Hero-maker. There are two ways you see this play out in your everyday life. One demonstrates the idea. The other is its counterpart. You’ve probably participated in both. Did you know that before I graduated from college, I did an internship at White Oak? I had never even heard of White Oak Christian Church until a year into college. Now, my junior year, I was calling the Student Pastor there to interview for a summer internship. Long story, short. I got it. And I thought I would only be there for three months.
Internships. Apprenticeships. These words describe how many of us began our careers. Even if not your career, someone taught you, showed you, trained you how to practice a hobby, perform a household chore, or to fix something on your car. You were watching and learning from someone. It happens all the time and most often you don’t even realize that you are apprenticing or mentoring an apprentice.
You see this sort of interaction in the Bible. Jesus learned his trade as a carpenter from his father, Joseph. We meet Jesus’s would-be disciples while some of them are fishing with their father. For centuries all around the world, parents have passed down trades and skills to their children. Master and apprentice. This is exactly what Jesus did with his disciples. He gathered them. He showed them what and how to serve God and minister to people. He sent them out to practice it.
Matthew 10:1 shows us. Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
Eventually, he would release them to do this without his presence. They would multiply ministry impact.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20
This is hero-making. You lead someone else to do what you know how to do and turn them over to do it. Then, you go and find someone else and do it again. This is why one of our Staff Behavior values is this:
I Multiply Heroes: Giving ministry away at a rapid pace - If it's worth doing, we bring someone along.
As a staff, we believe that the mission of Jesus depends upon our willingness to give ministry away. We must bring someone alongside us to learn to do the work of ministry. Therefore, our staff agrees that each of us must show, train, and release others and teach them to do the same. This was Jesus’s plan. The exponential growth of those entering into his Kingdom would happen because his disciples would make disciples who would make disciples.
We’re often tempted, on the other side of things, to get the work done ourselves. We think we know better. We can get it done more quickly. We like what we’re doing, and we don’t want to give it away. We even believe that it’s someone else’s job to do the training. There’s a part of us who wants the credit or satisfaction when the project or task has been done well. That’s a very Western/American mindset of individualism and it’s thoroughly embedded in our culture and habits. But that’s not the way of Jesus or his followers.
Instead, consider how and with whom you can multiply heroes. Do you lead a small group? Don’t just lead. Choose someone who can lead with you by giving them small pieces of responsibility over time (communicating mid-week with the group, leading a prayer time, leading the study for a week. Ultimately, divide the group in half and invite more people to join both groups with your apprentice now leading one). If you serve in a ministry role, ask someone to join you. If you’re praying for a friend, have someone join you in the prayer. If you’re volunteering in our community, invite someone to come along with you. Do this with your kids, your friends, your co-workers.
I multiply heroes. I give ministry away. I follow the ways of Jesus in establishing his Kingdom advancement. He is my Master. I am his apprentice. Learn to do what he did.
Practicing His way,
Nathan
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor
White Oak Christian Church