Some Will Follow, Some Will Go

8 posted on September 8, 2010

POSTED IN: Blog Posts, Church Planting, Leadership

A speaker at a church I visited recently read a passage from Luke during his message. I’ve read these verses dozens of times but for some reason something stood out to me that never had before. Immediately after calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples, Jesus heals a man possessed by demons from birth. After the miracle, Jesus prepare to cross back over by boat and we read this:

“So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. The man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too, but Jesus said, “No, go back to your family and tell them all the wonderful things God has done for you.” So he went all through the city telling about the great thing Jesus had done for him.” Luke 8:37-39

With each of the 12 disciples, he told them, “follow me” and yet this man who had been healed by Jesus and begged to go with him was sent away. As a casual reader we look at this story and understand why Jesus did this. He wanted the story of the gospel spread far and wide and realized that this man was better suited to be an evangelist than a disciple.

But put yourself in Jesus’ shoes sandals for minute. Just a few verses earlier his disciples – who had seen Jesus perform many miracles and had been personally mentored under his leadership – completely freaked out in the middle of a storm. You can hear the exasperation in Jesus’ voice when he asks them, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25).

So here is this man who owes his life to Jesus and is begging him to follow him and become his disciple. Let’s say that you’re Jesus – you’ve been kicked out of towns, viewed by large crowds as a mere source of entertainment and miracles and even your own disciples haven’t figured you out yet – why the heck wouldn’t you want to attract some new disciples? Maybe this guy, after having experienced Christ’s healing power first-hand, will be able to show a little more faith and backbone than the 12 guys quivering in the bottom of the boat.

And yet Jesus sent him away.

As leaders, we have to remember that sometimes God will send us followers to help us in our journey. But sometimes, He will send us people – maybe even very talented and qualified people – that we will have to send out into their own ministry. That can be a painful decision, especially when good leaders are in short supply.

It’s all about building and growing God’s kingdom, not our own. Some will follow us, others will be sent out to attract followers of their own.

When God sends you an amazing leader that you have to send away, can you do it?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 9:44 am and is filed under Blog Posts, Church Planting, Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

12 Comments

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September 8, 2010

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1 Bill (cycleguy) said:

One of the most painful things I have had to do is to let leaders leave, no matter the reason. Moving. Moving on. Job. Disagreement. New ministry digs. No matter it is hard. I am not sure I have that conquered yet. Wonder if I ever will.
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September 8, 2010

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2 Matt @ The Church of No People said:

Another painful thing is knowing when it is you that should be leaving the place you want to be because God is pushing you out. Great reminder that we can’t hold on too tight to the people we value, because God values them more.
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September 8, 2010

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3 Brad Ruggles said:

Great point Matt. That’s a good quote too – “we can’t hold on too tight to the people we value, because God values them more.” Well said.
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September 8, 2010

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4 mike said:

Matt – that’s where I’ve been at. God leading me (sometimes feels like pushing me) to leave the church I helped plant 5 years ago. Never thought I would leave this place. But I believe that God is telling me He has more ways He wants to use me, and I need to be obedient to step out. In that process.

Brad- thanks for your post. Great thoughts.
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September 8, 2010

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5 tom hinton said:

Great thoughts guys. Mike, follow your lead. It could be you are being asked to do something else. Knowing who is amongst is huge. Better to know well to give spiritual direction than to be surprised some day. I personally believe that releasing people is painful, initially. But the end, the Kingdom is expanded. And amazingly, in the tapestry of God’s chess game, He moves one out only to place another. We have to listen well, be obedient to the Holy Spirit.
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September 8, 2010

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6 Nathan said:

Great post Brad – thanks for sharing. I’d never looked at that passage in that light before.
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September 9, 2010

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7 Nick said:

Great thoughts!

We’ve been tested with this in our first year. I know its tough in the early days of a church, I wonder if that ever changes for some places as they get larger. Do people just become numbers?

I know the smaller you are the closer relationships that develop and the more each person’s role is vital. It’s not like you have too many people to pick up the pieces when someone leaves. I am proud of our team for staying strong in letting people leave. We’ve seen people move on for both good reasons and some stupid childish reasons, we equally have to let them go. But, each time God sends someone away, its been awesome to watch him send new people our way.

I was proud to hear my worship leader sharing with one guy the names of 6 other churches he may feel more comfortable at, since he had problems with the way we did church. We teach “Kingdom mindedness” a lot, and it was cool to see him living it out. We love the guy he was talking to and want him to flourish and if it is not at our church, it can be at another.
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September 9, 2010

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8 Brad Ruggles said:

Yeah, I think it’s always harder when you’re smaller. But that’s cool that you’re able to keep bringing it back to building God’s Kingdom and not your own church. That’s what it’s all about.

I’m praying for you and New Passion. God will continue to use a humble and willing heart like yours.
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September 9, 2010

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9 Darrell said:

This is a good message. We have to understand that it is about building and advancing the kingdom of God, not of advance {insert church or ministry name here}.

Just my thought.

Thanks for this article.
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September 12, 2010

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10 se7en | religion sucketh said:

[...] and volunteers – Systems Are Environments.Brad Ruggles with a great reminder that sometimes, you need to let good people leave so they can reach more people.Many western Christians approach leaving a church the same way they approach leaving a fashion [...]
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September 14, 2010

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11 David, justopenthebook.com said:

It’s all about humility, isn’t it? If we are truly humble before God, we must come to understand that everything in this life is temporary. It’s a shift of mindset from self to God oriented. Really, what could be more exciting than knowing someone close to you is someone God values enough to use them in a new and different way?
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September 6, 2011

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12 Jason P. said:

Thank you so much for sharing, I am very active on religious activities and it really made me a better person