Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird, Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018. 267 pages.
This book is great for church leaders and church planters. It focuses on how to become disciple multipliers who expand God’s kingdom. Author Dave Ferguson is the senior pastor of Community Christian Church in the Chicago area; CEO of NewThing, a church planting organization; and the president of the Exponential Conference, the largest church-planting conference in the world. Co-author Warren Bird is the research director for the Leadership Network. The website for this book is HeroMakerBook.com, which houses various resources.
The authors begin by declaring that “Everyone wants to be a hero. Yet only a few understand the power in being a hero maker” (15). They note that currently only 4% of churches in North America are reproducing and multiplying. They believe the “tipping point” for North America would be 10% (18). The growing attendance at the Exponential Conference each year suggests that a movement is brewing.
The book lays out five Essential Practices of Hero Makers:
- Multiplication thinking
- Permission giving
- Disciple multiplying
- Gift activating
- Kingdom building (18-19).
The authors argue that most churches have merely tried to grow their attendance.
They note there are five types of churches with multiplication capacity (39). In the first category are those churches that are declining. The second category includes churches that are plateaued. They note that roughly 80% of North American churches fall into these first two categories. The third category is comprised of churches that are growing in numbers. The fourth category is made up of congregations that are planting other churches. The fifth category contains churches that are planting multiple churches that are then planting other churches themselves.
One of this book’s strengths is the stories it includes of various pastors and church leaders who followed through with a large vision and have seen hundreds, or even thousands of churches planted as a result. These stories unfolded in places such as Africa and India, but also in the United States. They are inspirational, especially because they are diverse. They should inspire other churches not to be satisfied with just “holding on” or merely growing their attendance.
The authors suggest that “Every true movement of the Jesus mission begins with a heart change in the leader and that happens as we learn to take the spotlight off of ourselves” (28). They note, “. . . If we focus only on addition, we never get to multiplication” (37). The authors encourage readers to ask the “right” questions. Don’t ask, “How can I grow my church?” Instead, ask, “How can we multiply God’s kingdom?” (45).
As a teacher of leadership, I firmly believe the key to national transformation is not merely for churches to add a few members to their rolls but to unleash a movement of God across the land. Leading movements is different than leading churches. Movements require multiple leaders, not just one. The key to multiplication growth is multiplying leaders. This book focuses on multiplying and empowering leaders, which I believe is key. But at times, it leans too heavily on people’s efforts rather than on God’s.
For example, the authors suggest, “Take your current dream for your church and multiply it by a million” (46). While I agree that many leaders’ dreams are too small, it is foolish to determine the size of your dream on your own. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that we can’t dream as big as God can (even when we multiply our dreams by a million!). I suggest that leaders hold their puny dreams up before God and allow him to expand them according to his perspective.
The authors also suggest, “Pray big! What would you like to see happen through your leadership?” (51). Again, your largest prayers are not when you are speaking, but when you are listening to God.
The authors suggest that “Hero Makers create a platform and then invite other people to stand on it” (67). This principle is clear from the stories the book tells. Leaders must create a culture in which other leaders can thrive. Not just any kind of leadership can accomplish this goal.
The authors note that leaders typically ask this question: “How can I attract, train, and deploy church planters?” They should ask this instead: “How can I create systems that reproduce networks and attract, train, and deploy apostolic leaders?” (82).
The authors discuss “permission giving.” I believe this aspect is important when developing leaders, but I disliked the way they used Jesus as a model. The book claims that Jesus, in essence, said to his disciples during the Great Commission, “Now I am giving it all to you. Go out there and get the mission accomplished!” (97). Jesus didn’t do that! He never told his disciples to figure it out on their own. He never gave away any of his authority. He guided them in their mission. Jesus retained all of his authority. The disciples were his servants, which is why they still called him “Lord.” The authors ask, “Could anyone hope for a more permission giving leader?” (98). The analogy breaks down here. Earthly leaders can give away authority, but God doesn’t. God enables and empowers leaders to do far more than they realized they could accomplish. But he doesn’t relinquish any of his prerogative.
The authors identify how disciple multipliers work:
- Disciple multipliers start with a few, not the many (Mark 3:13-14)
- Disciple multipliers prioritize relationships, not curriculum (Mark 3:14)
- Disciple multipliers focus on sending capacity over seating capacity (Mark 3:14-15)
- Disciple multipliers hand off authority rather than hold on to it (Mark 3:15). (116).
The authors note that “Inevitably, the hardest and last area of a church to
reproduce and multiply is the worship arts” (121). One reason is the tension between “excellence” and multiplication. They note, “When you focus on excellence, you trust only a few talented artists, and you never multiply or develop anyone else” (122).
They offer a five-fold apprenticeship model:
- I do. You watch. We talk.
- I do. You help. We talk.
- You do. I help. We talk.
- You do. I watch. We talk.
- You do. Someone else watches.
The authors also discuss “gift activation.” Their perspective is that gift activation occurs when churches or senior leaders commission people to serve in their giftedness.
Interestingly, in one of the amazing stories shared of someone who developed an international ministry, the person cites Experiencing God as a major influence (150).
The key for church leaders, according to the authors, is to focus on kingdom expansion rather than on church growth (165). The authors are seeking a church-planting movement (168). For this movement to take place, the 80% of churches that are plateaued or declining must re-evaluate their focus and change the questions they are asking. Furthermore, the number of churches that are growing and multiplying needs to increase from 4% to 10% of today’s churches. The task is daunting, but the stories in this book will make the reader feel hopeful.
The key to successful leadership is to develop other leaders. Even the most brilliant leader has a limited capacity. However, there is no limit to what can be accomplished if a leader focuses on creating other leaders, who in turn develop more leaders. Some of the book’s biblical basis seems strained, but the message itself is solid. Anyone who longs for the church to accomplish far more for God’s kingdom will find this book challenging and inspiring. I encourage you to read it.
Rating: 3
