Effective Leadership

Recently, I was leading a Wednesday night study on eschatology or the study of end times. At the outset of the series I asked the question, “Do you give much thought to end times and what will happen when Jesus comes back?” I was quite surprised to find how many people answered yes! Then I was even more surprised to learn that they think about this often, and some even on a daily basis.

This is good, as we are told that He is coming soon and will give to everyone according to what they have done (Rev. 22:12). These words hold a lot of promise and are part of our blessed hope, but at the same time, can seem awfully daunting when things don’t go as we have expected in various seasons of life. Take heart, your faithfulness is a key first step in this whole process.

Here is a great perspective to consider when applying this promise to life in general or even gauging our effectiveness in leading our small group. “When all is considered, God supplies His word; God provides the Holy Spirit; God supplies all of the spiritual gifts; and God supplies the power to do the work of the ministry. Just about the only thing that you and I have left to offer God to accomplish His eternal work is our faithfulness, our basic requirement.” (Ron McManus, Effective Leadership)

If you know that God has called you to lead in small group ministry, simply continue to be faithful to that call. His Word, Spirit, and gifts will help supply the rest... continue to be that good and faithful servant.

Solid Connections....

Part 7 of 7 - Addressing the issues of “The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry”

Sin Seven: Neglect of the Assimilation Process. I like to actually relate this area of small group connections to a phone call. Here is the scenario. You know the number to call, you have dialed it several times, so much so that you know the extension and how to avoid the prompts and just roll right through to the person you need to connect with. This type of call could be related to the long time member of your church. They know everyone, actually like everyone, and want to be in community with them. In other words, in small group community it is really easy to assimilate and connect the people that want to be connected.

Now for the other scenario or the call that some people dread: You know the ones? Right up front you feel like the customer service phone menu may actually be designed to weed you out or keep you from calling. Sometimes they ask you questions that you simply can’t answer without in depth research and having several documents on hand to enter a long string of numbers. You may even get to a point of entering all the info, then unexpectedly hang up in a huff of exasperation or mini panic attack as you ask” do I really want to do this?”

Hopefully we have not made getting connected to a small group this frustrating? Often times though, it seems those that want to be connected, will simply get connected, since that is what they want anyway. With that, you become a key piece to the assimilation process!

Ultimately, no matter how well a church-wide assimilation process is designed, in the end it all comes down to a human factor. It requires a people that are so in love with community and people around them that they seek to get people connected. A desire to have people experience what they themselves are enjoying.

John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

I think small group assimilation really should be that simple. Disagree? Let me know!

What your definition of is, is....

Part 6 of 7 - Addressing the issues of “The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry”

Sin Six: Narrow Definition of a Small Group. In this chapter of reviewing the deadly sins of a small group ministry, six can be summed fairly easily. The statement given on the first page of chapter 11 just hits the issue dead on; “By limiting their definition of a good small group, they miss opportunities to connect people into community”

For some reason, many people hesitate to be identified with a small group, as if there is some sort of stigma attached. There are many reasons for this and they can vary in many different ways. Sometimes it can be from previous unsuccessful small group attempts that never had a clear focus, or even people just wanting to run their own ministries. In extreme cases, it can be traced back to the previous sin of not wanting to be all inclusive, or in some cases just not agreeing with the ministry direction as a whole. Dare I mention that there are some that, just may not like the leadership.... surely not!

Simple fact is this; spiritual formation and personal growth usually happens by being connected and most often that is through community. Since small groups are all about community, we must do our best to limit the, me factor, and focus more on group transformation. It just may change your life if you let it.