Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………1
The Similarities between developing disciples and developing leaders………………………1
Compare and Contrast the Leadership Chapters in Early/ Dempsey with Putman……..….4
How and Why a Healthy Church is the Ultimate goal for Discipleship……………..……….5
10 Kingdom Leadership Principles Applied…………………………………………………..6
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………......8
Introduction
Healthy spiritual leadership is the backbone of every ministry. A strong leader exercises
spiritual gifts that influence, teach, and manage those around them.1 Developing effective leaders
in a small group can make the difference between a healthy local church or ministry and the
impact it has on the community. When a person gives their life to Christ, they must be developed
as a disciple, trained as a leader, and equipped to function as a disciple-maker.2 This paper will
address the development of disciples and leaders, and the similarities between the two. It will
also contrast and compare the leadership chapters found in Early/Dempsey and Putman
highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of both. The argument of the ultimate goal for
discipleship in a healthy church will be presented, and finally, some of the leadership principles
needed in my local church to strengthen discipleship will be discussed for application in our
ministry.
The Similarities Between Developing Disciples and Developing Leaders
Christian leadership is no different than any other leadership. Both contain three
important factors; influence, vision or direction, and development.3 A Christian leader will
always have Christ’s vision for their personal life, and this should always include the
development of the spiritual lives of others. Early/Dempsey defines Christian leadership as, “the
process of influencing individuals to follow God’s plan for their lives and become all they can be
for Christ and His mission.”4 My district superintendent has always shared, “a leader with no
followers is just a man out for a walk.” Richard and Henry Blackaby believe that most leaders
1 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013, 195.
2 Ibid., 198.
3 Ibid., 196
4 Ibid., 199.
show an aptitude for leadership early in life.5 God has created all things for His pleasure and
purpose (Rev 4:11), this means that not just leadership, but discipleship is ordained by God. The
development of spiritual leaders and disciples are identical because when God ordains a spiritual
leader, He gives them the vision to develop disciples who will make disciples.
The development of a spiritual leader is the development of a disciple that makes
disciples. Equipping leaders to disciple is the ultimate goal for a spiritual leader. A leader must
influence those that will follow him, living a holy life as God expects from the saints is vital for
those around them. We all learn from what we see and experience. If a person sees a leader with
honesty, integrity (Pro 2:7), and a fervent love for God and others, they will Be moved by that
Spirit of God and want to duplicate that behavior.6 I once heard that I may be the only Jesus that
people see and my goal should be to show them until they see Him themselves and show others.
“The shift from informing people to equipping them- begins with the character of the leader,”7
and making disciples is no different. Following Christ and living Holy is achieved by the
dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual influence is a gift from God that only He can produce,8
however, it is the intentional actions of a spiritual leader that develop disciples and other spiritual
leaders. Living a life that is pleasing to God is also living a life shared with others that love God
and want others to enjoy the same style of living. A spiritual leader wants people to share the
love and the development in Christ that they have shared with them as leaders, which if done
properly, makes them disciples.
5 Richard Blackaby, and Henry T. Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership : Moving People on to God's Agenda. Nashville:
B&H Publishing Group, 2011, 40.
6 Ibid., 120.
7 Jim Putnum and Bob Harrington. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make
Disciples. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013. 105.
8 Richard Blackaby, and Henry T. Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership : Moving People on to God's Agenda. Nashville:
B&H Publishing Group, 2011,120.
Compare and Contrast the Leadership Chapters in Early/Dempsey with Putman
A very important similarity between the leadership chapters found in Early/ Dempsey and
Putnum is the development of disciples. Early/Dempsey write, “Leaders are not only concerned
about getting people to do what they want, they are also concerned about developing people to
reach their full potential.”9 The healthy development of disciples is the foundation of a healthy
church. Likewise, Putnum agrees that a leader should guide and equip the entire church creating
an atmosphere where discipleship flourishes.10 The three components of being a Christian leader
are a very valuable tool in ministry. The character of someone makes all the difference in
leadership, because, a leader that lives what they teach and has solid character can influence
people to follow the vision God has given them.11 This is a great strength found in both books.
Christian leaders must “walk authentically with God.”12 Paul told Timothy that a leader must be
without reproach, leading an orderly (disciplined) life, having a good testimony from all
believers (1 Tim 3:2). One weakness I found in DiscipleShift, is the statement, “Everyone is a
disciple and should grow into an effective disciple-maker, but not everyone is gifted as a
leader.”13 The development of a disciple that makes disciples is an effective leader. The gifts that
are given by God to lead are enhanced and developed by a leader who is given discernment to
use the gifts given to make a strong leader. Dempsey states, ”As disciples grow and develop,
leaders will be the result.”14 One rewarding difference was in chapter 21, The Power of Love. I
am convinced that every form of work, worship, and glory to God must be done in love. The
9 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013, 199.
10 Jim Putnum and Bob Harrington. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make
Disciples. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013. 114.
11 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013, 195.
12 Jim Putnum and Bob Harrington. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make
Disciples. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013. 119.
13 Ibid., 123.
14 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013, 208.
reason we have the opportunity to work for God is because of the love that the father has for us.
There can never be too much emphasis on this point, and as noted there are many
commandments given by Christ denoting the same.15 In his book, Leadership from the Inside out,
Kevin Harney dedicates the first chapter to discussing the strength love gives to every
relationship. The heart of a leader must be where God’s heart is for all believers giving them a
strong, healthy heart allowing for strong health discipleship.16 leaders must develop disciples
with the same love that is given by God.
How and Why a Healthy Church is the Ultimate Goal for Discipleship
A church cannot be considered healthy if it is not making disciples. The model of a
church, presented by Paul (Eph 4), is compared to a human body. Just as the various parts of the
body work together so that the body functions properly, every person in the church has a
function, and every function has a purpose that keeps the body operating at its full potential, and,
“the body seems to grow and develop without any effort.”17 This is because each part of the body
knows its purpose, and does what it is there to do. Every part of the body works together with
every other part of the body to perform a purpose which in the church’s case is the will of God.
Paul shared with the church at Corinth the importance of all gifts from God working together,
and the dependency of each one on each other (1 Cor 12:12-31).
The will of God is the mission of Christ for all believers. The Great Commission states
that we are to search out, baptize, and develop new converts. A healthy church is doing just that,
and the representation of a healthy church is, “the people of God Coming together to accomplish
the mission of God, for the glory of God.”18 Because this should be the goal for every church in
15 Ibid., 204-205.
16 Kevin Harney, Leadership From the Inside out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church, Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2007.
17 Ibid., 211.
18 Ibid., 213.
Christ, discipleship can be considered the only goal, ultimately producing disciple-making
churches. A healthy church has a leader that is obedient to the word of God, and is intentionally
living and teaching believers to do the same, and equipping them to continue using the gifts God
has given them to do the same with others. When a body is built from relational groups with
disciples are making disciples a church is formed. Putnum describes a formula developed by
Dave Ferguson and John Ferguson in their book Exponential19 which explains a process used
in teaching disciples that is just simple enough to be very effective. People learn from example.
Everything we know as human beings came from somewhere else. This is a model that Jesus
shows in the Bible. He taught His disciples by showing them and speaking with them, allowing
them to ask questions and answering them. These men in this relational group branched out, and
the house churches are seen in the epistles. The same process is just as effective today. When all
gifts are utilized in a church, it is healthy, and when there is a healthy church, there is great
discipleship.
10 Kingdom Leadership Principles Applied
There are two Kingdom Principles that I feel our church needs some improvement and
they are somewhat combined in my mind. Spending time with God and connecting people to
Jesus. Spending time in prayer as well as in God’s word are disciplines that our church believes
in firmly. The Gospel is preached and taught to every person in the church. I believe that our
church needs to emphasize these principles in smaller groups that have accountability. This
raises another practice that we need to improve on which is connecting one to another. Helping
people find their Spiritual gift from God is part of discipleship which should endorse
communicating with God at all times. I don’t feel as though our church places the importance of
19 Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson, Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church
Movement (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2010), 63. [Jim Putman (2019). (p. 232). DiscipleShift (Wordsearch
Version): Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples. Retrieved from
https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com]
this on our disciples. Mothers in our church have always said that they don’t do anything until
they “see what the Lord has to say about it!” The Pastor is connected with God in prayer for the
church and iitsmission, but because we are all one body, the entire body should be in connection
with God to know what their responsibility is in God’s mission.
The Connection of people to one another needs attention in our church as well. We have
relational groups, and this is how they are connected, and as mentioned previously,
accountability needs to be strengthened. We need one another to work in God’s Kingdom. Jesus’
command to love one another (John 13:34) and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:39), is
how the Kingdom is built, by practicing the “one anothers.”20 We don’t have “home” groups that
will draw disciples closer to one another which I feel can help to grow the ministry to grow
inwardly possible allowing more growth outwardly.
Bibliography
Blackaby, Richard, and Blackaby, Henry T.. Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's
Agenda. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2011.
Earley, Dave and Dempsey, Rod. Disciple Making is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013.
Ferguson, Dave and Ferguson, Jon. Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a
Missional Church Movement. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2010.
20 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is… Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013, 216.
Harney, Kevin. Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church
Leader. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007.
Putnum, Jim and Harrington, Bob. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make
Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.
i
