Small group resources tend to overlook the spiritual side of small
group leadership. And yet most would agree that spiritual
preparation is the most important aspect of leading a small group.
Only Gods supernatural power can draw people to the truth and
liberate them to be all that God wants them to be. Only through the
Spirit's power can we expect to see the miracles that Jesus talked
about when He said that if we would abide in Him, we would bear
much fruit and even do greater works than He did while He was on
earth. The key distinction of this book is the spiritual
perspective it gives to small group ministry. So much of the
literature about small groups that is already published relates to
small group technique and only touches briefly on the Spirit's
power. This book is a practical reference guide to help small group
leadership begin to move in the supernatural realm. The books first
priority is to help small group leaders and members trust the Holy
Spirit to lead them, empower them and work in their group. Small
group facilitators often sense a lack of guidance, power and
spiritual authority. Jesus knew His disciples would be powerless
without a touch from the Holy Spirit, and so He told them to wait
in Jerusalem, saying, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Small
group leaders need a power boost to make small group ministry
relevant and exciting. The second priority of this book is to help
the facilitator identify and mobilize each small group member to
use his or her own spiritual gifts. Small group facilitators often
feel ill-prepared to identify spiritual gifts of the people in the
group. I firmly believe that the small group atmosphere is the
perfect place to develop the gifts of the Spirit in each member's
life, and so it is essential that the facilitator know how to do
this. Whatever denominational or non-denominational label a church
wears, the most important characteristic, in my opinion, is
promoting individual sensitivity, devotion and dependence on the
Holy Spirit. In a Holy Spirit-charged atmosphere, cell leaders are
best raised up and members are encouraged to minister in their
giftedness.Some churches are better at empowering lay people than
others. Those that are less adept often make lay people feel they
must possess a theological degree (much like the pastor has) before
they can successfully minister to a small group. The emphasis in
such churches is on acquiring Bible knowledge rather than obedience
to Scripture and dependence on the Holy Spirit. In such churches, a
high premium is placed on sitting and hearing the Word preached
each Sunday. While I agree that small group leader training is
essential, ultimately the graduate must step out and depend on the
Holy Spirit. And my observation is that success in small group
ministry will hinge on that dependence. Effective small group
leaders and churches emphasize the Holy Spirit's empowerment in
daily life and the fact that all believers are priests and
ministers of the living God. Such churches emphasize the need for
each member to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, empower
and even take the biblical text and apply it to daily experience.
It is this atmosphere that makes small group ministry work
successful, whether the church is Baptist, Methodist or Assembly of
God.This book has been written for those who are leading
(facilitating) a small group, participating in a small group or
considering joining a small group. Group members should read this
book for two particular reasons: First, members make a significant
contribution to the life of the cell. Each member will be
intimately involved in using the gifts, intercession, etc. In the
life of the group, no one is to sit back and do nothing. The best
cell leaders, in fact, rarely "lead" the entire cell, instead
encouraging cell members to participate actively. Second, members
are the next in line to actually lead the small group. I am
assuming that the readers of this book are believers who desire God
and are seeking to walk in the Spirit. I am also assuming that
those reading this book are studying the Bible and growing in their
relationships with the Lord. There are many great books dedicated
to defining each spiritual gift in detail. Many other authors cover
gifts beyond the scope of this book, such as voluntary poverty,
hospitality, celibacy, missions, exorcism, martyrdom, artistic
creativity, craftsmanship and music. Rather than cover every
possible gift, this book will focus on how the Spirit uses gifts in
the small group context and guides the leader to facilitate a
Spirit-filled group. Because this book is written to lay leadership
rather than senior leaders of the Church, I will not cover in
detail the five-fold offices that Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4.8
Instead, the gifts I will cover in this book are explicitly listed
in Scripture (the one exception is intercessory prayer, which I
call a spiritual gift although some would disagree). To remain
effective in small group leadership, I recommend that each small
group leader have a coach. This coach might be the senior pastor, a
staff pastor or another volunteer lay leader (for example, the
leader of the mother cell that gave birth to the new cell). I will
not cover the discipline of coaching, nor the small group coaching
structure necessary to have long-term success.
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