MUST DO's of Leading Small Groups

Several weeks ago I started thinking about the MUST DO’s for Bible Talk Leaders.

In other words the things the leader MUST DO in order to see his/her Bible Talk grow.

I have read several books on this matter, including The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Leaders, Home Cell Group Explosion, The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Small Groups and so forth.

The authors addressed principles like prayer and regular contact. Saying the Bible Talk leader must daily pray for everyone in his/her group, and that they need to regularly be in contact with everyone in the Bible Talk, invite people to church on a weekly basis, etc. etc.

As I read all of this, I agreed that all of the above are great habits, but I was not convinced that this was “it”. I was missing something... something BIG. And then it hit me. The missing link was: the leader’s commitment to God and personal growth.

Above all else, the Bible Talk leader must be fully devoted to his/her own Spiritual growth and fully devoted to the growth of each of the members in his/her Bible Talk. Without that, nothing else will matter.

If you as the leader are not committed to your own personal growth you will not be able to help others grow.

Your number one priority and focus should be your commitment to your own growth.

You have to be devoted to grow in your intimacy with God, your community with other disciples and your influence with outsiders. Without that, you will fail. You simply cannot lead other people to places that you have not gone yourself.

What comes second to this is the commitment to the people - being fully devoted to the growth of the people in your Bible Talk. To “try and help them” will not cut it; it has to be more than that. As the leader, there has to be a desire in your heart to help your people become more like Christ.

These are two MUST DO’s for Bible Talk leaders. Two commitments we cannot do without.

Spiritual Leadership (Part 2)

People may change there behavior in response to a leaders encouragement, but that doesn’t mean they have changed there core values and beliefs.

As people see God at work around them and as they are encouraged to join him, they will demonstrate much more than compliance. They will enthusiastically participate in the things they sense God is doing.

Doctors have relinquished successful practices for the mission field because they sensed God leading them to do so. When people sense they are a part of Something God is doing, there is no limit to what they are willing to do in response.

From Spiritual Leadership

Spiritual Leadership

Spiritual leadership is moving people onto Gods Agenda.

The spiritual leader’s task is to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be. People who fail to move people onto Gods agenda have not led. Leaders cause there people to change their attitudes and behaviors and to move forward to achieve Gods purposes.

Spiritual leaders depend on the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can ultimately accomplish the task. God is working throughout the world to achieve His purposes and to advance His kingdom.

From Spiritual Leadership

The Gift of Leadership

Rom. 12:6-8 ‘We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is… leadership, let him govern diligently…’

‘…he who has the power of ruling, let him do it with a serious mind...’ (BBE)

‘…whoever has authority should work hard...’ GNB

‘…If it is leadership, lead enthusiastically...’ GW

‘…Is it being a leader? Then work hard at it....’ NIrV

‘..if it is to lead, do it diligently..’ TNIV

If you have the gift of leadership, you have to give it your absolute best. You have to lead with everything that you have got.

What is a SUPER-C leader?

A couple of years ago a read a great book - Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels -that had a section in it that really influenced my thinking on what it takes to lead. The author referred to three C’s (Character, Competence and Chemistry) being the ingredients for someone he would look to hire on his team.

As a leadership team we discussed this concept at length for months and eventually landed on a descriptive term for the three C’s that we called a Super-C leader. A SUPER-C leader is someone who (though not perfect) exemplifies the three C’s.

1. CHARACTER

The Web dictionary define character as ‘the inherent compound of attributes that determines a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions.’

In short, it is who you are when no one is looking. It is who you are before God and for God. It is things like resilience, discipline, passion, determination, grace, compassion, kindness and a desire to learn and grow.

You are going to find it very hard to lead others if you are not able to lead yourself.

2. COMPETENCE

The ability to get the job while leaving wake of relationships of people who loved the journey. It doesn’t help to get the job done, but hurt people in the process and it also doesn’t help to be everybody’s friend but not achieving anything. The competent leader is able to balance the two.

3. CHEMISTRY

Relational savvy. It is difficult to go along if you can’t get along. The person must have the ability to relate with and connect with people.

I have recently heard some share an exercise to determine whether you have chemistry with someone or not. Let say you are in your office fully engaged with and important assignment and someone pops their head into the door to ask you a question. If you see them as an interruption you most probably don’t have chemistry with them. If their face is an welcome sight you most probably have chemistry with them.

So there you go, a SUPER-C leader has character, competence and chemistry. The purpose of this blog is to help you grow in these three areas.