The right way to reproduce yourself in others!

Do you have too much on your to-do list?  Does it feel like you are never caught up with your many responsibilities?  Do you dream of having more time during the day? The thing is we are all allotted the same amount of hours in a day.  Sisters, I have good news for you… there is a better way! God didn’t design you to do it alone.

It is God’s desire for you to reproduce yourself in other ladies! God has uniquely designed women to help reproduce life, not only physically, but spiritually. Titus 2 encourages seasoned women to train younger women in Biblical, Godly, and Spirit-empowered living.  We must disciple other women in order to see the Kingdom of God grow.  

Maybe you never had a mature woman of God pour into you.  Maybe you had to figure things out the hard way. If that is the case, instead of being bitter, do better for the women around you.  There is a great treasure in reproducing ourselves in new-to-the-faith women. And they are looking for lady-leaders to encourage, empower, and equip them to do the work God has called them to do.  The only way we will really see them step into their destiny is if we commit to doing our part. This means we must train these daughters of God to be servant-leaders. John Maxwell gives three different strategies for doing this.  He calls it Dumping, Delegating, and Developing.  

Dumping

Dumping is when leaders unload a duty onto someone else.  They are usually so happy to get that assignment off their own plate that they put little time or effort into training the new leader for the task.  They carry the attitude of, “It’s not my problem anymore.” Dumping responsibilities onto others, without training or equipping, causes more damage than good. It is not a healthy way of growing your business, family, church, or the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, many people have fallen into this way of doing things.  Thankfully, true women of God desire a better way.

Delegating

Delegating responsibility is way better than dumping responsibilities onto others. To delegate means to entrust an assignment or responsibility to another person, typically one who is less senior than oneself.  My pastor, Keith Stepp, used to say, “Delegate or Die!” If leaders fail to delegate, they will eventually burn themselves out. Delegating requires better forward-thinking than dumping. It requires finding the right person for the job. However, delegating still focuses more on the task than the person.   There is still a better way to reproduce yourself in others.

Developing

The best way to reproduce yourself is to develop the undeveloped women God places around you. To develop means to grow or cause to grow and become mature, advanced, or elaborate. The main job of Biblical leadership is “…to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). Developing others is the ultimate way to share the workload.  Leaders prepare the people and the work, and then they focus on training and equipping.  They add value to the people who they are training. Everyone benefits when a novel leader is developed the right way.

If you desire to impart what you know to new-to-the- faith women, but you don’t know where to start, then I have 5 practical steps that will help you.   I call these steps my

T.R.A.I. N. Method.

• T- Tools are important in developing future leaders.  Does your trainee have the right tools to help them be successful in their new position?  Maybe you can think of a book or seminar that would really add value to their growth. Help them find the right resources to make them successful.
• R- Role models are crucial for leadership development.  And you, my friend, should be their role model. Set the example.  Be the kind of leader you hope they will one day be. If you want them to go the extra mile, then you also need to go the distance. You should be able to say, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
• A- Attitude is everything.  It doesn’t matter how intelligent or talented a person is if they have a bad attitude.  No one wants to work with them. Make sure you help develop character in the person you are mentoring.  
• I- Invest in your trainee.  John Maxwell, puts it best when he says, “Leaders develop daily, not in a day.”  This means we must be willing to invest time into people.  Give the sister you are pouring into an encouraging text; be willing to grab a cup of coffee with her, and most of all make time to listen to her.
• N- Next opportunity is just around the corner.  Encourage your new leader to look for the next opportunity to grow.  Help them realize the best way to grow is to pay it forward by pouring into the next new woman with great potential.  

My encouragement for you is to find a new-to-the-faith woman to pour yourself into.  Take time to help develop her into the person God created her to be. Developing is the only way to truly make disciples.  Disciple-making is the call of God on His daughters, so let’s get to it!