| |
|
 |
 |
The Leader's Journey
|
Browse the E-zine Archives 
View Our 2008 Theme List
 |
| |
More... |
DepartmentsIce Breakers, Prayer Ideas, Bible Study Tips, Outreach Activities and Much More... |
InteractiveSmall Group Problem-Solving, Fun Top Ten List and other Interactive Feedback from the Small Group Network... |
|
|
Leadership Issues in the Small Group
|
I know this may sound redundant, but here goes: “Leading a small group requires leadership.” We have all suspected for a long time that small group leadership may involve leadership, and if you have led a group for any length of time you know that it definitely requires some leadership skills. With this revelation in mind, let me ask you a question: When you think of leadership, what definition or word picture comes to your mind?
|
Engaging God from the Heart
|
At 22 and fresh out of college, I was honored to be one of the first small group leaders in our new church plant. I felt like I was really doing well as a Christian and on my way to accomplishing great things in the Kingdom of God. Two years later, the group I had invested so much of myself in decided together to disband because they felt they “weren’t having a good small group experience”. Ouch. That event was the beginning of a two-year series of blows to my confidence that led me to the point of giving up on my call. I thought my usefulness to God as a leader was over.
|
The Authority of Love - A Leader After God’s Own Heart
|
On our journey as leaders and servants of the church, we encounter many truths. Most are gleaned from Scripture. The most powerful lessons are learned through experience which corresponds with Scripture. They come as insights from the Holy Spirit, whose teaching ministry we were promised would: “lead [us] into all truth.” These biblical life lessons and Spirit insights form a body of wisdom that we draw upon in our oversight of God’s people. Through this process, of comparing biblical truth with life experience, the leaders I serve with at New Life Fellowship have discovered several “authority of love” principles that God is teaching through their care for their small groups, called Lifegroups.
|
The 5 H’s of a Small Group Leader’s Journey
|
“Hey…have you ever considered leading a small group?” That is usually what people think is the beginning of their journey into small group leadership. However, the journey begins much earlier in the unofficial, perhaps unnoticed steps. This leadership journey is a continuum that I call the 5 H’s of a leader’s journey:
|
When a Small Group Leader is Running on Empty
|
There is a metaphor that we often use with each other, particularly in Christian circles. It is the metaphor of the “fuel tank.” We like to say, “How is your tank these days? Is it full or empty?” Of course, we are not talking about the fuel tank on our mini-van or lawn mower. We are talking about a psychological tank that somehow monitors our physical, emotional, and mental energy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
