Celebration is the best medicine against the lethargy of discouragement.
You become what you celebrate.” This proverb is continually repeated in leadership coaching circles because of the inherent truth in the notion. We, by nature, seem naturally drawn into the practices that are publicly celebrated by those whom we respect or admire. A child’s positive behaviors are bolstered by their observations of what their parents praise. We, as adults, are also prone to prioritize the actions that are celebrated by those in positions of leadership or influence in our lives.
Which leads us to our final simple (but not easy) rule for movement: Continually celebrate kingdom advance.
- Own Your Commission
- Take Spiritual Responsibility for Your Jerusalem
- Make and Multiply Kingdom Disciples
- Live off of Less
- Prime the Pump
- Send Co-Vocational Teams
- Add in Order to Multiply
- Continually Celebrate Kingdom Advance
This final rule for movement—celebration—is often the least valued by those who yearn for movements and who are gifted with an apostolic impulse. The very missionary strengths of potential movement leaders often come with an inherent weakness that can contribute to the unraveling of the corporate will toward that prized end. Apostolic leaders of the past celebrated events as they transpired, in real time, and were already on to the next conquest. But an apostolic nature is a small minority within the body. Celebrating God’s faithfulness in the past has always been God’s plan to move his people toward the future.
Here are four reasons why celebration of the past is necessary for the movements of the future:
1 – You must anticipate the pain
The work of celebration begins in a counter-intuitive place. We must first anticipate the pain that will certainly come from the sacrifices …