Fishing for True Small-Group Leaders

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Here's what it takes to reel in the kind of leader you really want.

Tom Bandy | posted 7/02/2008

Topics:	Launching, Leadership requirements, Recruiting leaders, Starting groups
Filters:	Coach, Pastor, Train
Purpose:	Discipleship
References:	2 Timothy 2:2
Date Added:	July 02, 2008

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Does the idea of growing people in Christ excite you? This is not an easy question to answer. Some people (even those gifted in hospitality, evangelism, or counseling) may actually get excited about implementing programs that are really about forcing people into accepted norms and dogmas. Other people (especially laypeople who imagine themselves to be "theologians") are actually excited about showing off their biblical knowledge. You are looking for neither. The small-group leader is excited about the idea of growing people and encouraging them to explore the fathomless mystery of Jesus Christ.
Do you use your gifts or hide them under a basket? Although you can refer to spiritual gifts inventories, most people on this short list will know what gifts you mean. They know they have gifts for mentoring. They know they instinctively protect confidentiality, love honesty, encourage awareness, and cherish small flames that just might burst into raging fires. But do they allow themselves to do it, or are they afraid of censure? Do they take risks, or do they prefer television? You want the ones who commit.
Are you willing to be trained and eager to grow yourself? The trouble with this question is that everybody will say yes, but few will really mean it. You want the ones who are serious.
Do you feel called at this time? Sometimes it's best to avoid the people who eagerly affirm their sense of calling. Look for the people that gasp, "Who, me?" It will often come as a shock that popular opinion has placed them on the short list. They may not feel particularly competent or credible, but this mixture of authenticity and humility is exactly what the doctor ordered.

The Catch

This new breed of volunteer is not only willing to be trained, but demands to be trained. They simply will not lead a small group unless they are trained. This might seem simple, but it often becomes a struggle. Small-group leaders are not passive vessels to be filled with professional ideals and techniques. They debate. They challenge. They interact.

Small-group leaders are mentors. They are not just questioners, fellow seekers, or journeymen "on the way." Those people are small-group participants. In order to catch group leaders, you must be ready to wrestle them into becoming mentors. They must be confident enough to become evocateurs and provocateurs. They need to share spiritual victories, not just life struggles. If you cannot promise to train them as mentors, you will lose them as leaders.

The Release

Perhaps the most important part of recruiting small-group leaders is the promise to release them for purposeful initiative. Task-group leaders fundamentally desire to be kept on a leash. They want to be supervised. They want to be told what to do. It is safer, more secure, to just implement the curriculum. Small-group leaders are a different breed. They want to be free. So cut the line. Release the hook. Submerge them back into the water, and let them swim.

Yes, small-group leaders want to know the boundaries, and they need to know the fundamental vision and mission toward which they are committed to serve. Tactics, however, are up for grabs. Don't dictate. Don't prescribe. Don't impose this curriculum or that procedure. And for heaven's sake, don't' demand that they do fundraising for the institution. Small-group leaders must feel free to discern, design, implement, and evaluate mission in their own way. They don't want to file reports, ask permission, or achieve quotas. Trust them or dismiss them—but make up your mind.

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