I researched how to make wine and I believe that making leaders is very similar to making wine. Here are the actual steps to making wine. See if you can see the similarity between making wine and training leaders. Here is the list with spiritual implications in parenthesis.

Steps to Making Wine

Prepare soil and trellises to hang vines on (Create an environment for people to grow)

Plant the Vines (Encourage believers to become disciples)

Manage the Vines using Canopy management (Umbrella of Protection under Spiritual Authority)

Pick the Grapes When Ripe (Let disciples start to minister)

Crush the Grapes to get the Juice out (Process of life puts people through trials)

Filter the Grape Juice (Passing of tests and increase of skill)

Mix with other Grapes to Balance out the Flavor (Mix with other gifts for humility and appreciation)

Put Yeast into Juice to Ferment. Creates actual wine. (Increase in anointing and Holy Spirit Power)

Age wine in a barrel (Be hidden away to grow in true identity and right motivations)

Pour the wine into bottles (Help them find their true calling and location to live out)

Put label on bottle and ship out (Release of individuals to their place)

Wine Makers of Northwest Georgia

This is a good description of the process we go through to become leaders.

Our goal is to raise leaders. Another way to think about is that we are winemakers of North West Georgia! Northwest Georgia is our wine making region. As leaders we are wine makers and our city is the winery!

Thoughts on Making Wine

Here are some other thoughts on making wine and leaders.

Wild Grapes can become productive if they allow themselves to be tied to a particular vineyard and managed by the Wine Makers. When wild believers enter into covenant with other believers and submit themselves to authority they will become grapes that can produce wine.

Small groups and discipleship training are the Bottling Plant.

Wine makers can’t make the grapes grow. They can only provide the place to grow the grapes, trellises, the right soil, the right irrigation, and the right wine making process to turn a vine into fine wine.

Leaders are responsible for pruning, canopy management, right soil, right drainage, etc.

It takes much oversight or the batch of grape juice will not taste right. Producing wine (disciples) is a complicated process that requires the right timing, understanding the condition of the grape, and the right mixture of a few key ingredients.

No mechanical processes allowed. Note, grapes are picked by hand one at a time.

How can you lead if you don’t know your label? A wine (disciple) will take on the taste characteristics of where it was grown, mixed, and bottled.

Teamwork is required. There is no wine with just one grape! A grape has to be willing to be blended with other grapes to provide a satisfactory drink to others.

If the grape (disciple) refuses to become a wine you become dried up over time – no juice -wrinkly – a raisin!

Some leaders are white wines– lighter, goes well with many different types of food, usually sweeter, enjoyed by more people. This is the mercy, giving, serving, pastor, teacher types. They are to be enjoyed right away. These are your rieslings, chardonnays, pinot noir wines.

Some leaders are red wines – heavier, stronger, more acid. Need to be aged longer before they can be enjoyed by others and then not liked by everyone. This is the Apostle, Prophet, ruler, Admin, etc. They are not good served immediately. They need some aging depending on how strong their acid (gift) is. These are your cabernet sauvignon, merlots, and Syrah wines.

Let’s make a toast to making great wine – I mean leaders!