In the last couple of blogs, I focused on succession and legacy. I write this from my hotel room in Toluca, Mexico, as I continue to prepare for a men’s congress here this weekend. My purpose in that congress is to convey much of what I have shared in the blogs over the last several days.
Succession was the focal point of our 2010 National Conference for the International Coalition of Apostles. I was greatly moved during this ten-year anniversary, as I watched C. Peter Wagner pass the mantle to my Apostle, John P. Kelly. For those who do not know, the ICA was birthed by Apostle Kelly e decade ago. In its inception, Apostle Kelly felt led to call upon Dr. Wagner to be the president of the organization. Dr. Wagner’s leadership and labor of love have been a great blessing and an inspiration to us all.
Within the apostolic movement, one major concern has continued to present itself. That concern is the process of succession. Hence; the reason for it becoming the topic of this year’s conference. There have been great moves of God throughout the years – many within the United States. Some were large, others were compartmentalized. Most were very effective in reaching others with the gospel of Christ and His Kingdom…and most died the same death. Somehow, in the process of fulfilling the plan and purpose God placed within the leaders of the movement, the element of succession was missing. No one was raised up to carry the movement to the next level or to the next generation. The seed scatters and the benefits of the movement may influence others for a season, but as a whole, it loses a lot of its effectiveness. A city is taken, transformed, put on the map spiritually, only to become an entry in the history book and a ghost town.
In studying God’s word, I do not believe that the plan of God is that man labors for a time, takes dominion of an area, dies and allows that area to be retaken by the enemy. I believe that God called us to establish a stand, take the ground to which we are called and develop those who will labor to continue it and to make it grow and flourish. Repeatedly, the words, “This shall be to you and to your children, and to your children’s children…to the third and fourth generation” appear in God’s plan. This is why it is so important to understand not only the role you play in God’s kingdom, but the role your spiritual and natural offspring are to play. My father graciously fought against nepotism in our family and ministry. Nepotism is one of the greatest dangers to the church, and really to leadership as a whole. Businesses die because nepotism placed a son or a daughter into a position for which they were neither called nor qualified, simply because of their name.
My father recognized early on that my walk, my gifts, my leadership philosophy and even my personality were vastly different from his. He knew that if he tried to make me walk “his line”, I would self-destruct, or worse, destroy others in my wake. He challenged me early on by acknowledging our differences and even celebrating them. However, he also took great care to make certain that woven into my spiritual and mental DNA were the tools necessary to feed the development of my love and passion for God and for God’s kingdom. In this manner, he helped to solidify that whatever I did; I would continue the work of the Kingdom within my own life. This is a cornerstone for succession. Then he did the unthinkable to the natural mind. He encouraged me to embrace Apostle Kelly as my spiritual covering because I was to reach for things that would require guidance beyond our relationship. When Dad ordained me, he made this statement. “ I did not raise you to stand beneath me and undergird me. I gave you everything I’ve got. I commission you to stand on my shoulders and go where I haven’t gone. And you better run fast because I don’t intend to stop. Don’t EVER let me pass you. Run harder and faster and fulfill your role in the Kingdom.” I will never forget…
Another essential key to succession is knowing when to release. I was disturbed by the number of people that I encountered at the conference; who face great challenge of time, because they have never been released into their call by their spiritual leaders. I have many friends, who’s true ministry never surfaced until they reached the age of 50, because they were bound to the service of their mentor until he dropped dead in his seventies. To the opposite end, most of the people that I encountered, who entered their prominent ministry in their prime years, either did so because they got saved, excited, educated and launched. The majority of these ministers are first generation ministers. They were not raised in church, or to serve other ministers. They caught it and ran with it. TO an equal and opposite end, most of the ones who were waiting for their ministry to open up are second generation ministers, who served under their natural or spiritual parents. The gap that I found interesting is that when I encountered a minister who had launched in his prime, who had been raised under a ministry, he was a third, fourth or even a seventh generation minster.
This indicates that there has to be a link regarding succession. A lot of times, the first generation minster hits this wall. He does not know when or how to create the release necessary for the next generation to move forward. The result is that stagnation occurs, hope is deferred and the succession is destined for failure.
I speak of this in terms of ministry because that is where I was raised, but the same holds true for business. I have encountered the same phenomenon in troubleshooting suffering businesses. I have spent hours talking what third and fourth generation business owners to discover that the key to the continued success was knowing how and when to release the next generation correctly.
I have to believe that God not only created us this way, but demonstrated it openly with His own son, Jesus. Jesus was on the earth for 33 years, yet His ministry centered around the last 3. There was a brief mention during His 12th year, when He sat and mesmerized the rabbis in the temple. I find it interesting that His launch into public ministry was not simply God’s decision, but a joint decision between God as His Father and Mary as His mother. He instructed Him to do His first public miracle. God did not need Mary to “push Jesus out of the nest”, yet He chose to have her be a part of that launching. She recognized that it was time. Why did He use her? It set a precedent that the process of release handed down through the generation of Judaism was of God’s design.
We must recognize that the greatest value God has placed in our lives is the gift of reproduction. As long as the earth remains, there is seed tome and there is harvest. He never intended foe the fruit of our labor to survive only one generation. He determined that our fruit should bear continually.
I am thankful to my father, Phil Byler, to my apostle, John Kelly, and to his spiritual father, C. Peter Wagner for striking the chord of succession in my heart…especially when I am young enough to implement it in my own children. I hope my words encourage you to consider the process of succession. Doing so will prove to be a major key in the success of your generations to come.
