Making an impact?

What does it mean to make an impact? Does it mean 'making a difference'? A change? Does it mean having a reputation or a legacy? It can be so many different things to people. What if it meant something like this:

When you throw a stone into a still pond what happens? The stone strikes the water and creates a perpetual effect that eventually impacts the whole pond? What starts as a small splash becomes a massive disturbance in an otherwise quiet setting. The rings of the splash start very small, but they grow. With each ring the effect becomes greater. The strange part is that the greater it grows the less it matters where it originated from. It is affected by the momentum generated by the splash. Each ring grows a new ring and so on. The coolest part is that you usually do not see the rock after it makes its splash. You see its impact.

The analogy of the splash creating the growing impact seems like something leaders could learn from to grow powerful momentum into their teams and ministries, but often times it seems like the opposite happens. The leader wants to remain the most visible part of his or her creation. The front man... the one in charge.. But what happens when that leader leaves the position? What happens if no one has been taught to continue the pattern of ministry the leader started? The impact is finished before effects can even happen.

I have been really challenged by this concept. Perhaps it makes more sense to me than it does to others, but it seems right. Making a difference, by being the catalyst for growth and allowing others to use their gifts to take the lead seems like a healthy way to build and lead a team. The leader becomes more of a "leader among equals" who enables and equips people to continue to make a difference. The team member becomes a leader over time who then teaches someone else to be a leader and so on. This seems like basic leadership development to me, but I don't see this very often in ministry.

I have an idea though...
It's called the Impact Model.
Look for it next week!