Practical guidelines for leading in a difficult situation
Betty Veldman-Wieland
Conflict is a normal part of small-group life. In fact, if we don't have conflict, someone is not being honest. People are just too different from one another to avoid it completely.
Personally, I do not like conflict. It makes me feel, well, conflicted! At the same time, I believe that understanding the nature of conflict and being prepared to deal with it as a small-group leader, coach, or staff ...
Why we need to err on the side of love, not politics
Alan Danielson
I had no idea what I was in for when a former marine came into my office and asked me to mediate a conversation between himself and a man who attended his small group. The marine said this man was completely anti-war. You can already see where this is headed.
I met with them both to hear the story of how the subject of war came up in their group, and it turned into a full-blown political debate. Without ...
Whether your small group is open or closed, or whether or not you always leave an empty chair, there's one uninvited guest hovering around the meeting place ready to barge into the proceedings. The longer your group lasts, the more likely this intruder is to make an appearance. The ...
How to manage difficult personalities within your small group
Janet McMahon
The group was new—we had only been together for five or six weeks. That's why I was happy to see a new couple walk into the room. I was also happy to see that everyone greeted them warmly. But about 30 minutes into our meeting, the warm temperature of the group began to cool. The regular members began to exchange looks across the room, and the question on everyone's mind was, "Who invited these ...
Our ministry wasn't going well, the group was unhealthy and the students weren't connecting. Then, I tried cell groups.
Trevor Throness
My first job as a paid youth pastor was in a church of about 250 people. On a good youth group night we had 15 kids. On a bad night, we had three or none, depending on which key kids had offended each other that week. It's humiliating to fit your entire youth group in a Chevy Sprint and have one seat belt left over.
Our first retreat was truly an ordeal. Several kids refused to take part in an encouragement ...
Two of your members have a long-standing conflict; what do you do?
Pat J. Sikora
"'In your anger do not sin:' Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" (Ephesians 4:26, 27).
Connie Conflict and Annie Anger are neighbors. They hate one another. No one is quite sure when the animosity began, although there are lots of stories. Each of them joined the group without knowing that the other was also joining. Now you have open warfare ...
What to do if a group member is obviously living in sin.
Pat J. Sikora
"No one who is born of God will continue to sin… .this is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God… " (1 John 3:9, 10)
SYDNEY SINNER is living a life that's clearly sinful in some area. Maybe he's living with his girlfriend or you learn that he's engaging in fornication or adultery. Maybe ...
It has been a difficult 5 months for us at our church. Last fall, our senior pastor was found to be in sin. The elders immediately asked for his resignation. Two days later, in our Sunday services, we announced what had happened and have been dealing with this "earthquake" and its aftershocks since that day.
How does a church survive such a trauma? How do we hold our church family together through ...
Successfully leading a small group is a difficult task all by itself. But that task can become nearly impossible when your group contains one or more challenging personalities—people who talk too little or too much, people with emotional problems, people who promote false theology, and so on. ...
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