I posted about the forget-me-nots I planted a while back and it seems a good time to talk about the second lesson that I’ve learned in watching them grow.

Lesson #2, “First, one”

As I said before, I tended my soil, hoping seeds would grow and one day they did. What struck me was that only one seed sprung up. For the longest time, only one plant grew. It took several days before any of the other seeds showed any signs of life. At first, there was one.

I thought of my leadership cohort and how we’ve discussed the principles, “As goes the leader, so goes the church” and “Who you are is your ministry.” In watching my forget-me-nots, I was reminded that a leader has to grow first.

Few of us dare to actually say what Paul did, “You should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (1 Cor 11:1) Someone in my discipleship class actually scoffed at the idea that a discipler leads another person. He didn’t like the idea that someone would be growing to be like him.

For good or for bad, you will reproduce who you are. You cannot disciple people to be someone or something that you are not. You can’t tell people how to get to a place you’ve never been.

Grow not just for your own sake, but also for those around you, too.

So, grow!