The Lamb's Bride Project
Learn
the
most
dramatic
paradigm
shift Almost everything you read in Christian circles teaches you to lead individuals, not to lead the group. The leader in most models, if not all of them, has his or her attention either on the discussion or the individuals. Or maybe on both. But it is not on the group! The leader is thinking about the content of the study or about the individuals. Rarely, if ever, do current models of group leadership tell leaders to be thinking about the group, on things like these:
Focusing on individual group members or on the topic of discussion does not build a group. The group is like an organism. It is like a team. Someone must focus on the development of the group and its tasks. The "someone" who does that is truly a small group leader!
Critical Leadership (Discipling) Distinctions LEADERSHIP OF INDIVIDUALS, ONE-ON-ONE The individual is the focus of leadership. Discipleship: On a scale of 1-10, an individual achieves only a 3 because there is little relationship discipling and growth.
LEADERSHIP OF INDIVIDUALS IN A GROUP In spite of the group, individuals are the focus of leadership. The leader is almost always thinking only of the individual group members. Discipleship: On a scale of 1-10, an individual achieves a 5 at most because the leader's attention is divided among the different individuals in the group.
LEADERSHIP OF A GROUP The group as a whole is the focus of leadership efforts. The individuals are the focus of the group's efforts, not the primary focus of the small group leader. Discipleship: On a scale of 1-10, an individual achieves a 9 because his relational skills are open for review and teaching right in the group where interaction is happening between members (not primarily between leader and each group participant). More important is that the group as a team, a fighting unit in the Army of God, is being discipled and built into a strong force for the work of Jesus Christ.
The Paradigm Shift to Groups, Away From Individuals in Groups
Desperately Seeking True Small Group Leadership Situation: An individual is having trouble praying and trusting God. This person asks for an explanation of Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
LEADERSHIP OF INDIVIDUALS, ONE-ON-ONE The leader provides an explanation and guidance. The individual gets personal attention from one person, an authority figure, and feels cared for but remains dependent. The individual gets a fairly good explanation, perhaps illustrated by one person's life with God. The leader feels important and useful; he or she has helped someone for the Lord.
LEADERSHIP OF INDIVIDUALS IN A GROUP All too often the scenario is the same as above. Occasionally one or two group members enter into the explanation of Proverbs 3:5, but they do not often take responsibility for the outcome because the leader has assumed such responsibility and authority. Other group members, as observers most of the time, benefit some from the insights the leader communicates to the individual. But all remain dependent upon the leader.
LEADERSHIP OF A GROUP The leader gives the whole job to the group, possibly saying, "Can you help Joe with his question and help him grow in his trust of God?" All group members grapple with the problem and go about the task of helping, not only during the one meeting but over time until the individual trusts God sufficiently and becomes active in prayer. The leader shares only that small amount of information the group cannot eventually discern on their own. But the leader is quite active in helping the group reach its maximum helpfulness. Each group member struggles with his or her own trust with God. Each group member serves Jesus Christ and ministers in His name. No one feels dependent upon the leader for the duties of ministry to one another. Every group member "leads"; some see their potential for leadership, while all sense their capability in God's service. The individual asking the question feels important and cared for by many people, including the leader who keeps the group in motion. The individual does not feel inferior to other believers because many group members expose their own struggles in trusting God. The individual gets many explanations of the verse, each from a slightly different perspective. He is able to find the explanation that most closely fits his doubts. The individual gets to see many illustrations of God's trustworthiness from the various group members' lives with God over the years. The group leader really feels important, not because of accolades he or she receives from the group, but because of the success he has helped the group achieve. He or she has helped the group help every single group member to grow in trust of God and in prayer, not to speak of the help he or she has given the group and its members in other growth areas as well.
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When you lead
individuals
in a group setting,
you do not get
a group!