My Most Intriguing and Haunting Takeaway from re:group
I don’t know about you, but I usually come away from a conference with lists of ideas to definitely try, statements to ponder and strategies to learn more about. This year’s re:group conference was no exception. I’ve got a notebook packed with underlined, starred and scratched out/rewritten takeaways.
I’ve already written about Yesterday’s Big Idea and Andy Stanley on “Matters of the Heart.”
My most intriguing and haunting takeaway:
Can I tell you what my most intriguing and haunting takeaway from re:group? Here it is: The impact and growth of North Point’s small group ministry is the result of their development of a leadership culture.
I don’t actually have a note that I can find about it. It’s more like a stream of consciousness recollection of hints caught here and there in both the main sessions and the breakouts I attended.
The impact and growth of North Point’s small group ministry is the result of their development of a leadership culture.
It’s intriguing to think that this is a not so secret ingredient that could be the missing ingredient for many of us. It’s haunting to conclude that the absence of the development of a leadership culture could explain why so many small group ministries struggle with failure to thrive.
What do you think? Have a question? Want to argue? You can click here to jump into the conversation.
How would you define a “leadership culture?” And how does it relate to the impact and growth of the groups ministry at NP?
You’re asking good questions Josh, but both questions beg answers that at best are developing for me. For instance, I would define leadership culture to be something like the beliefs and behaviors that lead to the identification, recruitment and development of leaders at NP. The real question is something like, “What are they?” And I think once you begin to have a sense for what they are, you’d have the answer to your second question.
mark
I completely agree with you. Defining not only the qualities of a good leader, but the expectations of the leader is paramount to a good group meeting/experience. Additionally, as someone who also works on a Groups team and who attended re:group this week, the idea of a “Groups Culture” was a huge takeaway for me – particularly the question of “Are we a church WITH groups or a church OF groups?” This question isn’t based on the numbers of congregants IN groups, but has to do with the integration of groups into the culture of the church. For instance, does everyone from the pastor down say that “Spiritual Growth happens best in community/groups.”? Or would some of them say that the weekend worship, teaching environments, or volunteering/serving is where spiritual growth happens best? Does the senior pastor discuss his group experience? Does he address groups as THE ministry of the church or A ministry of the church? Unity of vision is the huge question both in developing a leadership culture and a groups culture.
Definitely. That’s a great takeaway, Josh.
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