The Law of Reproduction: Paul Trains Leaders (1 Thessalonians 1:5-8)

Extracted from The Maxwell Leadership Bible

Because Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica shortly after he planted a church there, he developed many of its leaders through the mail. The apostle wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians to disciple and train those who had recently chosen to follow Christ. Paul tried to work himself out of a job through this training. The apostle reminds us how good training works:

1. Training involves not only words, but also demonstration (v. 5).
2. Training transforms others when done with conviction (v. 5).
3. Training is remembered when the life of the trainer supports the message (v. 5).
4. Training is incarnated when the follower imitates the teacher (v. 6).
5. Training is relevant when done in the midst of problems (v. 6).
6. Training is complete when the trainee becomes a trainer (vv. 7,8).
7. Training has been reproduced when the original trainer has no need to say more (v. 8).