From Josh Dix

Person, Performance, and Context

Give full attention to the person (who they are), their performance (what they do), and the context (the where, when, and possible why).

Assess, Equip, Refine

For a couple years now, I’ve been using this framework for development plans.

The assessment is an objective look at the standards of the job.

• Where are we trying to go?
• What is expected of the individual?
• Do they meet those standards?
• Whether they do or do not meet the standards, what are our goals for this individual and what are the obstacles we will need to address to get him/her there?

Having a conversation with someone about these goals and obstacles can be a huge win.
Equipping the individual is taking the assessment past mere evaluation and into practice.  It’s using feedback and coaching to help someone.  It’s providing resources that increase knowledge and understanding. It’s giving opportunities to experience new kinds of assignments and tasks that will create disequilibrium and application for the coaching and resources.  Keeping it simple is the best option.

Refining is simply revisiting your assessments, your goals, and measuring the progress toward those goals.  At its essence, refining is giving the process a chance to change.  It’s evaluating your own assessment again.

Remember that evaluating someone begins with creating the standards you want to perpetuate in your organization.  If you don’t have clear standards for those you’re evaluating, they will likely flounder in underperformance or create their own standards that may or may not jive with where you want to go.

This article from Brian Croft is especially applicable to me as our family will be expanding very soon.

(A friend) shepherded his seven children by taking one morning a week to meet individually with each of his children.  Seven days in a week–each of the seven children got one morning each week with their dad.  They prayed, read scripture, talked, and read a book of that child’s choosing.  Inspired by his amazing example, I came home and established a similar model in our home that I remain faithful to this day.  Here is what I do to individually shepherd my four children regularly in addition to our regular time of family worship, as well as implications attached to it:

1)  Monday through Thursday each child gets a day and on his or her appointed day stays up 30 – 45 minutes later than their siblings to meet with me before bedtime.  I thought they would be excited about it for a few times, but then grow bored with it.  Not so.  Years later, they look forward to that time more than anything, which provides a natural accountability when you are tired from the day and are tempted to skip for that evening.

2)  We read the passage I am preaching for that week, discuss it a bit, then we read a chapter from a book they have chosen to read.  At the end, I take time to ask them how they are doing and how I can pray for them.  This is a great way to see how they are really doing and teach them what are good things to be praying for others.  Then, I pray for them and take them to bed.

3)  One of the greatest joys to my wife is her watching my effort with our children and lead our family in this way.  The last thing she feels is left out (just in case you were thinking that).  Our wives’ desire for us to make regular, deliberate, spiritually meaningful efforts to care for our children will mean more to her than I think we realize or understand.  I find this especially true for our wives who are stay at home moms who labor hard in this task of shepherding their little hearts all day with little break.

4)  My efforts with my children have put me in a position to challenge other men in my church to do something similar.  It has been amazing the way our fathers in our church have embraced this and the way it has empowered many of them to see they can spiritually lead their families with deliberate efforts.  Fellow pastors, the obvious needs to be acknowledged that you cannot challenge the men in your church to do anything you are not making a faithful effort at.  Regularly and individually shepherding your children’s hearts is certainly one of those efforts that we must model for the men in our local church.  Their failure to do it could be a reflection of your failure to model it.

Great thoughts from Josh Dix on developing leaders. I’ve included some highlights

What I see from Jesus

• is that leadership is not about getting more followers. The essence of discipleship is to produce more leaders.
• Jesus has a vision for what someone can become when they know him and discipleship is his leadership development tool.

Who did Jesus disciple?

• People who needed to know the one and true God.
• those who need an up close look at the ministry of Jesus because they are the future leaders of the church

Leadership development at the Journey

The process of growing your character, knowledge, and skills in the fruit of the Spirit for the purpose of leading the church.

What your best leadership development tool?

It’s you

• With God’s word in your heart and mind
• Doing the work of a missional church through discipling others.

Developing a leadership development play with:

• a name written down of someone who you can see God using for his glory and his mission.
• identify areas they can grow in their character,
• identify things they need to know to grow into maturity as a man and a Christian,
• identify ideas for how you can share the work of ministry with them to grow their leadership skills. 

Remember how Jesus thinks about leadership:

• It’s not about gaining followers, it’s about discipling more leaders.
• It’s dreaming of what people can become when they know him.
• It’s being kingdom minded…on a mission.  “Go.”
• It’s sharing the hard work of ministry.
• Helping others grow in your knowledge and heart as they work under the control of the Holy Spirit.

From Brian Croft

• The Unchanging character of God
• The hope of the gospel – “Don’t preach the deceased into heaven, don’t preach them into hell, just preach the gospel for the people who are there.”
• A call to respond to the gospel
• Instruct those present how to grieve