBE project), he highlighted how the sequencing and confusion of these 2 practices can play out in church planting contexts...

(1) You can focus on leadership principles alone. You must wrestle with effectively transmitting the principles in ways that are transferrable to that culture, of course. (something Enrique Fernandez succinctly captures in his teaching on Leadership Extrapolation) The hazard is that you can create dynamic organizational structures and learning systems that fail to draw people to Christ, transform the world or truly touch the Kingdom agenda of God. Certainly, followers will be created ("disciples"?), but not necessarily growing towards Christ and by Him.

(2) You can focus on discipleship. This is most commonly the practice in church-planting, and logically so. You send a team, proclaim the Gospel, teach people to read, pray and go share the story of Christ, rinse-lather-repeat. A by-product of this is certainly that "leaders" are generated as the recipient of the Gospel who turns and shares with others inherits leadership responsibilities and influence over them. This is the primary commissioning of Christ-followers and is the ground floor for reaching new people groups. However, the practices of initially seeding disciples are not effective at cultivating healthy leadership that is sustainable, replicable, and developmental in nature.

(3) You can disciple with a plan for intentional follow-up and leadership development. This is (as you've guessed) the recommended approach. In this you lead off fundamentally, but have the discipline and commitment to follow it up with continued learning, investment and equipping so that indigent leaders can be supported in their generational work of living out our shared Commission in their locale.

I've certainly seen these principles validated - in Haiti, Honduras, Argentina, Mexico, Ireland and the US. Myopic emphasis on just L or D creates an organizational anemia that hinders the Body and creates cyclical resource expenditure by congregations that fail to accumulate for net progression. There is incredible opportunity, however, when a healthy outlook is achieved that allows for seasons, stages and a metamorphosis-based approach.

The principles are not just a function of scale - it works down to the ministry team, small group and similar level. As a leader, are you differentiating between the functional purpose of development efforts - to disciple, to infuse with leadership to further the cause of Kingdom advancement, additional discipleship to provide the depth from which to lead spiritually even further, etc? Have you seen hazards from L&D being confused, or a lack of any intentional plan to develop along either tracks?

I met with a lady this past weekend who was a missionary kid. Her parents spent 30+ years as missionaries across Latin America. Her aunts and uncles were all missionaries in Africa. Her cousins have all chosen to remain as missionaries in places like Congo, Ghana and the interior of Africa. Her sisters were missionaries. She herself was highly involved in local church ministry plus multiple trips a year to do women's ministry abroad and help foreign missionaries. What a legacy her family has in the Kingdom! How blessed to be the great-grandparent in that family, looking at a series of generations all obediently sold out to Christ! To see God use your "children to bless the nations" is truly a mighty legacy for any leader to behold.

Yesterday we had a gathering of area pastors to welcome a new guy to town. It drew high profile guys, new guys just starting churches, pastors of struggling churches and some "patriarchs" who had been icons of regional church leadership for decades. With many generations represented at the gathering, there was a remarkable distinction in how various generations tended to establish their legacy.

George Harris and Buckner Fanning were looked up to by half the guys in the room because so many of them had been mentored, encouraged, supported, and commissioned by those guys early on in their Christian walk. They saw them as patriarchs of their own ministry journey. The legacy of George and Buckner was that their leadership was beyond themselves - they freely and whole-heartedly invested in raising up others who went on to lead with great independence from them. CBC and BRCC are not "church plants" by either of these guys, yet both pastors were mentored and supported by George.

There was a free loving investment in others by that generation of leaders that stood out as exceptional to the present norm. It's so easy for a church, an organization, a team or any group to only invest by addition - to recruit the best for their own effort and want to grow their team superior to everyone else by "drafting" top talent. Contrast that with how these elder statesmen sent out leaders to go and flourish for the Kingdom without any strings attached.

How do you measure legacy of leadership? Personal reign, personal accomplishment, or the beyond-self passing on of Godly love, counsel, discipling, instruction and wisdom that bears fruit outside the fences of your territory?

How would your leadership legacy be measured today? How will it be in 10 years?

When Jesus was asked by John the Baptist's followers if He was truly the Christ, Jesus pointed at His track record in the lives of people - "the blind now see, the lame walk, and captives are set free."

"Upon this rock I will build my church." - Jesus

Two thousand years ago the great triune God of the Hebrews took on flesh, pouring out Himself to become a suffering Servant that He might redeem the world unto Himself. He brought the "Kingdom of God" into direct contact and conflict with the earthly power structures and offered abundant life under his "easy yoke" of transformational love. Delighting in the victorious underdog par excellence, the Son of Man implemented one last daring gesture after conquering death and sin - He chose to manifest Himself through the ages through the lowliest of people, to build His Church upon the "rock" of common, fragile, broken people. In our weakness, He is strong - His work is done by grace, not be works, and none of us can boast otherwise!

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we at Grace Point have the privilege of having front row seats on some incredible Kingdom advancements for our region. Radically transformed life stories are written nearly daily around us, and we are witnesses to exchanged lives to the glory of God. It is certainly not our strength or wit that has facilitated this, but the active Word and Spirit of God working through, around and often times despite us. As leaders in this great gathering of Christ-followers, we have a profound responsibility to be diligent in our application of our gifts, our stewardship of Kingdom resources and the ongoing need for discipleship, spiritual formation and people being clearly directed to follow Jesus.

The Great Commission is overly referred to and under-applied to its full extent. Dallas Willard aptly noted that it has unintentionally fallen victim to the "Great Ommision" in that the Church often forgets to embrace the entire charge. Making disciples doesn't stop at baptism - but begins! Teaching or leading disciples in the Way of Jesus is the real imperative. So how does discipleship start, what forms does it take, what are Biblical principles or values we must hold on to, how do we lead effectively in something so critical as spiritual growth? These are real questions that require real dialogue. The values and principles of Scripture are steadfast, yet the forms and expressions have great diversity. We need healthy dialogue that wrestles with needs, ideas, barriers, truth, experiences and concepts - in "love which binds them all together in perfect unity" as Paul said to the believers in Colosse.

This is a forum of "grace." We as leaders must put as a chief aim our individual love and devotion to Jesus Christ, and from such aim open ourselves up to honest dialogue, correction, encouragement and growth. Ideas will be shared - good, radical, ancient, tried, dangerous, unformed, amazing, insightful and everything in-between - in a context of trust as we seek to burn away the chaffe and get down to the real heart of Discipleship for our present context. As iron sharpening iron, so we will seek to sharpen each other as co-laborers in the cause of leadership.

Share your ideas, ask questions, pray for wisdom from God who is the Author of all truth, and let's partner on this journey in faith together.

Come and follow, as we seek to be more fully made into fishers of men by the great Teacher...