Narrative Principle of the L-Shape Strategy
The believer’s relationship with Christ is one that continuously receives vertical nutrients (strength, exhortation, refreshing, abiding, hope, deliverance, strategies, help, healing, transformation, security, and counseling) and other help as needed from the Lord directly through our vertical relationship with the Lord. Daily, and sometimes even moment by moment, we must discipline ourselves to tap into this vertical relationship. For some of us, this can be received by way of our morning and/or evening devotions. Most people encourage a morning devotion because of the day’s interactions with others and making sure first that you yourself partake of the glory reserved for you from the Lord by simply meeting with Him. Once this vertical time of devotion, this pouring into your spirit, has been attended to and received, only then can you pour out and refresh others. Once you yourself have been poured into, you are now able to be built up in the faith, strengthened, and encouraged to pour out (horizontally) to the community, your church members who you pastor, your mentees, your meeting attendees, etc. However, the pouring will only be at the measure that you yourself have received; you cannot give what you do not have nor possess.
Here is where the picture of the L-shape comes in. If you have been poured into first by your ministry, devotions to the Lord, etc. your vessel is being built up. You are being filled, supplied, strengthened, nurtured, and receiving divine impartation and revelation – that is the vertical relationship with the Lord. What you do with that you turn it into the horizontal part of the L-shape. You then give out a portion of what you have received into the community, the church, etc. You can continue to do that; but here is the thing, if the Lord is not pouring into you first, you’re giving of your strength and depleting your own self. That’s how tiredness and weariness come in because there is nothing being poured back into you. You’re pouring out of your own reserve and you’re depleting yourself.
It has been my experience that when you continue in this fashion, the person is getting the residue of you. They’re not getting what was poured into you, and they won’t have much to go on. Just like you feed a baby a bottle, it won’t be long, and that baby is crying to be fed again. There needs to be a constant feeding on both ends, especially if you’re nursing. You need to replenish yourself from all of the food groups: the Word, prayer, the presence of God, discipline, obedience, and stillness so that the milk that you’re releasing will actually feed the child. But if not, that person is just receiving residue. When your priority is to first minister to the Lord, that vertical relationship feeds you and the multitude that the Lord sends you to.
Peter was full; that’s the mystery. In all of the mistakes he made, including cutting off the guard’s ear, stepping out of the boat and sinking, telling the Lord no you’re not going to die (and then being rebuked by the Lord, and more, those mistakes were not Peter’s guiding force. Peter’s guiding force was, “Peter, do you love Me? Feed My lambs. Peter, do you love Me? Feed my sheep. Peter, do you love Me? Tend to my lambs.” Those words fed Peter and caused the baby in Peter’s spiritual womb to leap because he had the Word of God (the Living Word – Jesus) in his belly.
Then the Holy Spirit, with those words that Jesus had given to him, birthed into Peter the rhema life, so much so that he was able to literally speak to five thousand people and they changed their minds. He was able to lead the New Testament Church because he received nutrients from the Lord continuously from the vertical shape. When it looked like something would get in the way of that vertical relationship with the Lord, they said in Acts that we need to bring in some deacons to help feed people and wait tables, because we need to continuously give ourselves to fasting, reading the Word, and to prayer.
Don’t let anything obstruct your view of the Lord nor obstruct your vertical relationship with your God. As you minister to the Lord and are being built up in your most Holy faith, the Lord will say go horizontal – go out to the community, go out to the people, serve my people and feed them (feed my lambs).
Principles & Practices of the L-Shape Strategy
- Love/ing
- Long/ing
- Lead/ing
- Learn/ing
- Live/ing
