Kingdom Connectors
A number of years ago, John Gillette, Andy Hansen, and I all performed at the SeaWorld Orlando Ski Stadium.
John and Andy were world-class barefoot water skiers.
I was a guitar player.
Trace and I played music for the stadium crowds at night after their last ski show.
John and Andy were committed Spirit-filled believers who reached out to me. One day they invited me out to supposedly teach me to barefoot water ski—but I know they were really waterboarding me into submission to Jesus.
My broken ribs eventually healed.
But something else they did had a much longer impact.
John and Andy didn't just see me as the guitar player who worked at the same stadium. They reached across our differences, invited me into their lives, talked to me about Jesus, and eventually connected me with other believers.
Andy and Roger Hansen performing at the SeaWorld Orlando Ski Stadium.
At the same time, God was doing the same thing in another place we worked.
Eric, a Christian businessman and entrepreneur who owned a recording studio, reached out to us. Trace and I were invited to work at the studio as session musicians. Before long, he invited us to the first Bible study we had ever attended.
In two different workplaces, believers were paying attention to the people God had put around them—and intentionally reaching out.
John and Andy did it across a difference. Eric did it through something we had in common.
But they were all doing the same thing: recognizing that we were more than people they happened to work around. We were part of their Kingdom assignment.
God was building a network of Kingdom connections around us.
John and Andy connected me with musician friends from their church who helped usher Trace and me into the Kingdom and into ministry.
At the same time, Eric was connecting us to the Christian music world through the recording studio.
Those relationships began to intersect and multiply, leading to lifelong Kingdom friendships, ministry partnerships, and opportunities that still shape much of what we’re involved in today.
They faithfully made the connections. God grew them for His purposes.
One Kingdom connection can open the door to another—and another.
More Than Networking
We hear a lot about networking. And there's nothing inherently wrong with it. But Kingdom networking turns the idea around.
A networker looks for connections that can advance his own purpose.
A Kingdom Connector looks for connections that can advance God's purpose in others.
A Kingdom Connector sees relationships as part of God's assignment and intentionally connects people with the relationships, Kingdom ideas, biblical truth, resources, and opportunities that can help move them toward their God-given destiny.
Sometimes that's connecting one person with another.
Sometimes it's opening a door or sharing a resource.
Sometimes it's bringing God's truth into someone's situation.
Sometimes it's recognizing a gift or calling in someone before they can see it themselves.
And ultimately, it's connecting people to Jesus.
One of the clearest pictures of a Kingdom Connector in Scripture is Barnabas.
When Saul came to Jerusalem after his encounter with Jesus, the disciples were afraid of him. They knew the man who had persecuted the church, and they weren't convinced that his conversion was real.
But Barnabas saw something different.
“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.” — Acts 9:27
That one connection helped change the course of Saul’s life, the early church—and the history of the world.
And Barnabas didn't stop there. Later, when God began doing something remarkable in Antioch, Barnabas went looking for Saul, brought him into what God was doing, and helped create a place where his gifts and calling could flourish.
Kingdom Connectors sow into the lives of others by planting S.E.E.D.:
SEE. ENGAGE. EMPOWER. DISAPPEAR.
S — See
See what God is doing.
Everyone else saw Saul's past. Barnabas saw what God was doing in him, following Jesus' example.
“The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” — John 5:19
Jesus lived with His eyes open to what His Father was doing. Barnabas did the same with Saul.
John, Andy, and Eric saw someone God had put in their path.
Kingdom Connectors ask:
God, what are You doing in this person—and is there some way You want me to participate?
E — Engage
Act on what you see.
“Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.” — Acts 9:27
He didn't merely recognize what God had done in Saul. He did something about it.
Start the conversation. Make the introduction. Share the idea. Open the door. Invite someone along. Bring people together for God’s purposes.
John and Andy didn't just pray for the guitar player singing on the beach. They invited me into the boat.
Admittedly, that part didn't go especially well with my cracked ribs and bruised ego.
But it went pretty well for my eternity.
E — Empower
Help others flourish.
Use whatever God has put in your hands—encouragement, influence, experience, resources, relationships—to help someone move toward what God has called them to do.
“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.” — Acts 11:25–26
Barnabas didn't merely introduce Saul to people. He created opportunity for Saul's calling to develop.
John and Andy connected me with Christian musicians from their church, and before long we were making music and ministering together—somewhere I could finally flourish without nearly drowning.
Eric helped lay the foundation for our connections in Christian music and recording.
Those relationships eventually converged when we met Rick. We recorded and ministered together, he joined us in performing at the SeaWorld Ski Stadium, and he later connected us with our Nashville record label. That connection opened doors for our music and ministry to reach around the world.
Kingdom Connectors help release people into what God has called them to do.
D — Disappear
Release them.
Barnabas didn't need to remain the center of Paul's story.
Earlier in Acts, we read about “Barnabas and Saul,” but later it became “Paul and Barnabas.” — Acts 12:25; 13:43
Barnabas started in the first chair, but he was also willing to play second fiddle—and follow Paul’s lead.
John and Andy didn't need to remain my spiritual mentors forever. Eric didn't need to remain at the center of the relationships he helped begin. They helped Trace and me flourish, then released us to follow wherever God led.
Kingdom Connectors are ushers—not the star of the show.
We help people find their place, make the connection, open the door—and then we're willing to step aside and let God take it wherever He wants it to go.
SEE. ENGAGE. EMPOWER. DISAPPEAR.
We plant S.E.E.D. and trust God with what grows.
Who Has God Put in Your Path?
Maybe it's a coworker who needs someone you know. A young person who needs someone to recognize what God has put inside them. A business owner whose resources belong alongside someone else's God-given vision. Or someone who simply needs to be noticed, encouraged, helped, or connected to the right people.
Sometimes what looks like a tiny seed of connection is the acorn God grows into a mighty oak.
So look around.
SEE what God is doing.
ENGAGE with the people He puts in your path.
EMPOWER them with whatever God has placed in your hands.And be willing to DISAPPEAR when your part is finished.
Plant the S.E.E.D.
And trust God with what grows.
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