Hero Maker

by Dave Ferguson

  The “secret” is simple: you have to think about the kingdom of God more than about yourself or even your church.

  This speaks to our priorities. It’s what Jesus was getting at when he said, “Seek first his kingdom” (Matt. 6:33, emphasis added). Jesus draws our attention to the work of kingdom multiplication through parables about seeds (Mark 4:26–34) and yeast (Matt. 13:33). And there is a reason why he does this. When I begin to seek God’s kingdom more than my kingdom, his power and purposes are revealed to us and through us.

  We cannot advance the kingdom of God or accomplish Jesus’ mission if we don’t apply this secret to our lives and leadership. Every true movement of the Jesus mission begins with a heart change in the leader, and that happens as we learn to take the spotlight off ourselves. When we make this vital shift, we begin to shine the spotlight on others—we put the best of our efforts and energy into equipping other Christ followers and emerging leaders—empowering them to be the heroes, wherever they end up serving. Here is what lies at the heart of Jesus’ leadership. This is his secret.

  In short, we must shift from being the hero to becoming a hero maker.

  Table 1.1 shows the contrast.

  Table 1.1: Hero versus Hero Maker

  PRACTICE HERO HERO MAKER

  Multiplication Thinking I think ministry happens through my own leadership. I think ministry happens through multiplied leaders.

  Permission Giving I see what God can do through my own leadership. I see what God can do through others, and I let them know what I see in them.

  Disciple Multiplying I share what I’ve learned in ways that add more followers. I share what I’ve learned in ways that multiply disciples.

  Gift Activating I ask God to bless the use of my own gifts. I ask God to bless leaders I’m sending out.

  Kingdom Building I count people who show up to my thing. I count leaders who go out and do God’s thing.

  Warning: Shifting to the hero-making practices detailed in this book means that we die to self in order to live more for Christ and his kingdom. It might mean that we never get the public credit because we’ve chosen to live in a shadow rather than to seek out a spotlight.

  Even though we know these decisions are the right ones because we’re advancing God’s kingdom, that doesn’t make them easy. As one of the leaders at Community Christian Church commented as we discussed being a hero maker,

  You’re reminding us that real leaders first die to any vision of personal glory. The dying involves a very real transition, one of grief and loss of ever becoming that culture-defining leader who will shape all others around us. Of ever becoming big. Of ever receiving the recognition on this side of eternity.

  It’s a difficult death for pastors because we all live for the dream. It goes against the grain that we may never appear on the radar but will instead spread in small units all over our city, country, and globe. We may never find the spotlight, but we will shape a whole new generation. And that’s what makes it worthwhile.

  In this book, I want to help you learn the secret of affirming, mentoring, and cheering other leaders into greatness and releasing them for work across God’s kingdom, and the multiplication effect they create as they in turn mentor and release others. That’s our role in advancing the kingdom of God.

  Leaders in India Know the Secret . . . and Here Too?

  I vividly remember the day I looked at my schedule and saw an appointment with a guy named Sam Stephens. I asked my assistant, Pat, why I had this meeting and who this guy was.

  “I thought you knew him,” she said. “All I know is that he is from India.”

  I went into the meeting wondering if this would be a waste of my time. I greeted the man, extended my hand, and asked him to tell me his story. Sam started back in the 1950s, with a story about his father. Sam’s father had started a mission to plant churches in India, and by 1992 they had experienced some growth. They now had two hundred churches, and all could be traced to that first church started by Sam’s dad in the ’50s.

  Wow, I thought. Two hundred churches! Sam had my attention now.

  Sam wasn’t comfortable talking about his own work; he’s very humble. So I had to drag the details out of him. He told me that in 1992, he had taken over the mission, and he made a simple but strategic shift in the way they did things. He began to insist that every church planter not only plant a church but also have an apprentice church planter. This was someone who would come alongside the planter and learn firsthand how to plant a church, so the reproduction would continue year after year.

  Now I was really curious. “How is that going?”

  Without much expression, Sam replied, “Well, we now have seventy thousand churches.”

  At that point, I was glad that I was sitting down. I was beginning to realize that this was an incredible story. I asked Sam, “How many people does that represent?” And again his reply took my breath away.

  “I think about 3.5 million,” he said. Then he added, “But we are praying for one hundred thousand churches and 5 million people!”

  At that, I began to wonder: how did this kind of exponential multiplication happen?

  In talking further with Sam, I learned that he had discovered the secret. That simple shift he had made back in 1992 had transformed the results of their church-planting efforts. Sam had discovered that there were people and leaders all over India who had gifts, and he found that if he could empower them, encourage them, and make them successful, then Jesus’ mission would be accomplished at a completely different level of productivity. Sam mentored leaders who in turn mentored other leaders who in turn did the same for many others. In addition to being Spirit-led and missional, what they were doing involved reproducing and multiplying through apprenticeship.

  What Isiah Thomas had revealed to Bill Simmons, Sam Stephens had just shared with me.

  In my office that day, Sam looked at me and said, “Dave, do you want to know the secret to what Jesus wants for planet Earth? It’s not about your personal stat line, Dave. It’s not just about growing your church. It’s about the kingdom, and by learning how to make heroes of others, look at what God can do through you!”

  It’s not about your personal stat line. It’s not just about growing your church. It’s about the kingdom.

  —SAM STEPHENS

  Volunteer Leaders Know the Secret Too

  Since that day, I’ve come to see firsthand that you don’t have to be a pastor, global missionary, or church leader to be a hero maker and a kingdom multiplier. Michelle Bird, the wife of my coauthor, Warren, plays in neighborhood tennis leagues. Michelle was increasingly burdened to start a small group with her friends in the tennis league to better introduce them to Jesus, so after praying about it, she invited a friend from church to be her apprentice, to help her lead the group.

  “I’ll help you out, but I’m not a leader,” Michelle’s friend Hannah replied.

  “I hear you, but would you be willing to talk by phone each week to pray, debrief the last meeting, and help me plan the next one?” Michelle countered.

  “Sure, as long as you know I don’t want to be a leader,” Hannah said.

  Every week, Michelle had Hannah do something different: greeting people at the door, leading the opening prayer, or asking the first discussion question. Hannah would agree to do it, but she would always remind Michelle, “I’m not going to be a leader.”

  The women in the group loved their time together, and they asked to keep the group going and do another study. Michelle once again asked Hannah if she would be the apprentice leader. And again Hannah declined, but she said she was willing to help.

  Two groups later, Hannah finally agreed to lead, shifting the location to her neighborhood, and to invite some of her friends as well. “I guess I can do this.” Hannah recruited her friends and led the group, now with Michelle assisting. And in the next group, Hannah led with an apprentice leader she had recruited. Michelle would join them for planning and prayer, now playing the role
of supporter and coach.

  Two more groups later, Hannah’s apprentice is now leading another group, and Hannah is cheering her on. Across the years as groups have met, several women have found their way back to God and are being discipled. Michelle, seeing that it’s not easy for Hannah’s apprentice to reproduce herself, is constantly asking, “How’s it going with developing your own apprentice?” The net result: the number of trained kingdom workers is being multiplied.

  This is what we mean by hero making, and you don’t need a pastor or church staff in the mix to make it work.

  Share the Secret

  Some secrets are meant to be kept quiet. But this secret isn’t the kind you keep to yourself.

  I remember one Christmas season when my kids were all younger and I took them Christmas shopping to buy gifts for my wife, Sue. After looking in several stores, they each found something for her. Our youngest, Caleb, was three years old at the time, and he had picked out a nice pair of winter gloves for his mom. As we got into the car to drive home, I said to him, “Now, Caleb, these gloves are a secret.” I probably should have explained to him what a secret is. When we walked into the house, my wife teasingly asked the kids, “Did you get me any Christmas gifts?” Quite excited, Caleb chimed right in. “Yes, I got you gloves . . . and they are a secret!”

  While I generally encourage you to keep your word and not share secrets, in this case I want you to be like Caleb. This is a secret that is meant to be shared! In fact, that’s my motive in writing this book: to share in-depth details that reveal Jesus’ leadership secrets to you, so you’ll share those secrets with others, who share the secrets, and so on.

  Those who understand and live out Jesus’ secret today—people who get the link between “kingdom” and “team”—are those who play for the team name on the front of their basketball jersey and not for their individual name on the back of it. Throughout this book, I’ll keep coming back to this idea. We want to understand how Jesus worked with a handful of followers to start a kingdom movement.

  My hope is that Hero Maker will help you redefine your success as a leader, shifting your focus from your personal accomplishments to the accomplishments of those you are raising up and multiplying. We want this book to help church leaders—and leaders in other areas as well—rethink how they measure success. We need to change the scoreboard, the way we tally the points that determine whether we are winning or losing the game. Then we will begin to see our personal success through a kingdom perspective versus seeing the kingdom through the lens of our own efforts. Our priority will shift as well, from making disciples and planting churches to making disciples who make disciples and planting churches that plant churches. That is what we mean by hero making!

  The key to becoming a leader who multiplies great leaders is having a kingdom mindset. This means helping people identify their unique calling and then releasing them to pour into others. In doing this, you grow as well, both personally and as a leader. You begin to exponentially increase your impact, even as you focus your efforts and attention on investing in others. You become a hero maker.

  When you invest in helping as many people as possible identify their unique calling and release them to pour into others, you exponentially increase your impact.

  The work of hero making can happen at any scale and in any context. Suppose your God-given capacity is to lead a small group of ten. Great! What would happen if your primary goal was not simply to be the best small group leader but to do your best to make sure someone else was an even better leader? What if that person in turn invested their gifts and energy into someone else? When we make heroes of others, the potential for eternal impact grows beyond our limited abilities and efforts.

  But let’s take it one step farther. Now let’s imagine that this is happening in every role in the church, from the lead pastor to every staff member to every volunteer ministry leader. And what if this kingdom mindset of investing in others spilled out beyond the church to every community and business leader? You’d have a multiplication movement in the making. Hero making is the foundation of every movement because it is a force multiplier. It takes whatever work we do as individuals and multiplies it over and over again.

  I believe that as you read and prayerfully apply the insights and teaching in this book, drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit, and believing that Jesus wants to do “greater things” (John 14:12) through you, a new normal will begin to arise in your heart and mind. You’ll see how God has called and equipped you to make and multiply disciple makers of Jesus Christ for his purposes and for his kingdom. What could be more important than that?

  Hero making is a force multiplier.

  If you want to better understand the secret of how Jesus’ kingdom was designed to multiply, or to gain more skill and confidence in putting his leadership secret to work, turn the page. Not only will this secret change your own leadership and your church, but it also has the potential to change the world—literally!

  Hero Maker Discussion Questions

  OPEN

  • Tell about a time when you were part of a special team (sports, arts, friends, or work). What made it special?

  • What’s an “aha!” moment you’ve had in ministry or leadership, when you discovered the secret to something?

  DIG

  • Read John 14:12, which is about doing greater things. Prior to reading this chapter, what did you think Jesus meant when he said his followers would do greater things than he himself had done?

  • If Jesus is our role model, and he told his followers they would do greater things, how would you apply this to your ministry and leadership?

  REFLECT

  • Judging by what you’ve read so far, what do you look forward to in this book? What, if anything, makes you uncomfortable?

  CHAPTER 2

  The Wrong Questions

  Big Idea: Hero makers know that if we focus only on addition, we never get to multiplication.

  I’ve never been shy about asking for advice. In fact, I’ve put a lot of energy into finding ways to get time with big-dream, high-achievement people who might offer me wisdom. To meet personally with them, I’ve offered to do everything from hosting their events to treating them to a great restaurant to driving them to and from the airport.

  One time I got to pick up Bill Hybels from the airport. He’s the founding pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, one of the most influential churches in America. He has been a pioneer in outreach and growth and is a bestselling author of more than twenty books. He’s also chaired the board of the Willow Creek Association, a fellowship of more than twelve thousand like-minded churches across roughly fifty countries.

  I asked one of our team members to drive the van so I could give full attention to my conversation with Bill. I had a pad of paper with far too many questions for the short time I’d have with him. Throughout our hour together, I rapid-fired questions, and with machine-gun quickness he shot back brilliant answers.

  I remember the occasion for several reasons: first, because it was Bill, one of the more impressive leaders I’ve ever been around; second, because of the insightful answers he gave; and third, because on a later occasion he paid me a compliment, telling me great leaders ask questions, and commended me for bringing a list of them to the airport and wanting to grow as a leader (even though later I discovered that I could have brought much better questions!).

  Even more important, his answers have provided helpful guidance as I lead Community Christian Church and NewThing, our church-planting organization, into new territory. In responding to what I asked him, he mentored me well.

  Unfortunately, today I look back at that interview with regret. It was a lost opportunity because I asked the wrong questions. I asked questions that focused only on my leadership and my church: “How do I grow a church?” and “How do I develop myself as a leader?” My questions were all about making my current model better or bigger. I didn’t realize at the time that my questions would not lead to
a new level, a higher perspective that could alter the status quo by changing how I was leading and doing church.

  The questions I asked Bill were the same familiar questions that a generation of church leaders have asked over and over again. And for the last fifty years, the answers to those questions have led to practices that focus on simply growing our churches and developing ourselves rather than reproducing churches and multiplying leaders. You might say they are good questions, but not great ones. These are not hero-making questions but rather questions that make us the hero, whether or not we intend that to happen.

  I asked the wrong questions, not hero-making questions but rather questions about how I could be the hero.

  We need to think critically about the questions we are asking. Reminds me of a story about two men leaving church after hearing a sermon on prayer. Joe says, “I wonder if it would be all right to smoke while praying.” George replies, “Why don’t you ask the pastor?” So he does: “Reverend, may I smoke while I pray?” The pastor replies, “No sir, you may not! That’s very disrespectful toward our faith.” Joe reports the news to his friend. George says, “I’m not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try.” So George asks the pastor, “Rev, may I pray while I smoke?” To which the pastor eagerly replies, “By all means, my son. You can always pray whenever you want to.” Think about the questions you are asking. The right questions make a difference!

  I remember church growth consultant Carl George telling me, “When you are really onto something, it will lead to questions that are more and more profound.” When Community Christian first stumbled onto becoming a two-site church, several years ago, we knew we were onto something unique. After becoming a multisite church, we started asking, “How could we multiply to ten locations or more?” And as we approached ten locations, we began to ask a more profound question: “How could God use us to multiply networks of reproducing churches around the world?”