A 5-Stage Framework: Prepare → Empower → Send → Debrief → Coach
Most leaders today empower people but forget to evaluate them.
But Jesus did both.
In Luke 10:1–23, Jesus reveals one of the clearest frameworks for developing leaders, empowering teams, giving feedback, and multiplying impact. What He models is not random or accidental. It is deliberate, repeatable, and scalable.
Jesus didn’t simply send workers.
He formed them.
This passage gives us a blueprint for building healthy teams, coaching leaders, and creating a culture of growth.
Here is Jesus’ 5-stage multiplication model:
Prepare → Empower → Send → Debrief → Coach
1. PREPARATION: Clarify the Vision & the Reality
Luke 10:2 — “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
What Jesus does
Before He empowers, He frames reality.
He names:
The opportunity (plentiful harvest)
The problem (few workers)
The need for prayer (God-called laborers)
He roots their mission in God’s vision, not their capacity.
Leadership Principle
Great coaching begins with clarity, not assignments.
Jesus gives them:
The why (harvest)
The urgency (few laborers)
The dependency (pray)
Application for Leaders
Before empowering someone, clarify:
Here’s what’s at stake.
Here’s the opportunity.
Here’s the real challenge.
Here’s what prayer will do.
Empowerment without vision produces activity, not fruit.
2. EMPOWERMENT: Give Clear Instructions, Expectations, and Boundaries
Luke 10:3–12
Jesus does not “just let them go.”
He gives them clarity, not control.
What Jesus does
He gives them:
Identity clarity (“I’m sending you out as lambs among wolves”)
Strategy clarity (travel light, accept hospitality)
Behavior clarity (heal, speak peace)
Success metrics (kingdom announced, people received)
Boundaries of responsibility (if rejected, shake the dust)
He empowers with focus, not freedom without guardrails.
Leadership Principle
Empowerment is not abdication. It is clarity + authority + boundaries.
Most leaders make one of two mistakes:
Give authority with no instructions
Give instructions with no authority
Jesus gives both.
Application for Leaders
When empowering:
Clarify mission
Clarify expectations
Clarify boundaries
Clarify the win
Clarify what to do when things do not go well
This prevents confusion on the field and frustration in the debrief.
3. SENDING: Trust People Enough to Try
Luke 10:3 — “Go!”
Jesus does not over-explain or micromanage.
He trusts them with real responsibility.
What Jesus does
He releases them with:
Authority
Accountability
Autonomy
Leadership Principle
People grow when they’re sent, not when they’re seated.
Jesus risks:
Their failure
Their growth
Their misunderstanding
Their missteps
And He still sends them.
You cannot develop leaders you don’t trust.
Application for Leaders
At some point, the best coaching is:
Go and try it.
Growth happens in practice, not theory.
4. DEBRIEFING & EVALUATION: Create a Culture of Return and Report
Luke 10:17 — “The seventy-two returned with joy…”
Jesus built a rhythm:
Empower
Send
Return
Report
Receive coaching
What Jesus does
He listens to their experience:
Their wins
Their surprises
Their ministry breakthroughs
He creates space for reflection and learning. Celebration before coaching.
Leadership Principle
Empowerment without evaluation is incomplete development.
Evaluation transforms activity into maturity.
John Maxwell said it this way:
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice with evaluation makes perfect.”
Jesus doesn’t just send them out, He invites them back into a coaching session.
Application for Leaders
Build rhythms into your team:
After action reviews
Post-Sunday debriefs
Leadership reflections
What worked
What did not
What was learned
What changes next time
5. COACHING & REFOCUSING: Celebrate Wins, Correct Motives, Elevate Perspective
Luke 10:18–20 — “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you…”
The 72 return celebrating power.
Jesus celebrates, but He also recalibrates.
What Jesus does
He does three things brilliant coaches do:
A. He Affirms Their Success
“I saw Satan fall like lightning.”
Translation:
Your work mattered. Your obedience made impact.
Affirmation before correction builds teachability.
B. He Corrects Their Focus
“Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you…”
He redirects them from:
Pride
Performance identity
Ego-based success metrics
This is crucial:
Jesus coaches their heart, not just their skill.
C. He Re-centers Identity
“…but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus anchors their joy in:
Identity, not performance
Relationship, not results
Eternal security, not short-term success
This is long-term leadership development, keeping ambition surrendered and identity secure.
Leadership Principle
Great coaches celebrate results but are relentless about shaping motives.
Application for Leaders
When debriefing:
Celebrate the win
Coach the heart
Redirect the focus
Reinforce identity
This keeps leaders from burning out or building egos.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR LEADERS
Empower with clarity, not assumptions
Give real responsibility, not symbolic tasks
Build return-and-report rhythms
Coach both skill and heart
Celebrate progress and cultivate humility
Tie identity to Christ, not performance
Evaluation is where transformation happens
Multiplication requires feedback, not just delegation
