How we Define "Discipleship" at Next Level Church

In April, I’ll once again be speaking at the Exponential Conference in Orlando, FL. The theme of the even this year is, “DiscipleShift.” In preparation for the event, they asked me to submit an article on how we define “Discipleship” at Next Level Church. Below is the article I wrote. I wanted you, the faithful tribe here at MattKellerOnline.com to have access to it as well. Enjoy.

When I think of discipleship, I think Leadership Development. Although not a phrase directly used in the New Testament, its definitely a phrase that epitomized the ministry of Jesus. And around Next Level Church, its a phrase we use quite frequently. For us, discipleship is all about leadership development.
We believe every person has leadership potential and our desire is to see that potential mined out and developed into all God wants for them to become. How we do that at Next Level Church isn’t complicated, but it is extremely intentional.

For us it means 4 things:

1. We are big Believers in People.

We can’t develop people we don’t believe in. John Maxwell said, “The average person has no one in their life that they truly believe believes in them.” At NLC, we have made it our mission to be “Believers in People.” People are attracted to people who believe in them. So why not be that kind of person?

We go out of our way to make sure people feel believed in. We want them to know in no uncertain terms that we can see the potential inside them. What we’re discovering is, this is magnetic for the young generation. Not surprisingly, they have very few people in their world who they believe, believe in them.

2. We see Leadership Development as THE thing we’re doing.

Around NLC, we don’t think of Leadership Development, or discipleship, as one of the things we do, it is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING we do. We are not an organization that exists to use people to build services and programs. We use programs and services to build people. Developing people is the #1 thing we’re doing. That means our staff, small group leaders, and ministry team volunteers are constantly looking out for whom they can pour themselves into.

We believe the future of our organization rests solely on the quality and quantity of leaders we can develop in the next 5 years. We want to be that kind of church. We will only reach our full redemptive potential when we help the young leaders in our midst reach their full leadership potential.

3. We dare to let people in.

Leadership Development is risky because it requires letting people in beyond the shiny exterior coating that exists in our lives. Quoting John Maxwell again, “We can impress people from a distance, but we can only impact people up close.” That requires letting people in.

In practical terms, we don’t just ask people to do their jobs, we’re constantly looking for opportunities to allow young leaders to have access to meetings, thoughts, and conversations they wouldn’t normally have access to. In other words, we dare to let them see behind the curtain of how a healthy, life-giving organization like ours runs. Hiccups and all.

Additionally, we work overtime to not just communicate the “How” and “What” of our organization, but to explain the “Why behind the What.” After all, the why behind the what is what shapes the culture of an organization long term. Jesus did this all the time. He would teach a parable in public, and then pull his guys aside privately afterward and say, “Here’s what I meant and why I said that.”

4. Finally, we stretch our leaders.

For us, discipleship means stretching. If someone isn’t stretching, they’re not growing. One of the great temptations of leadership is to want to rescue people when they’re being stretched. Especially when they’re a volunteer! But in order for people to become everything God wants them to become, we have to allow them to be stretched. This is a learned art, and of course, I’m not talking about burning people out or abusing people. That’s not discipleship, that’s dictatorship.

I’m talking about putting leaders in situations that are bigger than they are. Jesus did that with the disciples time and time again. Remember the feeding of the 5,000 miracle? He called them together and said, “You give the people something to eat.” That was a stretching moment. They were faced with a situation that was bigger than their capability to meet it. And they all became more like Jesus that way! That’s what it means to stretch our teams.

At Next Level Church, we are firmly convinced that developing leaders is how we disciple people to become more like Jesus. We believe developing leaders is the way to change the world and we’re willing to bet the farm on it.

So far, so good.

@MatthewKeller

Author; God of the Underdogs, available everywhere, September 2013.

Pastor; Next Level Church in Ft. Myers, FL

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