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| Credit: Creative Commons (Richard Mayou) |
"For us, apprenticing is selecting, modeling, and coaching for the purpose of replacing yourself."
It's a simple idea, right? At first glance, it might seem strange, and you might even be asking, "Well, if I replace myself and get someone else to do my job better than I do, then what will I do?" The idea is that as leaders, our job is to actually lead people, which means developing them, equipping, them, encouraging them, and delighting in their growth, even when they surpass us in a certain area. As I listened to the podcast, I realized that every pastor, every ministry leader I've ever worked with who I really respected did this. As leaders, they were so invested in the people they led and the church or organization they were a part of that they didn't have to be the best at everything; they just wanted to see the people and the organization succeed.
And the irony of this kind of leadership is that when a good leader apprentices someone to do their "job" or some part of it better than they do, they don't work themselves out of a job. Instead, they are freed up to do more or different things, and actually become more effective as a leader.
But there was one thing I couldn't wrap my mind around: I could see how the "power of apprenticing" could be really great in a work setting where people work together in a particular setting 40 hours a week. If there were five paid staff members reporting to me (and their aren't), it seems almost natural that I could help those people develop to a point where they do what I do much better than I ever did. But how does this work in a youth ministry where my job is to lead a team of volunteers? Most volunteers have other full-time responsibilities like school, work, and families. If they only have a few hours a week to give, how could I teach them to replace me?
After thinking about it, I realized that apprenticing could work really well with volunteers. In fact, other than the time commitment of volunteers, there isn't a whole lot of difference between apprenticing a full-time staff member and a few-hour a week volunteer. I've been working at implementing this idea in my own team, and here are a few ways to make apprenticing work:
Don't apprentice everyone. Remember, apprenticing is selective. If you try to apprentice everyone, you'll end up burned out. Just start with one key volunteer that you feel God might be leading you to coach. Jesus didn't spend the same amount of time with everyone, and you don't have to either.
Think of one area of responsibility you could teach someone to do better than you. Remember, you're apprenticing a volunteer with just a few hours a week to give. So, just focus on one way you could help that person replace you. We have two small group "coaches" who help oversee our small group ministry. They stay in contact with our small group leaders, encourage them, and remind them to attend meetings. Over the next year, I plan to help them do more of the things I would normally do, such as leading our small group trainings.
Be willing to let go of control (and attention). Andy Stanley says about apprenticing, "We want them to be able to do what you do, and we want them to do it better than you do." That requires a release of control. The reason many leaders aren't willing to apprentice and invest in up and coming leaders is because they aren't willing to relinquish the spotlight.
Apprenticing isn't the same as just delegating. This is a key distinction. You're not just passing off tasks for someone to do so you don't have to. You want to help someone do what you do better than you, and that takes time. Don't just ask someone to do a task for you; coach them, mentor them, and help them develop as a leader.
Don't be afraid to let someone learn from their mistakes. Perhaps the hardest part of apprenticing someone to do what you do better than you is that at first, they won't be better than you. If you're apprenticing a leader to teach for you once or twice a month, you might sit through some painful talks or lessons. If you're teaching someone to oversee a retreat, you might go through a retreat or two where things are organized quite as tightly as you're used to. That's okay. You had to learn, too, so have some grace as you teach others.
Look for areas where you can grow. As you apprentice others to replace you, eventually you'll be freed up to take on other responsibilities or initiatives. The goal isn't for you to have less to do; the goal is for you and the people you lead to be able to have more of an impact for the sake of Jesus, and that means you'll be learning new things, too.
QUESTION: Do you think apprenticing could work in your context with your volunteers? What about with students?
