CG Leadership Journal

To lead or not to lead?

Ryan — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:25:16 +0000

Leadership applications are going on right now. This year, we have 54 CG leaders…Lord willing, we’ll be adding 20-something leaders for next year. It is incredibly important for us to have high-quality leaders…so please ask yourself if there’s anyone in your group who is qualified to be a CG leader. Applying isn’t signing up…it’s just keeping all the doors open. I’ll be interviewing all the applicants and we’ll be making decisions before finals!

Here are some characteristics of leaders. An individual certainly wouldn’t have to have all of these, but the more they have, the more likely it is that they would be fit for leadership.

•Wants to grow spiritually

•Has good chemistry with the group

•Speaks up when others won’t

•Likes to talk about the Bible

•Gets conversations back on track

•Encourages other group members

•Always wants the group to hang out

•Communicates well with you

•Cares about the success of the group

•Speaks honestly and openly during group time

•Is committed to/excited about highland

Who do you need to have a conversation with to encourage to apply?

Ryan

What do the sheep need?

Ryan — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:10:40 +0000

The Bible is filled with imagery of shepherds and sheep. We see the concept of a pastor being the shepherd over his flock (the church). He must constantly be asking himself what the sheep need, and this becomes the basis for his vision and decisions.

As a small group leader, much of your responsibility is pastoral. Being a CG leader is not about coasting…you must be attentive to the needs of group members. I’ve been realizing lately how important it is to be a pastorally-minded leader. Here’ are some thoughts. Pastorally-minded leaders:

•Work to improve group chemistry

•Meet needs for accountability

•Pray and follow up w/ the group’s life situations

•Spend time with the disconnected

•Refuse to be numb to mediocrity

•Work towards their group living life together

•Fuel themselves through their quiet time

•Remember that they’re accountable to God, not to man

The students in your group are more than just names on a roster. You’ve been given the responsibility to lead them in their spiritual growth. What do the sheep need?

Rus da Bus

Healthy Co-leader Relationships

Ryan — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 05:36:24 +0000

To what famous partners would you compare you and your co-leader’s relationship? To Batman and Robin (leader and sidekick)? To Tom and Jerry (you try to kill each other)? To Romeo and Juliet (let’s hope not! Unless you’re married, but don’t try the poison thing)?

I want to challenge you to shoot for a Shaggy/Scooby Doo relationship with your co-leader. Not that you should be unusually scared of ghosts, eat epically long sandwiches, and jump into each other’s arms. And no, don’t accuse me of comparing girls to dogs.

Here are some marks of healthy co-leader relationships. Healthy co-leaders…

Have a healthy friendship. They take time, in addition to preparation, to hear about what’s going on in each other’s lives and develop good chemistry that translates to good group chemistry.
Make it a priority to meet together every week. They find a consistent meeting time to prepare so that they don’t have to rush through, but can both prepare and develop a healthy friendship.
Eat lots of vegetables. Just kidding.
Are equally prepared and equally invested in the group.
Plan together to create fellowship opportunities for the group (whole group or smaller settings).
Evaluate well. They discuss their thoughts on the progress of the group: what’s going well, what needs to improve.

Maybe the Shaggy/Scooby combo isn’t the best in the world, but it’ll do for now. How is your relationship will your co-leader going?

It just makes sense

Ryan — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:35:51 +0000

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

Helping Your Group through Sing

Ryan — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:30:00 +0000

At Baylor, Sing is coming up at the beginning of next semester. For upperclassmen groups, Sing can be a threat to your group’s health if you ignore it or mishandle it. As a leader, it is important to know how to deal with students participating. Having participated in Sing last year, I hope I can offer some advice to you as a leader.

It will help you out to understand what is going on with Sing:

Sing is a big commitment: Practices are often 5 nights a week. Practices begin at the beginning of the spring semester, and the final performance is February 26^th. Practices most commonly happen in the evening for 2 hrs and can start as early as 7 or as late as 10 (but earlier for most groups).

Most students have a love/hate relationship with Sing: they love doing it, but they eventually begin to get tired of so many practices, and become weary from the time commitment. Being in Sing can put strains on other aspects of life: classes, relationships, and other commitments.

As a leader, you should never cancel or miss your group because of Sing. If you need help figuring out how to explain this to a Sing chair, I’d be glad to help.

How should we approach Sing and participating students?

Face the fact that students in Sing may not be able to come to group every week. It’s probably not beneficial to try to convince your students to skip Sing to come to CG. If they are able and want to skip, they will. However, don’t be offended by anyone in your group who seems to not be able to make it…it’s not personal. They haven’t changed their view on CG, they’re just fulfilling their commitment to be at practice and aren’t able to make both happen.

ALWAYS be looking for ways to minister to your students in Sing (prayer, food)

Communicate to them that you want to support them through their busy time, and don’t lose touch with them even if you don’t see them. You don’t want them to feel like they’re out of the flow of the group when Sing is over.

Don’t make your students feel guilty. Odds are that they are already feeling some guilt about missing group. Support and encourage them instead.

If a majority of your group is participating, consider moving your time up (but don’t switch days) to accommodate them. Be careful not to move to a time where non-Singers can’t come…that’s not fair to them.

Separate from your group time, get your group together for a meal or quick hangout to continue group fellowship.

I’d encourage you to begin the conversation now by finding out who in your group will be in Sing and expressing to them that you are aware that life will be hectic and that as a group you intend to support and encourage them in this time.

Ryan

All for one, one for all

Ryan — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:41:07 +0000

It’s easy to have favorites. Naturally, some people are more outgoing than others, more sincere than others, more relatable than others. In all aspects of life, there are people that are simply easy to like. It’s not difficult to get along with them, to relate to them, to love them.

At the same time, we like people like us; people that have our same interests, passions, sense of humor, peculiarities. They make us feel comfortable, and that’s only natural.

How do you interact with the people in your group? No doubt, your group probably has tons of different personality types. There are people like you and others not like you. There are people that you would be friends with even if they weren’t in your group, and for others this isn’t the case.

As leaders, we need to be intentional about investing in everyone in our group. Take a minute to think about who in your group you naturally gravitate to. Now think about whom in your group is harder for you to form bonds with. Maybe this is because they’re quiet, a bit awkward, standoffish, hard to figure out, or they just don’t have a lot in common with you.

How can you rise up (sic em) and invest in these people? How can your love and appreciation for them equal that of the ones which are easy to love? Spend some time in prayer. Pray that God would draw them deeper into the community of your group. Pray for a heart for the loner. Pray that you would be able to realize the value of individuals as the creation of our God. Take steps to get involved in the lives of group members that aren’t naturally your best buds. It’s good leadership!

Ryan

It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that…

Ryan — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:46:46 +0000

1 Cor 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

What is our vision for Connection Groups? What is our end goal? What do we hope for? It’s crucially important as CG leaders that we know our vision. If we do not have an answer to these questions, then we have no way of measuring success. We have no way of ensuring that we’re being faithful to the task that God has put upon us.

Think about the vision that has to take place in the educational system. Every degree that you could possibly pursue is highly thought-out and structured. If you’re a management major, the vision or end goal is for you to be equipped in order to function in a mangerial position. Therefore, the degree requirements are structured so that you take all kinds of business classes, as well as classes related to communication, math, and writing. The dean (or whoever makes these decisions) doesn’t just throw together some random assortment. He doesn’t require zoology or theatre or elephant lassoing (which I recommend). The whole process is strategically planned and success is measured by the vision.

As Connection Group leaders, we must keep our vision in sight. What do we hope for? Our goal is spiritual transformation in the lives of students.

“Changed lives are at the heart of the vision. All other aspects of group life-including social interaction, compassion for one another, and Bible discussion-contribute to an atmosphere for transformation but are never sufficient in themselves. Transformation takes place in the heart, resulting in attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors becoming like those of the Master, Jesus. Group leaders must embrace such a vision, because it is God’s vision.” (Bill Donahue)

Spiritual Transformation. Let’s not be fooled. God does the transforming, not any work of our hands. But we can responsibly create a group atmosphere and structure that is conducive to spiritual transformation. Have you been leading others to pursue transformation?

Ryan

A Pitfall of Positional Leadership

Ryan — Mon, 03 May 2010 22:19:08 +0000

Jesus to the church at Sardis: “…I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die…” Revelation 3:1-2

There is a temptation in positional leadership roles (i.e. CG leader) to spiritually coast through certain seasons of your leadership. It may be a day that you feel tired, a week with a lot of tests, a few weeks of giving into sin, an exciting month with a new significant other, or a semester with classes and organizational events that demand your attention. During these times it is easy to rely on your “reputation” that comes along with having a leadership role in the church. This temptation becomes sin when you become less intentional about your spiritual leadership over students, when you cut corners on the time it takes to create a high-quality CG (5hrs/wk), when you become careless with the moral decisions you make, when you tell yourself you will make it up the next week, or when serving and honoring God with your spiritual gifts drops on your priority list.

We are naturally bent toward this sin. BUT there is hope, grace, and redemption. We must instruct our souls everyday to WAKE UP. Take time to strengthen your leadership through spiritual disciplines, priority setting, time management, and accountability (telling on yourself).

Be good students during your college years, but be GREAT servants of God throughout all of your years.

Praying that you experience being alive in Christ.

-Geoff

Reaching Students Where They Are

Ryan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:52:02 +0000

Leaders often talk about reaching students where they are. Here are some practical tips for doing just that. It would be wise of you as a small group leader to consider 2 things: (1) What is each student’s level of connection with what happens in your group? (2) At what level are you challenging/leading your students?

Each student will have a different level of initial involvement with the content of your group.

Here is a hierarchy of learning attitudes that you would do well to be aware of (adapted from J. Michael Godfrey, Ph.D., D.Min.):

Directing their attention (a student is willing to come and give their attention)
Interacting (a student is willing to respond by participating in a discussion, etc.)
Determining values/importance (a student gives significant weight to the role of the group in their spiritual life)
Ordering their priorities (a student makes growing in Christ a priority, and thus CG becomes a priority)
Creating habits and practices in their lives (a student demonstrates transformation outside of group, and begins to reproduce other disciples)

If you can locate on this list where 1 student is, you will also know to what extent you need to challenge them and what their next step of growth might be.

I think this is a really good tool for leading our students to spiritual growth in bite-sized pieces. The picture that I love, which Kyle Dunn articulated to me first, is the picture of a shepherd and his sheep. The shepherd on the hilltop watching over his flock is always looking out for the next place to lead his sheep. Spiritual leadership is simply us looking forward and pointing our students in the right direction–giving them a picture of the preferred future.

So, if your sheep are munching on the grass of #2, we as shepherds should begin pointing them toward #3, and so on. Ultimately, it is the work of the Holy Spirit, but we have been entrusted with these students as steward-leaders.

Let’s be informed and intentional leaders.

Locating Potential Leaders

Ryan — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:36:08 +0000

Here is a list of qualities to look for in a potential CG leader. If you see some or all of these qualities in any of your students, push them to apply to be a CG leader (PS, make sure they know that applying isn’t a commitment, it’s just opening a door to see what God might do).

At some point, someone saw these things in you and I am so thankful for that.

A strong potential leader:

has high moral character
wants to grow spiritually
has good chemistry with the group
speaks up when others won’t
likes to talk about the Bible
gets conversations back on track
encourages other group members
doesn’t make lame excuses
communicates well with you
cares about the success of the group
speaks honestly and openly during group time
is committed to highland

I hope this helps. Some of these can come by way of training, so it’s no big deal if they don’t exhibit all of these qualities. If they only show 2 or 3, it is still worth it to challenge them to apply! We’ll never know what God might do through one person if they never even apply.

I’m looking forward to meeting your potential leaders!