Follow First, Then Lead
Hello, my name is Damian Gerke. I help followers of Jesus understand their identity and align their lives with the kingdom purpose of being and making disciples.
This newsletter is a mix of topics that all orbit around knowing and leveraging our identity in Christ. This will include things like
Disciple-making and multiplying disciples
Identity
Brain function and thinking habits
Hearing God and responding in obedience
Community and relationships
Maturity in these topics brings excellence and effectiveness in God’s kingdom. But maturity only come from knowing God rather than leaning on our understanding. So to we must follow him to be effective in our lives.
Follow to lead.
designed by God to be lived out in dependence upon God. ubmission to him.
who about all things Jesus and leadership—two topics with significant overlap. The mission Jesus left the church (make disciples) is best understood as a call to lead: Go and influence, equip and multiply people from all nations who will follow him. To Jesus, leading others is an outflow and reflection of following him. So if we want to get better at leading others, we must first get better at following him.
Follow first, then lead.
To that end, most of my content will orbit around these themes and how they impact each other:
Becoming more like Jesus, individually and collectively.
Knowing and leveraging our unique identities.
Doing both in the society and culture in which we are immersed.
As for me…
I’m an executive coach and church leader, with a background that includes roles in vocational ministry, as an engineer in the manufacturing industry and corporate HR experience. I’m the author of Are You Who You Want to Be: How Knowing Your Identity Lets You Live Your True Purpose (along with the companion Field Guide), In the Way: Church As We Know It Can Be a Discipleship Movement (Again), and Taking the Lead: What Riding a Bike Can Teach You About Leadership. (see My Books below).
I’m part of the leadership team of 1Body Church, a network of disciple-making simple home churches in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I live in St. Petersburg with my wife Cheryl. I enjoy cycling, reading and writing, and being reshaped by the Word of God and my spiritual family. It’s a privilege to walk with you on your leadership journey.
Why subscribe?
Here’s what you get:
First and foremost: my sincere gratitude! Your subscription allows me to serve the church in my very unique role.
Free subscribers get access to medium-length articles.
Paid subscribers get:
Access to full-length articles and publication archives.
Exclusive posts to explore ideas that I’m currently kicking around.
One-to-one contact with me through things like ask-me-anything Q&A sessions, direct messaging, and discussion threads dedicated to conversations with me and with each other
The ability to comment on my public posts.
Possible guest postings.
Supporter subscribers also get a 1-hour coaching session with me.
My Books
Are You Who You Want to Be:
How Knowing Your Identity Let's You Live Your True Purpose
My most recent release is about the understanding of identity in being a follower of Jesus. It’s a topic that has been transformational for me. While it deals with the humanity’s all-time, most frequently asked question (“who am I?”), it’s a topic that the church has inconsistently answered in a coherent and practical way—despite the Bible’s rich content on the topic.
The book is written as a narrative non-fiction, and the partner Field Guide is written as a study guide and group discussion resource.
The book is available in print, e-book and audio-book versions;
The Field Guide is available in print and e-book versions
In the Way:
Church As We Know It Can Be a Discipleship Movement (Again)
Written for church leaders and anyone who yearns for the church to become the disciple-making movement it was in the first century. The book clearly exposes the things that are (unintentionally) blocking the organic multiplication of disciples. It also explains a disciple-making multiplication (DMM) ministry approach, and calls ultimately for the church in the West to unify around our mission.
Available in print, e-book and audio-book versions
Taking the Lead:
What Riding a Bike Can Teach You About Leadership
If you’ve ever ridden a bike, two things have happened:
You’ll never forget how.
You’ve experience the principles that drive leadership excellence.
This helpful resource uses a simple experience that everyone can understand (riding a bike) to illustrate key leadership principles. The chapters are short (4-1/2 pages). The range of topics is comprehensive (30 chapters). Use it as a reference for your own development. Use it as a coaching tool to help others become more effective leaders. Use it as a quick refresher on leadership lessons you’ve learned in the past. You’ll be glad you did!
Available in print and e-book versions
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