I don't know what specific things are going on in your life today. I don't know what successes you are having, or what failures you've encountered. I don't know what your level of fulfillment is in leading your Life Group and I don't know what your overall experience is. I'm familiar with your frustrations and have not shared many of your victories. I don't know where that missing sock always ends up and I have no clue why McDonald's insists on inundating our kids with useless toys. But what I do know is that somewhere along your life journey, you got pulled into the incredible world of being a Life Group leader. Whether it was by your own decision, or having your arm twisted a bit, you are a Life Group Leader. That means one of two things: One, you are a perfect, infallible, 100% holy and righteous leader that has never had any doubts, confusion, hurts or frustrations. Or two, you're like the rest of us: a human being that happens to be a Life Group Leader. The later is who I want to talk to today.
The message of my blog this week is very simple: give yourself a break. I'm giving myself one today, so I'm just asking you to join me. My recent spiritual journey and ministry has been a series of radical ups and downs. I'm tired. I'm frustrated. And I'll be honest, there's a lot that I'm not doing my best at. And you know what? I'm OK with that. Life is hard, right? Ministry can be hard too. Just when we figure out our own lives, we are then responsible for the lives of those in our Life Groups? Yes, we are. And that's an awesome and welcome reality!
Leading Life Groups is not easy, is it? It can be incredibly frustrating, challenging, discouraging and at times cause you to wonder why you took on this responsibility in the first place. And I have news for you: You will probably not ever get to a point where you can just coast through your responsibilities in leading a Life Group. If you are, it's probably time to step down and let someone else take the wheel. Being the leader of a Life Group is hard and it will always be challenging, and will probably always be to some extent, because LIFE is challenging.
With all this said, there is nothing more vibrant, exciting, spiritually fulfilling and satisfying as leading a Life Group! This is an incredible ministry and you're right in the middle of it! So, be excited today! You may be dealing with some frustrations, confusion and outright failure, but God called you to be a Life Group Leader and He has a very specific goal for your ministry! He chose you, and His perfect grace is all you need to accomplish the impossible! That's pretty amazing when you think about it, isn't it? You may have never imagined that you would be leading a Life Group at some point in your life. But here you are, responsible for the spiritual growth, pastoral care and structure of a beautiful small community of amazing people. How can you not be excited by that?
1 comment:
First of all, thank you Jake for keeping this up and keeping in such good contact with all of us. I appreciate your efforts and I think you are doing a marvelous job.
Second of all, my husband and I are fortunately blessed to have a life group that kind of runs itself. It is kind of amazing sometimes to think about ourselves as leaders, but we know this is what God wanted us to do and are glad to do it. If I can say anything else to help any other groups, just make sure you are taking time to reach your members personally. Give them options, let them all feel they are important parts of the group and that they all have a say in how the group goes. You will get so much more out of it when your group works as a team and everyone has a role.
Hope life is treating you all well!
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