And Then There Was One (A Leadership Parable)

Once upon a time there was ONE leader who simply wanted to make a difference in the world. He had no illusion that he could do it alone and wanted to build a team. Guided by biblical principles he practiced biblical discipleship as he ministered to men.

He frequently experienced failure and frustration discovering not everyone was willing to “count the cost and pay the price.” Reproducing Reproducers like 2 Timothy 2:2 admonishes is not for the faint of heart. He also realized it was going to take an extra-ordinary commitment on his part not to settle for the status quo.

Then one day it happened. A young man caught the vision and ONE became TWO. When someone grasps the truth of living by biblical principles and practicing biblical discipleship it cannot be contained: it must be shared. So the new young disciple began his own process of building principle-centered disciples.

In the meantime, the ONE leader had found another young potential leader and repeated the process, so now there were THREE on the team. Then he found another and there were FOUR. Each one of these team members were committed to making a difference so they too built principle-centered disciples.

Remember the leader’s original burden was to make a difference and to reach the world. So as time passed, one by one the team members were thrust into global places of service.

Once again there was ONE leader who simply wanted to make a difference in the world.…So the ONE started over… because Reproducing Reproducers was not just a good idea. It was a Life Purpose!