The Grandfather Effect

How do you measure effectiveness in what you do? What are you really trying to accomplish? Where and how do you focus your effort?

At a men’s prayer breakfast seven or eight years ago, my dad mentioned this verse:

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…” -Proverbs 13:22

Inheritance could represent anything a father would leave to future generations. Most specifically for my dad, though, he said it was what he taught his children.

My dad said his parenting success wouldn’t be measured by how well I turned out or how well my brothers or sister turned out. His success would be measured by how well my brothers and sister and I raised our children. The measure of his success would be what he left to his grandchildren.

He’s trying to live that way.

Living for the third generation

I’m trying to apply that principle to what I do, even if it has nothing to do with parenting yet. For example, my measure here isn’t how many readers click through to what I’ve written. My measure isn’t how many of you leave comments or subscribe (RSS / Email ), though I appreciate both. My measure isn’t even how many of your imitate what I do.

The measure of my effectiveness is in how many of you take what I share and share it with others. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not ignoring you. I just know that you will pass on to others what’s important to you. If you learn anything from me, anything that really matters, you’ll share it.

This isn’t a ploy to trick you into spreading the word about this blog.

• For one thing, I think you’re too smart to fall for that nonsense.
• For another, I hope what I do is bigger than a blog.
• For yet another, it’s impossible to trick someone into the Grandfather Effect.

The grandfather effect is about deep discipleship. It’s easy to reach millions of people.  The Backstreet Boys did it in the late 90s. Britney Spears did it too. But to get to the next level, to significantly change people’s lives, those millions have to pass it on. For many, not just Britney and the Boys, I don’t see that happening.

Jesus’ life (and death and life again) mattered enough to His disciples for them to share it. It mattered enough for many of them to die for it. But test was to see if Jesus’ disciples’ disciples would die for their faith. They did. Jesus mattered.

You and I, our testimony, and our lives 2000 years after Christ came to earth are some of the best evidence that He mattered. Jesus cared about His disciples – He taught them so they could to teach others. He literally empowered them with the tools and encouragement to make their own disciples.

Are you living for the third generation?

The same is true for you. What you leave for the third generation is what matters. That doesn’t mean ignoring the second generation. It means paying them so much attention and giving them so much encouragement that they’re compelled to live beyond themselves. It means instilling in others an others-oriented perspective.

You’ll know then that what you did made a difference. You’ll know then that the people you taught lived what you taught. When you leave something to the third generation, you’ll know the second generation got it.

That’s the Grandfather Effect.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Live for the third generation. Focus your perspective beyond your direct influence. Those who follow you have followers too.

(2) In the comments, share an experience where you did something that impacted a third generation.