What Small Group are you leading next semester?

This is an e-mail from one of our small groupleaders to the people in his group encouraging them to lead a small group. Figured it would make a greatblog. Enjoy!

What small group are you leading nextsemester?

Tis the season for some last minute encouragement,what small group are you going to lead this next semester? All of youhave skills and passions. Throw Jesus in the mix and BOOM, you got asmall group. Even if you aren't good at anything, you can lead a"I'm not good at anything small group". You can sit around withother people who aren't good at anything either and do nothingtogether. How awesome would it be to do nothing with other people whoenjoy nothing? Party.

Ok, that may have been an extreme example, butit could happen. God has given us all abilities to do somethinggreat. Your talent or ability is just as good as the guy/galnext door. Your unique gift might just be the somethinsomethin that turns someone's life over to Christ........and then thedominos start to fall. There are people out there that are hungry forwhat you have to offer no matter how special, unique, different, weird, andinteresting it may be. Different strokes for different folks.

Take some time and think about what youare good at. You probably will come up with several ideas.....put oneinto motion. Sure, you will have to put a little time into it, maybespend a buck or two, but seeing someone's life change is priceless.

As the townie told Bobby Boucher in Waterboy,You can do it!

BAYSIDE LEADERS ORIENTATION IS NOV. 19 at Noonat Bayside East

SMALL GROUP FORMS ARE DUE DEC. 4.

Excellence, a working definition……

I’m not going to pretend I have the market cornered on defining excellence, but in the past 8 years I have developed a working definition I use on a daily basis to see if I am operating with excellence in the things that God has called me to do.

At the end of the day, I take a quick 2-3 minutes and get a bit introspective. I ask myself this question.  Did I do what I could/should, when I could, with what I had?  Let’s break that down a bit.

Did I do what I could/should?

We all get sidetracked and distracted from doing what we can/should do.  There are more things demanding our attention than ever before.  Focus is the key to this.  If we are honest with ourselves, the answer is pretty easy to come up with.

When I could?

Timing is everything.  If you have 24 hours is a day, then this applies to you.  This really comes down to knowing how to prioritize the things you get to do.  Another way to look at it is this, “The right thing done late is the wrong thing.”  Procrastinators should have a thoughtful look on their face and be saying, Oh yea……” to this.

With what I had?

I don’t have everything.  But we serve a God that does.  This piece of the question really comes down to being a good steward of what God has given us.  If everything I have is God’s in the first place, then I have every resource to do what he called me to do.

I have found this to be extremely encouraging over the years, keeping me focused on the vision God has for my life.

One final thought, if the answer to the questions we talked about is all too often “no” for you, don’t beat yourself up.  This is a process and no one starts off doing everything with excellence.  The awesome thing about this is if you had a rough day and excellence managed to elude you, don’t worry.  Tomorrow is a brand new day with opportunity to operate in excellence in all you do.

Question for discussion:  How do you define excellence?  Let’s talk about it in the comments section below…

There's Power in an Invitation

As we get ready for the Fall 2011 Small Group Semester, I am reminded how my life has been radically changed by the power of an invitation, both receiving and giving them.  They are literally the basis for the life change that I have experienced over the last 10 years.

When we invite people to be part of our small group, we are giving them a chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves;  something that could change their life.  In fact, we are modeling what Jesus did in Matthew 4:18-20:

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were called fisherman.  "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."  At once they left their nets and followed him.


Jesus knew that what he was doing was what Father God asked him to do.  He invited (vs.18) Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew to join him on a life changing journey, one that changed the world.  Within his invitation, there are two things that stand out to me as things we can do as we invite people to be a part of our small group.

1.  The invitation was personal.  He spoke to them.  There is something special about looking someone in the eyes and asking them to be a part of something that you are doing.  People want to be wanted.


2.  He made it clear what they would be doing.  He spoke to them in a way they would understand what it was he was doing.  An invitation should be tailored to the individual receiving it.  It should be easy for them to understand and something they can find value in.  This is why it's so important to invite you know.  If you know what's going on in a person's life, then you know how to invite them.

I am not saying any of you are Jesus, but I will go out on a limb and say that I believe that small group you are leading you have been lead to do so by Father God, just as Jesus was.  So, if you have been lead to start your small group by Father God, shouldn't you invite people to join you for the journey?  After all, it will be life changing for them, and for you.

As you read this, who is standing out in your mind that you need to invite to your small group?  someone whose life needs to change and maybe your small group can help with that?  Go ahead and decide to reach out to them and invite them to join your small group.

Do you have a story about how you life has been changed by the power of an invitation?  Feel free to share below in the comments section.

Seeing More

One of the questions we get on the small group leadership team from new small group leaders is, "Why do I need a coach?"  There are a lot of reasons for this, but a recent time playing with my daughter, Kassidy, reminded me of one of the reasons coaches are so important.


Kassidy and I horse around a lot.  She is at an age where she wants to play all the time.  Most of the time, the more dangerous, the better for her.  She loves being up high, sitting on my shoulders.  This particular day, she wanted to stand on my shoulders.  I looked over at Nichole, giving her a look as if to say, "You good with this?"  Nichole looked back at me with a look that said, "Yep, as long as nothing happens to her." (You know that look, right?)  So, I took Kassidy's hands, helped her climb up, and got her settled in standing on my shoulders.  The moment she was up there she said, "see more."  I asked her what she was seeing and she started pointing things out around the room that she had a hard time seeing from her height.  A whole new world was opened up to Kassidy.  She saw things from a different perspective. To me, it's what I always see because I am taller than her, but to her, it was pretty amazing. 


I immediately thought, what a great picture of what a coach does for a small group leader.  The coach has the ability to help the small group leader "See More" by allowing the small group leader to “stand on" their shoulders.  Coaches have a perspective that small group leaders do not have.  They have been there, done that.


Invariably the small group leader will have questions about how to do this, or what do I do with this type of personality, etc.  What a great opportunity that is to talk to your coach and gain from the perspective they have.  All of our coaches have a heart to serve and would love nothing more than having the opportunity to help with any question or situation you find yourself in as a small group leader. 


Coaches are not better people, they are just people that have been where you are and if you take the time to "stand on" their shoulders, you have an opportunity to "see more" and to see things from a different perspective.


I would encourage you to get to know your coach, spend time with them, and ask questions around thoughts you have pertaining to your small group.  Give them the opportunity to help you "See More."  You'll be glad you did.


Do you have any stories of someone helping you "See More," helping you see things from a different perspective?  Please tell us about it in the comment section below.........


by Sean Callaghan