”Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.“
1 Peter 5:2-4 NIV
Jesus was clear when he said "Go and make disciples..." (Matthew 28:19) But how, as shepherds, do we keep a discipleship mindset?
1. Get Around People.
Good shepherds smell like sheep. They know the condition of their flock (Proverbs 27:23). If you are around your people, then you will know how to feed and care for them.
2. Want More For Them Than From Them.
Do you want a big church? Build big people. We tend to get it backwards—we focus on platform to grow our church, when we need to focus on people. Build people, and they will build your church. If your focus is on people, God will take care of the rest.
3. Be Slow and Committed to the Process.
Find ways to be available and attentive to the people in your environment, and closely committed to a few leaders that only you can lead. As you build people and develop leaders, they will feel equipped to make disciples, and you will see multiplication.
Robert Coleman says, in The Master Plan of Evangelism, that discipleship is “...slow, tedious, painful, and probably unnoticed by people at first, but the end result will be glorious…”
4. Have a Strategy.
Utilize your assimilation processes to build relationships. Processes like Growth Track not only give people next steps and jump-start the discipleship process, but they give your team time to learn about people and help broker relationships that will have long-term impact.
People are hungry for development and we, as pastors and church leaders, are equipped to help people grow in the areas of life that matter most.