As a church leader, I have often grappled with the challenge of equipping people to be more than just passive recipients of information. In today’s rapidly changing culture, it is imperative that we develop and mobilize leaders who can effectively lead and make disciples in diverse and dynamic environments. Over the years, I have found that the D.E.E.P.E.R. framework—Demonstrate, Experience, Explain, Practice, Expose, Reflect—provides a holistic and effective strategy for equipping disciple-makers and developing leaders.
Demonstrate.
The first step in the D.E.E.P.E.R. framework is to demonstrate. People need to see what they are being trained to do. Jesus himself modeled this approach. He demonstrated how to heal the sick, show compassion and proclaim the good news.
In my own ministry, I have found that bringing people along in my everyday mission is invaluable. For instance, I regularly invited those I was developing to join me at a lunch spot I frequented. Over time, the servers there recognized that I genuinely cared about them. During one of our meals, one of the servers shared that she desperately needed help. The young man who accompanied me that day watched as I offered to serve her. Over time, he and a group of disciples from our church helped remodel her home and were overjoyed to see her come to faith in Jesus as well. This young man saw firsthand how consistent, compassionate engagement can open doors for the good news of Jesus to be displayed and declared. This kind of demonstration creates an understanding that words alone cannot convey.
In your context, consider whether you regularly provide ways for people to see what you are training them to do. Stories are helpful because they can create mental imagery, but the ideal is seeing a real person doing it.
Experience.
People also need to experience something to know what it feels like. When something happens to you it has a profound effect on your development. Jesus brought his disciples into real-life experiences where they participated in his miracles and acts of compassion. They experienced his teaching, correction and fellowship.
For example, I brought a mixed group of people recently through a process called Discovery Bible Study. For months they experienced reading through a passage of Scripture and asking very basic questions like: What does this say about God? and What does this say about humans? Then I introduced a time of listening prayer where I had them write down what they heard Jesus saying, and what they heard Jesus telling them to do. During this time, Christians experienced God speaking through his Word, and our not-yet-Christian friends heard Jesus call them to surrender their lives to him. Everyone in our groups is now able to lead a similar experience as a result.
In your context, create opportunities for people to experience what you are training them to do.
Explain.
While explaining or communicating something is not in itself sufficient to fully equip someone, you also can’t faithfully equip someone without explaining the truth. We need to speak the truth so they hear it clearly. Jesus often explained his actions and teachings to his disciples. He explained parables, taught them to pray and corrected their misunderstandings.
One morning, with these same young men I was developing, I heard one pray without referring to God as “Father.” In fact, he was intentionally avoiding using the word “Father” in his prayers. Knowing his background of abuse from his dad, we took the time to explain the loving nature of God our Father and prayed for him to experience God’s love. Over time, he both experienced the love of God and began to pray with greater intimacy to the Father. Explanation helps people understand the what and the why behind the content.
Practice.
Practice is crucial for mastering new skills. Jesus sent his disciples out to heal the sick and cast out demons, allowing them to practice what they had seen and heard. Upon their return, Jesus debriefed them, reinforcing their learning.
We expected people to share the gospel through their personal stories, so we provided regular opportunities for them to practice sharing their stories with one another. We also provided countless opportunities for groups to grow in hospitality by regularly hosting neighborhood parties where they could practice hospitality through preparation, participation and presence.
In your context, create opportunities for practice. This hands-on practice will help reinforce training.
Expose.
The best equipping often happens through failure, which brings about exposure. When we are equipping people, we want the true, authentic self to show up because real development happens when the truth comes out. Exposure is about bringing to light what is in the dark so that it can be addressed and transformed.
Jesus regularly created situations where the disciples’ hearts were revealed. Some of them took a long walk, and before long, they were arguing over who was the greatest. Jesus invited them to join him in prayer during his most trying hour in the garden of Gethsemane, and they fell asleep. When the guards came, Peter cut off Malchus’ ear. After Jesus died, they went back to fishing. And even after Jesus had risen, they still doubted. Not their finest moments, but authentic just the same.
Does your equipping methodology create opportunities for exposure? Does your environment make it safe to fail? Do you lead by example in revealing your weaknesses and areas for growth? A development culture is a place where it is normal to be needy, where weakness is welcomed and where failure is familiar. Equipping environments make it normative for the real person to show up, so we can equip people from where they truly are.
Reflect.
Stepping back and considering what we’ve done or how we’ve applied what we’ve learned is crucial. We need feedback. We need to process. Too often we “train” people in a skill and never create space to process their experience and practice. Exposure needs to be followed by reflection. Jesus often debriefed with his disciples after sending them out.
Make sure your equipping includes time for reflection where you ask a lot of questions: What was that like for you? What did you experience? How did it go? What did you discover? What would you do differently next time? What do you now know you need? How can we help you prepare?
Repeat this D.E.E.P.E.R. process until it can be reproduced by those you are training. Repetition is key to making new skills reproducible. Jesus spent three years repeatedly equipping his disciples until they were trained to repeat the process with others, leading them to be able to make disciples of all nations.
Equipping disciple-making disciples is a lifelong journey. Be patient and persistent, continually repeating the process of demonstrate, experience, explain, practice, expose and reflect, until the disciples you equip can equip others to do the same.