LEAD THE WAY
Extra Sessions
REPLICATE

Replicate

So More and More Disciples Make Disciples, Leaders Train Leaders, MicroChurches Start MicroChurches and Networks Seed Networks

• What do these passages say about the importance of replication?

Luke 9:1-2, 10 (NLT)

1 One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. 2 Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done.

Luke 9:28 (NLT)

About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray.

Luke 10:1, 17-21 (NLT)

1 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.

17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.”

1 Corinthians 11:1

Follow me as I follow Christ.

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)

1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

• What do these passages say about the importance of replication?

THE WHY

• Jesus replicated Himself by focusing on the 12, the 3 and the 72.

• This idea of focusing on a few to create a movement to the masses is baked into Jesus’ strategy for reaching the world.

• The early church simply continued Jesus’ strategy. That’s why we see Paul replicating his own discipleship of following Jesus through Timothy and others.

• We are called to follow their lead and replicate disciples, leaders, MicroChurches and networks.

• Why start a leadership study with the subject of replication?

  “Begin With the End in Mind.”
  Stephen Covey

THE WHAT

• Why use the word replication rather than multiplication?

• Replication is about passing on the essential genetic material (DNA) so that the movement keeps going and growing.

• This DNA is made up of The Faith entrusted to us in Scripture, our relationship with Jesus, our life together as the Body of Christ and our shared ministry values and priorities. It includes learning certain ministry skills, but it’s more about the heart—our relationship with Jesus and His people.

• The key to replication is passing on who we are and what we do so that someone else can be it and do it WHEN WE ARE NO LONGER WITH THEM.

• Keep in mind, you can replicate good genetic code and not so good genetic code. But you’re always replicating something.

Part 1 - The Faith

Jude 1:3 (NIV)

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all ENTRUSTED to God’s holy people.

1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV)

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

1 Timothy 6:20-21 (NLT)

20 Timothy, guard what God has ENTRUSTED to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. 21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness.

2 Timothy 1:14 (NIV)

Guard the good deposit that was ENTRUSTED to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)

1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses ENTRUST to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

• What does it mean to entrust something to someone? Why does Jude and Paul use this word?

• Why must The Faith be replicated faithfully? What happens if it’s not?

• For homework read through the following:

  • Read The Vineyard Statement of Faith.

  • Read The Way’s Theological Distinctives.

  • Read Statement of Affirmation.

• You will be asked to affirm these statements at the end of Lead The Way. Over the next few sessions, please share your reflections and questions on these statements.

Part 2 - The Relationship

• Leadership formation always starts with discipleship. So ensure your potential leaders have worked through Follow The Way Discipleship Journey. Preferably, these potential leaders are also discipling others through Follow The Way. Commissioning leaders who have not been discipled into a maturing relationship with Jesus and who are not discipling others in this relationship leads to all kinds of complicated life and leadership issues down the line. Don’t rush this step!

Faithful Disciples First
Faithful Disciplers Second
Faithful Leaders Third

Acts 4:13 (NLT)

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

Part 3 - The Ministry

• After ensuring the critical step of discipleship, the next step is to instill The Way’s ministry DNA.

• This ministry DNA can’t be overly complicated. A simpler ministry system is easier to pass on than a complicated one.

• Consider The Way’s Pathways and Gathering Model.

Gathering Model

• Work your potential leaders through Be The Way. Be The Way introduces the four key relationships and the four crucial priorities:

  WORSHIP - Our Relationship to Jesus

  • Devote yourselves to pursuing and prioritizing Jesus in everything

  DISCOVERY - Our Relationship to the Bible

  • Devote yourselves to taking in and living out God’s Word

  COMMUNITY - Our Relationship to Each Other

  • Devote yourselves to loving one another as a family of brothers and sisters in Christ

  MISSION - Our Relationship to the World

  • Devote yourselves to making disciples by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle

• As work through Be The Way, take turns facilitating the gatherings (see For the Facilitator). In doing so, you’ll discover who has leadership gifts. And in the end, your leaders will be able to lead their own MicroChurch gatherings using the Gathering Guide.

THE WHO

• When looking for potential leaders and people to apprentice, keep in mind God’s Word to Samuel when he was looking for a new king to replace King Saul.

1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NLT)

6 When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

• Don’t rush the leadership discernment process nor the leadership formation process. The replication of Kingdom DNA is too important to be hasty.

• When looking for potential leaders, take adequate time to seek the Lord’s will before proceeding. Jesus did!

Luke 6:12-13 (NLT)

12 Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.

• When looking for potential leaders, ask yourself, “Who’s already providing leadership and what is the nature and quality of that leadership?”

• From Robert Coleman’s The Master Plan of Discipleship:

Look for Disciples

There is a lesson in this for us. Whatever the apparent gifts and abilities of people, we must look for those who want to move for Christ. Life is too short to expend excessive time and energy upon apathetic people. We need to minister to their needs, of course. Let them know we care, and sow Gospel seed among them. Genuine compassion will not be without its effect, and someday the tide will turn. But converting the world to the Savior is not within our power. That is God’s work. Our part is to move with the Spirit and respond to those whose hearts have been awakened by grace.

The place to begin is with those within the orbit of our life most disposed to learn of Jesus. Not that others are less loved, but our first concern is with those who are seeking truth. Our objective is the evangelization of the world, for sure. But before much can be done to effectively reach the multitudes, the laboring force in the harvest must be multiplied. Every disciple made for Christ contributes to the ever-expanding working force. At any point in life, I am convinced a few such persons are within the influence of every Christian.

• Once again, the bottomline on THE WHO of leadership is …

Faithful Disciples First
Faithful Disciplers Second
Faithful Leaders Third

• The first session of Lead The Way entitled LEAD takes a deeper dive into the important qualities of a maturing leader - Calling / Character / Competency / Connections / Commitments.

THE HOW

• The key to leadership development is to start early—usually earlier than you think. That’s why both Follow The Way and Be The Way end every session with the question: Who will facilitate the next meeting? As quickly as possible, start sharing leadership responsibility. This is the best way to raise leaders and discern who has leadership giftings.

Only those who are given leadership responsibility can become responsible leaders.

• So give manageable and controlled amounts of leadership away and see how people do. Don’t dump them into the leadership deep end. Let them test the water in the shallow end.

• The added benefit of sharing leadership sooner is that it clearly communicates that this MicroChurch is about going beyond just being a participant. Everyone gets to play!

• On top of that, those who get to lead become better followers. That’s because as they experience leading (the responsibility and even the difficulty), they learn how to support those leading better.

• Use the MAWL pattern of leadership training …

  • MODEL

    I Lead / You Watch / We Talk

  • ASSIST

    (Part 1) I Lead / You Help / We Talk

    (Part 2) You Lead / I Help / We Talk

  • WATCH

    You Lead / I Watch / We Talk

  • LAUNCH or LEAVE

    You Lead / We Keep Talking / I MAWL Someone New & Someday You Will Too

(The last step can either be LAUNCH or LEAVE, depending if you’re sending the new leader(s) to start a new MicroChurch or if you’re giving them the leadership of the MicroChurch they’re currently involved in.)

• Use the Discovery Discipleship Group - 3/3s Format when MAWLing your apprentice leader …

  • Connect - Care, prayer and loving accountability for previous I will statements

  • Discover - Training using Be The Way / Lead The Way

  • Live / Lead - “I will …” statements flowing from the training

• Commission a new leader, launch a new MicroChurch and continue to support these leaders and MicroChurch.

LIVE / LEAD

• What did you discover in this training session?

• What is your “I will …” statement flowing from this training?

Extra Material

• Read Launching Leaders from VineyardUSA. It’s short, sweet and insightful.

Homework

• For homework read through the following:

  • Read The Vineyard Statement of Faith.

  • Read The Way’s Theological Distinctives.

  • Read Statement of Affirmation.

PRINTABLE PDF

• Replicate