Discipleship is becoming like Jesus. Our Lord said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). He invited people to be with him so they could become like him (follow me). And he called people to a new ministry (fishers of men). In other words, the call of Christ is to become like him in character and calling.
The combination of these two factors determines your impact. And they don’t just add, they multiply. If your character is a 3 and your effectiveness in ministry is a 7, your impact will be a 21. Grow your character to a 5 and your impact will increase to 35. And, of course, if a leader’s character is negative, his impact will end up being negative no matter how gifted that leader is.
Download this simple worksheet to guide your growth as a follower of Jesus this month. Jot down one of the fruit of the Spirit (character) the Lord is leading you to grow in: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). On the other side, write down one gift of the Spirit you could exercise more fully right now.
Notice how character and calling line up with our baseball diamond discipleship pathway!
As you begin running with Jesus in the game of discipleship you come to first base (love God) and second (grow in Christ). That is the character side of the Christian life and it will always propel you into ministry. Third base involves serving the church and home plate is the call to reach the world – which are the calling side. And the beauty of the baseball analogy is that we never stop playing the game; we never stop running the bases. Rather, as we grow up in the Lord, we become coaches who help others get in the game with us and start growing in their character and calling!
We spent the fall of 2022 discovering our calling. In December we will shift into a thirteen week series on character. For the four Sundays of Advent we will begin by reflecting on the love, hope, joy and peace of Jesus. Then we will continue studying the 13 Perfections of Jesus: his patience, self-control, faithfulness, wisdom, goodness, gentleness, kindness, zeal and humility.
As we follow Jesus let’s strive to become like him in his life (character) and ministry (calling). That is the equation to maximize your impact!