It just makes sense

About a month ago, I started leading an all-guys CG. As you know, anytime that you start a group, it’s important to give them some vision for the group, especially in the way of what to expect and what is expected from them. Going in, I knew that one of the main things I wanted to talk about was commitment. I know that’s one of the things that some of our groups struggle with the most…which means it’s even more important to cast vision for it from the beginning. Here’s something like what I said:

“There are 4 things that we want to happen in our group: Bible interaction, prayer, accountability, fellowship. Bible interaction: we want to study the Bible together and learn from the Word as we learn from each other. Prayer: we want to bear each other’s burdens as we lift up each other’s needs to God. Accountability: we want to love each other enough to not allow each other to be spiritually lazy as we work together towards spiritual growth. Fellowship: we want to live life together, knowing what’s going on in each other’s lives and taking friendships beyond a Tuesday night meeting.

Here’s what important; these 4 things (Bible interaction, prayer, accountability, and fellowship) are only beneficial if there’s commitment connected to them. We can’t truly hold each other to spiritual growth if we’re not committed. We can’t truly be a part of each other’s lives if we’re not committed. We would only be fooling ourselves. Our commitment needs to be not a reflection of our schedule as much as of our desire to live in Christian community. If this is something that we’re going to do, let’s do it well! With commitment comes an awesome experience, but if commitment lacks, we’re only hurting ourselves.”

I wasn’t sure how the guys would react to this; whether they would feel like it was a lot to ask, or whether they would have much of an opinion at all. However, they were completely on board. They wanted the benefits of Christian community. They wanted to know each other and to be known, to help each other towards spiritual growth. I was pumped.

Why do I tell you this? As I reflected upon all of this, I once again realized that expecting commitment just makes sense. Sometimes, as leaders, we feel awkward about mentioning it or calling people out, or we’re afraid they’ll take it the wrong way, or that they won’t see why it’s important. But in reality, it just makes sense. If we want a worthwhile experience in CG, commitment has to be the foundation.

Have you given your group this vision lately? Have you reminded them what potential could be actualized if commitment was a foundation? It’s important (even for groups that have been together a long time) to refresh their mindset from time to time. Maybe you need to remind your group of its purpose and its direction. It’s not weird, it just makes sense.

Feel free to comment!

Ryan

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