The video below really shows how a group of friends can have an impact on their community in a practical way. Try to think of a way that your small group can have an impact on your neighborhood!
I was reading some blogs on Small Groups recently and I ran across this post that focuses on the qualities and practices of effective leaders.
1. Leaders Model the Way
Leadership is not about personality; it's about behavior.
Leading means you have to be a good example, and live what you say.
Leaders must find their own voice, then they must clearly and distinctively give voice to their values.
Leadership is about the power of spending time with someone, of working side by side with colleagues, of telling stories that make values come alive, of being highly visible during times of uncertainty, and of asking questions to get people to think about values and priorities.
2. Leaders Inspire a Shared Vision
Every organization, every social movement, begins with a dream.
Leaders have a desire to make something happen, to change the way things are, to create something that no one else has ever created before.
In some ways, leaders live their lives backward... it is their vision of the future pulls them forward.
Leaders cannot command commitment, only inspire it.
Leadership is a dialogue, not a monologue. Leaders must know their constituents and speak their language.
3. Leaders Challenge the Process
Leaders venture out. They are pioneers. They are willing to step out into the unknown.
Leaders search for opportunities to innovate, grow, and improve. They are constantly looking outside themselves and their organizations for new and innovative products, processes, and services.
When it comes to innovation, the leader's major contributions are in the creation of a climate for experimentation, the recognition of good ideas, the support of those ideas, and the willingness to challenge the system to get new products, processes, services, and systems adopted.
Leaders are learners.
Life is the leader's laboratory, and exemplary leaders use it to conduct as many experiments as possible.
4. Leaders Enable Others to Act
Grand dreams don't become significant realities through the actions of a single person. It requires a team effort.
Leaders foster collaboration and build trust.
Leaders work to make people feel strong, capable, and committed.
Authentic leadership is founded on trust, and the more people trust their leader, and each other, the more they take risks, make changes, and keep organizations and movements alive.
5. Leaders Encourage the Heart
It is part of the leaders job to show appreciation for people's contributions and to create a culture of celebrating values and victories.
Encouragement is, curiously, serious business.
Leaders make sure people see the benefit of behavior that's aligned with cherished values.
Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. It is the quality of this relationship that matters most when we're engaged in getting extraordinary things done.
Have you ever thought about starting a small group at work? If your employer is open to the idea of letting you use a meeting room, or even if you have to go offsite for your study, it can be a life changing experience. Literally. While I was working security for a local retailer I would have some pretty intense spiritual discussions with a few of my co-workers. Our jobs allowed us to talk and work at the same time and there were numerous occasions where I would pull out my bible to answer a question or clarify a point. On one occasion it brought my co-worker to tears and we prayed about the challenges they faced.
Sometimes we forget that ministry isn't limited to the walls of our homes and our churches. The topic reminds me of a recent post by Dave Treat. Read it and consider starting a different kind of group!
I was catching up on emails and enjoying my coffee (Intelligentsia... recommended by Scot McKnight) at a coffee house up the street from Willow when I heard it. There were two guys sitting behind me, one middle aged, one younger, both clearly on the staff of a local church. I couldn't make out everything they said... nor was I trying... until I heard this from the younger one:
"... but this guy feels like God is calling him to make a lot of money so he can help the poor. Jesus never did that! Jesus never made any money!"
His implication, bolstered by further comments, was that "this guy" is a jerk, mistaken, misguided, missing the boat. If "this guy" really wanted to help the poor, he would renounce his worldly capitalism and do "real" ministry (presumably by volunteering to do something "significant" to assist a church-sponsored program.)
I nearly choked. I nearly blew Dark Roast out my nose. I nearly turned around and asked him who he thought paid for the Last Supper. I wondered, briefly, if Jesus was out of God's will for the first 30 years of his life. After all, he was a carpenter at "Joseph and Sons."
It is this kind of comment and the poor reasoning that supported it that confuses the thousands of missionaries already laboring in the marketplace. I've led a number of workplace small groups for men and women whose influence on behalf of the kingdom surpasses that of the pastors telling them to "give it up for God" and to get out of the marketplace and get into ministry.
I just got an email today from Dave Treat over at the Willow Creek Association. They are allowing our readers to register for the Group Life Conference at a DISCOUNTED RATE!!!
Regular price is $365 for WCA members and $385 for non-members. However if you call in or register online and use this priority code - GLC8BLG - you will get in into the conference for $245! That even beats the super early bird member rate by $40!
Call to register at 800-570-9812 and use the priority code GLC8BLG for your discount.
Or click here to register on line and don't forget to type in your code!
Chris Salzman at Think Christian recently wrote about a small group experience he had at his group prayer time:
I attended a small group session in high school. It was about twenty teenage boys and a leader. During prayer time we went around and offered our requests,which the leader concisely wrote down. He then assigned each person a prayer request and literally told us to keep it short and to the point.
He, after all, had an agenda to get to.
And to turn it around on myself: I often pray in quick lists. It's a great way to order my thoughts. I also recognize how stifling it is to spiritual growth, but seriously, it's a lot easier coming to God with a list of "fix this, fix that" things than to sit and listen.
And to play dissenting voice for a bit: is praying in such a way necessarily a bad thing?
How does your small handle prayer. What do you do to change it up at times?
Have you ever thought about starting a small group at work? If your employer is open to the idea of letting you use a meeting room, or even if you have to go offsite for your study, it can be a life changing experience. Literally. While I was working security for a local retailer I would have some pretty intense spiritual discussions with a few of my co-workers. Our jobs allowed us to talk and work at the same time and there were numerous occasions where I would pull out my bible to answer a question or clarify a point. On one occasion it brought my co-worker to tears and we prayed about the challenges they faced.
I just got an email today from Dave Treat over at the Willow Creek Association. They are allowing our readers to register for the Group Life Conference at a DISCOUNTED RATE!!!