“It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me” (John 6:45 NIV).
“As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people'” (2 Corinthians 6:16 NIV).
Four ways I am learning to help people to learn from God.
1. Discovery Groups and Disciple Making Movements – helps create environments where people can discover how God reveals Himself through His Word.
2. Immanuel Prayer – helps people personally discover Jesus. Since Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us, where was He during those good and bad times in our lives?
3. Centering Prayer / Spiritual Formation – helps people learn to slow down and to spend personal, intimate time with God. God is polite. He waits until we have time for Him.
4. Coaching – helps people to gain traction with what they feel God is saying to them. When people act on what they feel God is calling them to do, they are more committed to producing the desired results.
I have also discovered the value of two related principles.
5. Lead through relationship, friendship, and influence more than positional authority.
6. Give as much authority as possible to the people who will have to live with the decisions. Organizations have similarities to people. For example, organizations have personalities, and they have cultures. These group personalities and cultures may change when just one person joins or leaves, or when something in the local community changes. It is important that groups learn to hear from God for themselves, and to take ownership of the results of their choices. “Organizational change without ownership is treacherous” (Clinton, R., 2012, A Ministry Philosophy, para. 7). Giving groups as much freedom as possible helps them to work hard to produce desired results.
We are starting church-planting movements, or disciple-making movements. As people and groups gain an inner certainty that they are connected to God Himself, this is incredibly motivating.
Clinton, R., 2012, The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development. NavPress. Kindle Edition.
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