Matthew 28:18-19 tells us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Train up disciples – an admonition that at times I’ve purposed to do, and at other times, I’ve done so without even realizing it. I purpose to train through teaching and hands on, but more often than not, it’s my example that is being observed, studied, and followed.

In my early years of ministry leadership, I found in most cases it was just easier to do it myself rather than to try and show someone else how to do it. It wasn’t a matter of selfishness or intolerance, but more of efficiency. As the years went by and my weekly hours fluctuated between 60 and 75 plus, my kids began to question if they really had a dad. I knew something had to change. Efficiency soon gave way to survival, and perfectionism began to drift ever so slightly to sufficiency. I loved it. The ministry grew, my staff grew, and I realized it was okay to train them up and hand over areas of ministry to them. I oversee it all and share vision that ties all the separate entities into one singular ministry and purpose, but all the various leaders are still able to lead in their own strengths and uniqueness, as well as giving each area their particular fingerprint. Above all, it’s allowed the ministry to grow and have a greater impact on the community and beyond, something that I simply could never have done on my own.

Recently the value of training and discipling proved itself in ways I couldn’t have imagined. We had made it through the Christmas season without any major crashes – we saw great fruit and everyone seemed to have had a great experience, both those on stage and those in the body. We were now gearing towards our big New Years Eve Night of Worship on Wednesday. Everything was in place and I was really excited about the evening – being able to usher in the New Year with worship and a stage full of wonderful people and musicians and an excited body of believers, as well as a pile of my all-time favorite worship songs – it just doesn’t get any better than that!

The Monday before, I went to the mall with my family, and about an hour into the trip I was overcome with a pain in my side and back that forced an early retreat from the mall. Sure enough, the dreaded kidney stone. I had until Wednesday for it to pass, so I should be okay, or so I thought. This stone however, quickly escalated into a major problem when tests showed it wasn’t moving, in fact it was stuck. I was admitted to the hospital on New Years Eve – still hoping beyond hope that it would pass – but by now it was clear that the stone, and myself, were stuck. As the morphine took over and the hours went by, it was clear that I was done for the New Years Eve Night of Worship. This was a scenario I had never faced before – certainly not of this magnitude. As I was struggling with my own pain and impending surgery, I was also dealing with a decision I had never made before – to have someone cover a major event in my absence, and on very short notice. I have led worship with a cold, with the flu, even a broken arm in a cast, and I once played a show with a bucket next to me as I threw up in between scenes. It wasn’t pretty, but “the show must go on”. A kidney stone however, the associated pain, and the narcotics injected to overcome the pain made any option of playing and leading simply laughable.

I was devastated on many levels, but yet so thankful for my staff and those that have been with me now for several years who were able to step up and take over for me. Over the years I had purposed to train by example, explanation and correction, to give opportunity to my staff to lead in ever greater capacities, and to ultimately release them into their own areas of responsibility and oversight. I know that’s what I’m supposed to do and that is the charge of Jesus – but I never realized how vital that would become until New Years Eve.

My staff got the heads up on Tuesday to be ready just in case, and then on Wednesday it was official – “New Years Eve is yours, I’m out”. Since the song list was done weeks earlier and the team had been assembled weeks earlier as well, it helped reduce the panic. Once the reality had set in, everybody simply did what they knew to do: trust God, be a leader, and love the people. The evening went off without a hitch. I’ve since heard nothing but amazing reports – people worshipped like crazy, people got saved, and at midnight the New Year was dedicated to the Lord.

As I’ve had a chance to reflect on all of this, which when you’re laid out for three weeks there’s a lot of time to reflect, I’ve considered how the training and discipling not only helped with New Years Eve, but as well with the following three weeks worth of services, rehearsals, meetings, and so much more during my time of recuperation. Pulling off a “one off” is one thing, but maintaining an ongoing ministry with so many varied responsibilities is quite another. Clearly, shifting to a training and discipling mode years ago made it all possible.

Upon even more reflection, I also realized that there will likely end up being five phases in my life: learning to perform a particular skill, performing that skill, performing that skill while training and discipling others, training and discipling others, then too old to do either. I’m solidly in the third phase and hope to stay there for a long time, but based upon my New Years experience, that is a bit more uncertain now! I certainly want to model Jesus in every aspect of my life, and now more than ever, because of training and discipling, I feel more yoked to the Lord than at any other time in ministry. My regret is not having started sooner – reducing or eliminating phase two altogether. Jesus’ entire public ministry integrated training and discipling, but unlike me, right from the start. I also see Paul consistently taking others with him on all of his missionary trips – they weren’t just roadies, but very active participants – just ask Silas. Thankfully, in the Lord’s economy it’s better late than never.

If anyone reading this feels like he or she is on their own in ministry, then sincerely pray that the Lord would bring someone alongside you in ministry – someone who can follow your example and learn from you, and someone whom you can invest in. Not only does this honor the Lord and follow His example, but you’ll never know when you’ll need someone to step up and take your place – trust me!

I am now fully recovered three weeks later, and happier than ever to be back. My staff is also happy I’m back and that’s certainly encouraging. I’ve discovered that my staff doesn’t really need me, but they think they do. In this economy, I’m quite fine with that!

May I always teach in truth and by example.

Tags: disciple, lead, minister, pastor, shepherd, train, worship