Have you got what it takes to become a champion? Or, are you already topping out your spiritual game? Are you called to be a generalist, or specialist? Do you have the strength of will to endure the process of rising to the highest?
What Does It Take?
Because I am called to produced leaders, discipling is my main focus in life. In the kingdom, ‘leaders who make leaders’ accomplish their assignments by discipling. It is the process and procedure of making kingdom leaders.
Jesus says, “A person cannot be My disciple unless he never stops–appropriating his own cross, and following Me where I’m going.
The process speak to the “follow” aspect of Cross-appropriating. Carry a personal cross means personally appropriating everything His Cross provides, a crucified life that releases His life through my death. With this life condition in place, a person keeps on coming, going where Jesus is going, or “following” as we commonly translate.
Champions, in the kingdom sense, become the people God created them to be. The becoming is a process of death and life. God is trying to kill you so He restore you to the person He had in mind in the first place.
Champions, in the kingdom sense, become Cross-appropriating followers. Just being along for the ride won’t get you into championship form. Stop seeing “follow” in terms of hanging around. Forrest Gump did that, always there at the big moments but totally out of touch with the meaning of those historic incidents. Just being there doesn’t produce champions.
Champions, in the kingdom sense, appropriate the Cross every step of the way. They continue to repent-change to be changed-until they become the person who can do what champions do.
So, that means that champions, in the kingdom sense, don’t have what it takes. They have to appropriate what it takes, never stop, and keep going where Jesus is going.
To be a champion in the kingdom sense has nothing to do with achievement and everything to do with leadership. Jesus makes leaders, not achievers. Leaders live in dependence, not independence.
