Never Work Alone

"Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches."  (Acts 15:40-41)

I want to share a secret with you. It's the greatest principle I've ever learned in the area of developing others. Here it is: Never work alone. I know that sounds too simple, but it is truly the secret to developing others. Whenever you do anything that you want to pass along to others, take someone along with you.

This isn't necessarily a natural practice for many of us. The most common learning model in the United States is when a leader asks questions or lectures while the follower listens and tries to comprehend the instructor's ideas. But craftsmen use a different model for developing others. They take apprentices who work along side them until they master their craft and are able to pass it along to others. Their model looks something like this:

I do it.

I do it - and you watch.

You do it - and I watch.

You do it.

In all the years I've been equipping and developing others, I've never found a better way to do it than this.

Excerpt from Your Road Map for Success

Equipping: The Leader's Responsibility

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."  Ephesians 4:11-13

Equipping is a tough job, much harder than shepherding. The leader is to equip others for ministry. Paul explains the goal for the shepherd. If leaders wish to equip their people, they must give them certain gifts:

# I must CARE for them (Communication, Affirmation, Recognition, and Example).

# I must work on their weaknesses, but work out their strengths.

# I must give them myself (time, energy, and focus).

# I must give them ownership of the ministry.

# I must become a resource person (atmosphere, training, support, tools).

# I must make expectations clear.

# I must eliminate unnecessary burdens.

# I must catch them doing something good, then reward them for it.