Does leadership lead to discipleship?

It’s a question we must ask: Do all the leadership structures, flow charts and organization of our ministries result in more or better discipleship?

Jesus made it pretty clear—the great commission, the statement all of our mission statements are based on, says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

I’m a big believer in leadership…I’ve got a Masters degree in it. I’m sure I’ve read more about leadership than most people. And I’ve been leading ministries, events, youth groups, and churches for all of my adult life. Oh, and I’ve also taught leadership development and organizational health to other leaders. And I’m very familiar with all-night benders where I’m geeking out on adjusting my organizational leadership structure. In other words, I know what it is to be on the elusive search for the perfect organizational design.

But…

What…

Does…

It…

Matter?

I think a lot of us (myself included at times) have bought into the idea that leadership development or organizational design is the answer to the needs of the Kingdom. But it’s not. Discipleship is the need; discipleship is our call. The church doesn’t exist to make more leaders, it lives to make more disciples. Period. Leadership might be an important part of disciple making in a church structure, but if all our leadership ideas and organizational maps don’t legitimately contribute to cultivating disciples, it may just be time to burn our handbooks and get back to basics.

So ask yourself and your church this question: Are our leadership development efforts and ministry structures all about producing more and maturing disciples? If not, you may have some work getting back to Jesus’ original intent for the church.