S2 Ep. 7: Raising Up Servant Leaders – Multiplying Your Mission

Have you ever felt like you’re carrying all the weight of leadership alone? In this episode of Faithfully Invested with Allen & Stacy Jo Thorne, we dive deep into what it looks like to raise up servant leaders who can multiply your mission—whether in business, ministry, or at home.

When we try to do it all ourselves, burnout is inevitable. But when we lead like Jesus—investing in others, empowering them, and releasing control—we see multiplication, legacy, and Kingdom impact.

🎙️ In this episode you’ll discover:

• Why Jesus never modeled lone-wolf leadership
• Practical steps to invest, model, entrust, and empower others
• How mentorship is stewardship, not just strategy
• Why micromanaging destroys teams while empowerment multiplies mission
• Real stories from our family and business about learning to let go and lead differently

📖 Scriptures referenced:

• 2 Timothy 2:2
• Proverbs 27:17
• John 13:14-15
• Ephesians 4:12

✨ Key Takeaways:

• Good leadership builds good leadership.
• Multiplication doesn’t happen accidentally—it takes intentionality.
• You’re not called to be the lid; you’re called to be the launchpad.

👉 If this episode encouraged you, please:
 ✔️ Share it with a friend or colleague who’s leading others
 ✔️ Leave us a 5-star review so more faith-driven leaders can find the show
✔️ Follow/subscribe to Faithfully Invested so you never miss an episode

Because when you invest in His Kingdom, He brings the increase.

Check out our website at www.faithtfullyinvested.com

Transcript

0:01

Are you ready to build a life, business and legacy that truly lasts? Welcome to Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne, where Faith meets real talk. Biblical wisdom meets everyday life and leadership meets laughter. Together we will uncover God's blueprint for leadership, marriage, and mission, helping faith-driven leaders invest in what matters most. Each episode, we explore biblical wisdom, have real conversations, and of course, have some fun along the way because let's be real. Walking in faith is an adventure. It sure is. So pull up a seat, grab your coffee or your sweet tea, and join us as we steward our callings with intention, because when we invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase. Howdy. Welcome back to Faithfully Invested. I am not Minnie Pearl. I'm Allen. And I'm not Minnie Pearl either. I am Stacy Jo, and if you've ever felt like you're doing all the things for the Kingdom and wondering who's coming alongside you, today's episode is for you. Right on. Uh, so. When the Lord has placed, uh, us on mission, uh, as leaders, it's important that we raise up other servant leaders so that we can multiply our mission. Mm-hmm. Because whether it's in ministry, whether it's at work or at home or, or just in life in general, we shouldn't be doing everything ourselves. Hello me. We shouldn't be doing everything. Ourselves. Uh, it's so important to pour out what we've been given, uh, so that others can run with it too. Leadership, good leadership builds good leadership. Absolutely. You know, otherwise we end up like burnt toast in the kingdom. We're crunchy, we're overdone, and there is no butter in sight. And you know how I like my butter? Yeah, it's, we like fresh butter. Fresh butter is good. I like a little. Butter with my bread, or I like a little bread with my butter, I should say. She does. Yeah. Anyway, moving on. Uh, um, yeah, I've been there trying to, uh, juggle, we juggle these days, don't we? Uh, in the, in the challenge of, of busyness, we juggle ministry. Uh, I, I juggle ministry, work, family, uh, mentoring, uh, guys in recovery, uh, when they're willing. Uh, and somewhere along the way. It hit me in all that, hey, I'm not the savior. When, when I realized that, man, what a weight lifted, you know? Right. Uh, friends, we're not meant to. Uh, we are, we are meant to, to multiply. We're not meant to carry it all. Right. And I think one of the biggest challenges in leadership, especially servant leadership, is that sometimes we think it's all on us. Mm-hmm. That we have to do it all. We have to fix it all. We have to lead it all. Yeah. You know, you know that, that mindset that if it's meant to be, it's up to me. I, I have fallen into that mindset where no one can do it quite as well as I can. Right? Or maybe sometimes it's been out of fear of losing control. And, you know, in our business, freedom Support Solutions, early on, I used to think that I had to do it all by myself, right? Because if someone made a mistake. I would have to address that and I didn't like, and still don't necessarily like having those tough conversations. Um, so it was just easier to shoulder the burden myself and do it all. But the downside to that is that. I didn't have enough time to do everything by myself. Right. And the growth of the business would stagnate if I tried. Right. And it's, it's important to, you know, as leaders we're gonna have difficult conversations. Mm-hmm. And it's important to know how to have those difficult conversations.'cause whoever made the mistake, you know, people are gonna make mistakes, you know, because we're human. Right. Um, I've made several mistakes today myself. Um, but anyway, uh, so when, when someone makes a mistake, you know, we accentuate what they do, right?'cause they're not just kicking around, making mistakes, right? Uh, so, so what, what do you do? What have they been doing? Right? And then, you know, mm-hmm. Hey, you've been doing this, this, this, and this, right? And you smell terrific, but, uh, you really need to work on this. But, uh. But we're really talking today about multiplying our mission. Yeah. I mean, yeah. We have to, we have to have this. Well, we're not multiplying anything if we're not talking to our people. Right. Well, true. So true. Yeah. Anyway, kind of back on topic. Jesus never, and, and we want to model what he did, the life that he did. I mean, that's, that's who he is, right? He's, he's the, uh, the savior. He is the example. Mm-hmm. Uh, and he never modeled lone wolf. Uh, ministry, right? He invited 12, he poured into three, and he commissioned them all. Mm-hmm. Uh, and Paul also, uh, he, Paul gives us a blueprint in second Timothy chapter two, verse two and says, the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses. And trust unto faithful man who will be able to teach others. Also, Paul presented his lived experience with Christ to Timothy so that Timothy could go and share his own knowledge and experience with Paul. He could share that experience with others and so on and so forth. Yeah, it's, it's a ripple effect. I mean, faithful leadership that multiplies. Into more faithful leaders. Right, right. But that doesn't happen accidentally. Right. It takes intentionality. Sure. It takes patience. Mm-hmm. And let's be honest, it also takes letting go of control. I mean, what would've happened? Think about this for a minute. What would've happened if Jesus had said. I'm the only one that can carry this message to the masses. Right. You don't know enough to do that and I don't have time to teach you to do it. Yeah, and and I get that sometimes it's easier just to do it yourself. I understand that as a business owner, I totally understand that. But again, without teaching others and letting go of the reins a bit, yeah. I mean, your business or ministry will not be able to grow. It will not sustain. It will not have any legacy. Right. And it won't serve the kingdom as he intended it to. Right? Yeah. We gotta multiply. We have to multiply. Right. So I remember. Some time ago I was mentoring this young dude in recovery, and he, like myself, was a little rough around the edges and he was super new to his faith and, uh, but he seemed hungry. So, um, he appeared to be at the end of himself and, and I saw potential at him. And, and let me tell you. The, the front end of that, um, mentoring relationship was, it was less like mentoring and it was more like herding cats. Oh. Uh, the obedience and the willingness, uh, to walk before running that I saw in the beginning that seemed to go by the wayside. Uh, but I had to remember a few things. One, I had to recall where I came from. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Hey. The Spirit. The Spirit will put me in check pretty quickly. Remember where you came from there, fella and two, I had to remember that the pursuit has to want to be pursued for mentorship. Right. All right. If they don't want to be pursued, don't pursue them. It's someone else will, right? Yeah. If willingness slips, time gets wasted and. Time's our most precious commodity. Mm-hmm. And, um, so we must spend it wisely on those who decide to commit and remain consistent. Anyone can be interested for a few days or even a couple of weeks. But commitment and consistency is the telltale here. Yeah. And I've had experiences like that as well, but on the flip side of that coin are the ones who just are needing that encouragement and the opportunity to step up. Right. And going back to the business world, as I said, I, I used to try to do it all myself and I would hand off administrative tax tasks to our daughter and. She would do them. Yeah. But as time went on, she caught onto what we were doing. Yeah. And she and I worked together. Yeah. And eventually I stepped back. I encouraged her, I prayed for her, and I'd let her lead. Right. And wouldn't you know it, she's crushing it to this day. She's crushing it. She's crushing it. And I think sometimes she even surprises herself with what she's able to do. So like, DOO. Yeah, I mean, she, she's a bookkeeper. She's a DOO. She's a daily money management. Daily money manager. I mean, she just, she does all the roles and, and she leads our team, like, she leads our, our meetings weekly, so for the weekly, for those that don't know what is due, do is director of Operations, so she's our director of operations, plus she serves as a fractional director of operations for other. Businesses as well. Yeah, but it, going back to that, I mean, it reminded me that we don't raise carbon copies. Although, although if you know Jocelynne, um, she and I do look very similar, so you know that is true, but we don't raise up carbon copies. We release called ones right, and Proverbs 27 17 says, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another and our role. As leaders, whether it's in business or in ministry, is to come alongside, to sharpen and support, not to smother or shape them into our image. You know? Come on. Yeah, let's go. That, that, that's it right there. Okay. Yeah. Well, well said. Thank you. And um, so we're not called to clone ourselves. No. Um, we're called to cultivate others' gifts. Yes. They, they have gifts. They, they've been created in God's image. We've all been created in God's image. Mm-hmm. And he's, and he's got, he's given each one of us specific gifts. We're so not a clone, but, you know, cultivation. Right. Uh, for, for our coworkers or for mm-hmm. For the ones that were mentoring, uh, I knew that I needed to get out of the way. Uh, so the potter. Could mold me as his clay. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's what the word says. And he's the potter and we're the clay. Yeah. So we gotta remember that he's the difference maker. Yeah. Like I said earlier, I'm not the savior. He's the difference maker. Our creator, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, they're the difference maker, the three in one. Uh, and I'm just taking, we are just taking our cues from them. That's it. Uh, Jesus Christ, the greatest leader of all time. Is the truth that we need to seed and lead others well. Yeah. Write that one down. Mm-hmm. Jesus, the greatest leader of all time. Mm-hmm. He is the truth, capital T, truth, the JC truth that we need. Yeah. To seed and lead others well, yeah. But we must follow. We gotta follow before we can lead. I hope that makes sense. Absolutely. So, so let's talk about how we raise up servant leaders. You know, we like practical, um. Because it's not just about handing someone a clipboard and saying, okay, here you go. Good luck. Right? Go for it. Let me know how you do. That's not it. Come back and report to me. Yeah, that's, I mean, that's, that's not it. That's not it. That's not it. Uh, first we gotta invest. We, we gotta be relational. Oh yeah. We have to invest relationally. Mm-hmm. Um, I've heard it said that people grow in safe soil. That's good. Yeah. So Jesus didn't just preach to his disciples. He walked with them, he ate with them. He asked them questions. Uh, they did life together. He let them fail. Wanna learn a lesson? Wanna want your people to learn a lesson? Let'em fail. Don't. Don't throw that pillow underneath'em. Don't try to let'em fail. Yeah. Sometimes the best training ground is a mess that God will turn into a message. Yes. That's so good. That's the latter part of my life. He always, he will always turn. Yeah. Right. Mine too. I mean, he'll always turn the mess into a message. Yeah. But secondly, we have to model the posture. Yeah. Or we have to lead by example before you pass the baton. If we want to raise up humble leaders, we can't just preach servanthood. Mm. We must live it. And in John 13:14-15, Jesus says, now that I, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, oh, you also should wash one another's feet. Mm-hmm. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Right? So, friends, roll up your sleeves. Stack the chairs, set up the tables right, answer the hard emails, right. Reconcile the messy books. Let them see it up close. Right. So they know. Right? Absolutely. And third, uh, we gotta entrust and empower just the same as he's entrusted us and empowered us to lead. We must, as followers of Christ, we must entrust and empower. Mm-hmm. Others to lead. Yeah. Authentic leaders. Don't, we don't have need for control. Mm-hmm. Um, took me a long time to learn that one. We don't have need to control. Yeah. Uh, we gotta remember who's in control in the first place. Yeah. We, we teach this in, in unbound, you know, the, uh, the ruse of control. Mm-hmm. You know, gotta, we gotta release our thrones. Uh, two, three. We use thrones as a metaphor for control. We gotta release our thrones to the Holy Spirit. Yeah, because when, when it comes down to it, when, when you realize it, when you, when you come close to the Lord and you're actually following Christ mm-hmm. When you move, uh, past, just. Basic belief into actually following him. You realize that you were never in control in the first place. Mm-hmm. For sure. Never in control. He's the one in control. Yeah. Uh, I'm not in control. You're not in control. So we, we equip people, we release them, and we trust the Holy Spirit to guide them the same as he's guided us. Right. Micromanaging does not multiply. You'll break your team down pretty quickly. Mm. Yeah. Micromanaging will destroy a team. It will not multiply a team. Yeah. Uh, and it just, it, it will also mutate your mission. Sure. You got a mission. You know, he's put us on mission. But if you're micromanaging your team, uh. No, it's gonna be mission impossible. Yeah. Right. Don't do it. Uh, so Paul, again, you know, uh, we man, we sure talk a lot about Paul probably cause he wrote most of the New Testament Right. But, uh, Ephesians 4:12, uh, states that our responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church that is the body of Christ. It's our responsibility to equip. Right, just as we've been equipped, uh, that means that we're not here to do it all. Uh, we're here to train. We're here to trust. We're here to release others, to carry the mission forward with us. Absolutely. And on that before, before we go on, I, I like to, this reminds me that, that Jesus told his disciples that, you know, you're gonna go on and do greater things than me. Mm-hmm. And wrap your heart around that one. You'll never wrap your head around it. No. You know if you know Jesus, but he said, you will go on to do greater things than me, because he knew that he trained his men well. Yeah. And he sent them out. He trained them. He trusted them, and he released them to go and do greater things than him. And to make more disciples. To multiply BLAMMO!. Yeah, to multiply. Isn't that what it's all about? That is what we're called to do. I, I, I believe so. Yeah. Yeah. So finally our fourth point is make space for their voice. Um. They may do things differently than you. I do things differently than Allen. He does things differently than me, and that's okay. It's okay. It, it's absolutely okay. But what matters is that they're carrying the heart of Jesus forward. Yeah. Not my personal preferences or Allen's personal preferences. Right. And you know what? You know what Allen? What? Stacey? Joe, you might find that. Their way of doing something works better than your way. You might learn something. You might learn something. You might learn something. I'll attest to that because I have experienced that time and time again, and I have literally had to eat crow a few times for this exact reason. Mm-hmm. We don't know it all. So listen and listen to your people. Listen to those that you are. Bringing up into leadership, listen to them and be open to change. Yeah. Be pliable to make a shift in a different direction if it's going to work better. Don't be stubborn, right? Don't be prideful. Don't be stubborn. Don't be prideful. It might work better. Telling someone caught in pride not to be stubborn is like telling an addict to just say no, you know? I guess that's probably true. Right, right. I guess that's probably true. So, so back to the crowd, did that taste like chicken? I'm just wondering. But uh, anyway, most all those things do, right? Oh, no. I've never eaten crow. Never eat. I've never eaten crow either. I've eaten. Well, I have eaten crow per se. Yeah. But I had to anyway. But actually, metaphorically speaking Yeah. Does I have not actually eaten the bird crow. Well, neither have I, babe. Right. You know. Anyway, neither have I. Anyway. We need to wrap this up, so, right. So who's God? Yeah. Uh, spotlighting for you to mentor? Mm. Uh, maybe it's someone in your small group. Maybe it's someone at work. Hey, how about your own child? Are you mentoring your children? Well, yeah. Uh, are you raising them up in the faith? Uh, do they know Jesus Christ? Yeah. Uh. Ask the Lord, who do you want me to pour into today, father? Yeah. Because you know, raising up servant leaders isn't just a strategy, it's our stewardship. Yeah. It's how we steward what he has given us. And you're not meant to be the lid. You're called to be the launchpad. I like that y'all write that one down too. Not meant to be the lid. Not meant to be the lid. You're meant to be the launchpad. That's right. Like we are, give them an opportunity to launch. Right. Don't put the lid on them and keep them down. Like we're the ceiling for the next generation floor. Yes. Right. Yeah. Right. Um, so if this episode Friends, we love you. Yeah, we do. So thank you for tuning in here and we love doing this. Yeah. And, uh. Just thanks for tuning in and we hope you're getting something out of this. And, and if this episode stirred you, uh, please, please share it with someone mm-hmm. Who's leading and discipling others, or who, who wants to, who, who this would help as, as they're leading and discipling others. And let's multiply this mission together. Yeah. Let's go. Let's go. Are you ready? Well, I'm ready. Right to jump into season three, can you believe we're wrapping up season two? I know. So we are wrapping up season two of Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo. Right. And next week we're going to move into season three and jump into the V in our invested blueprint. Right. And that is valuing stewardship. Yeah. And as we talk about living accountable to what God has entrusted to us. Yeah. Or entrusted us with. Yeah. But before you go, we just a reminder that. If you invest in his kingdom, he will bring the increase. Yes, he will. And don't forget to leave us a review. Yeah. And, uh, what kind of review? Oh, a five star. Five star review. We love you. Yes. Thank you for tuning in. Um, we'll see you next time on Faithfully Invested. We'll see y'all. God bless. Bye-bye. Thanks for joining us on Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo, if today's conversation encouraged you, challenged you, or helped you see your calling more clearly, don't keep it to yourself. That's right. Share it with a friend. Leave a five star review and keep leaning into God's blueprint for your life, your leadership, and your legacy. So until next time, remember, when you invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase.