My thirteen-year-old daughter beat me in a game of H.O.R.S.E. tonight. As a parent, I’m okay with this. Parents want to see their children grow, change, and surpass them. Parenting is about planned role changes.
And while we are comfortable with such development, change, and shifting roles in the home, we struggle with these matters in the Kingdom. We are troubled with the thought of passing the baton. We fear working ourselves out of a job and into a new one. We fail to equip others to do the work of the ministry (Eph 4:11-12). We think if such matters occur, then we will dissolve. And as I’ve shared with you before, evolution, not dissolution, is a good way forward.
Leaders can learn something from the principles of parenting when it comes to raising up leaders. The next time we fear planned role changes so others may be empowered and released for disciple making, let’s take this anxiety to the Lord (Phil 4:6). And after that, let’s imagine how pleased we would be if our 30 year old child were living in our basement and playing video games all day while we functioned as if he were 10.
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