How do you disciple, teach, train, and lead others? What’s your go-to method? Is it an inspiring story? Self-deprecating humor? Straight lecture? The Socratic method? Apprenticing? Maybe it’s trial by fire.
Whatever method you use is likely what was used on you. In other words, we teach the way we’ve been taught, lead the way we’ve been led, disciple the way we’ve been discipled, and train the way we’ve been trained, unless we consciously do so otherwise.
That’s why the 70:20:10 framework is so valuable, because it shows us how we best learn. Just take a look here. According to this framework, originated by Dr. Allen Tough, 70 percent of our learning comes by doing. This is informal, on the job development that comes through trial and error. 20 percent of our learning is through interacting with others, which comes through receiving feedback or through coaching and mentoring relationships. The last 10 percent is through listening, like when you go to a conference, seminar, or course.
What’s interesting is that most churches are unintentionally aware of the 70:20:10 principle and are actually living it out but their application is backward. 70 percent of their time is devoted to teaching, 20 percent to talking about it, and 10 percent to doing it. What would happen to your church if you applied the 70:20:10 principle accurately?
What if 70 percent of the time that you spent discipling others was helping them do the very things that made them a disciple? You would then talk about what they had done and provide them feedback 20 percent of the time, while only formally teaching them 10 percent of the time. Imagine the transformation that would happen in your church. Not just in the way that you disciple, but in the way that you teach, train, and lead others too. You can learn more about this concept in Chapter 2 of my book, No Silver Bullets.
So now that you understand the 70:20:10 framework, what are you going to do about it?
