Small group ministry has its challenges. One of many is the challenge of leadership. Recently the pastor at Lifechurch.tv dealt with the following question, "What do I do if I'm on staff at a church and see ways we can improve but don't have support of those in leadership above me?"
Here is what he had to say...
I'll devote this week to answering the question, "How can I lead up?"
As I write, I do so from the two perspectives, I was an associate pastor of a very traditional church for five years. I both succeed and failed in leading up. As a senior pastor with a large and mostly younger staff, I have many who try to lead up. Some are successful. Some aren't. Some don't try to lead up at all.
Let's start with a basic thought:
Someone said in regards to authority, "You can't be over until you learn to be under."
In other words, if you don't know how to be under authority, you can't expect to have authority over others.
Don't try to lead up if you're rebellious.
I've worked with a lot of talented leaders who have this mindset... "I'll do what I want... one way or another." That attitude will kill you every time.
Don't try to lead up if you think you know it all.
If you've read many of my posts, you know how much I value the young emerging leaders.
One weakness, though, for many twenty-somethings (as it was for me) is that they often think they have things figured out. You don't. You won't even know what you don't know for several years.
If you have an un-teachable spirit, you will never succeed in leading up.
I have been working in a rapidly growing church plant environment for the last 6 years. EVERYTHING that Craig has indicated in this post I have found to be true. I do my best to lead upwards by practicing the skills he talks about in this post. Also I have found that those in my small group organization that are the most effective leaders on my team do the same.
Posted by: Frank Chiapperino in prayer, community on
May 29, 2007
an interesting question as an ice breaker. I asked them what was a recent spiritual moment that they had that was significant for them. We got a wide range of answers that were all great. I love hearing about what God is doing in the lives of others. I obviously can't write those answers here because it would violate the confidentiality of our group.
However, I can share one thing that tugged at my own heart. One of our group members shared that their spiritual moment was when our group's prayers were answered for my son Michael. He recently had a full evaluation from a developmental pediatrician. Fortunately the evaluation went well and he tested age appropriate. Our little guy has had some challenges but God has done some cool things.
It is also nice to know that we are in a group who really cares about us and our son. Nothing confirms that more than asking about their significant moment and getting an answer that their moment is your moment... an answered prayer.
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There are lots of ways to keep your studies in your small group fresh. Some use DVD curriculum, some use different study guides, others will find an interesting book to read, or simply read the Bible together. But what about when you want to do something totally different?
I had a discussion today with a friend, Matt, from Levittown Christian Church (http://www.levittownchristian.com/) and he gave me an interesting idea. He couldn't remember exactly where he got it from, but here it is. You distrbute the following responsibilities to different people in your group and each member brings just one item off the following list:
- One article from a magazine or newspaper
- One passage or verse from the bible
- One interesting quote from someone
- One headline from the CNN or another news source
- Prayer requests
Add other stuff to make a list of your own and work through it in your small group!
Take a risk and try something new!
Posted by: Frank Chiapperino in Untagged on
May 14, 2007
There are lots of ways to keep your studies in your small group fresh. Some use DVD curriculum, some use different study guides, others will find an interesting book to read, or simply read the Bible together. But what about when you want to do something totally different?
I had a discussion today with a friend, Matt, from Levittown Christian Church (
www.levittownchristian.com) and he gave me an interesting idea. He couldn't remember exactly where he got it from, but here it is. You distrbute the following responsibilities to different people in your group and each member brings just one item off the following list:
- One article from a magazine or newspaper
- One passage or verse from the bible
- One interesting quote from someone
- One headline from the CNN or another news source
- Prayer requests
Add other stuff to make a list of your own and work through it in your small group!
Take a risk and try something new!
