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1 Peter 5: 2Just as shepherds watch over their sheep, you must watch over everyone God has placed in your care. Do it willingly in order to please God, and not simply because you think you must. Let it be something you want to do, instead of something you do merely to make money. 3Don't be bossy to those people who are in your care, but set an example for them. 4Then when Christ the Chief Shepherd returns, you will be given a crown that will never lose its glory. (CEV)
Exodus 18: 15Moses answered, "Because they come here
to find out what God wants them to do.
16They bring their complaints
to me, and I make decisions on the basis of God's laws."
17Jethro replied: That isn't the best
way to do it. 18You and the people who come to you will soon
be worn out. The job is too much for one person; you can't do it alone.
19God
will help you if you follow my advice. You should be the one to speak to
God for the people, 20and you should teach them God's laws and
show them what they must do to live right.
21You will need to appoint some competent
leaders who respect God and are trustworthy and honest. Then put them over
groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. 22These judges
can handle the ordinary cases and bring the more difficult ones to you.
Having them to share the load will make your work easier. 23This
is the way God wants it done. You won't be under nearly as much stress,
and everyone else will return home feeling satisfied.
24Moses followed Jethro's advice. 25He
chose some competent leaders from every tribe in Israel and put them over
groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. 26They served
as judges, deciding the easy cases themselves, but bringing the more difficult
ones to Moses. (CEV)
Workable Spans of Care
If you don't limit your leaders' scope of responsibility, even highly
skilled people will burn out from fatigue. In an exceptionally well-organized
church I once met with, the home Bible studies attendance averaged
seventeen, and several were running thirty-five or more people weekly.
When I pointed out that these attendance levels were far too large for
effective groups, the staff wasn't too concerned. "We've got several 'size
35' cells," they said.
"Do you have any problems in your cell ministry?"
I asked.
"Yes," they said. "We can't recruit enough leaders
for our other groups."
"Do you have any idea why?" I asked.
"No, we never had that problem before. It's
come up only in the last couple of years."
I pointed out, "This is the same time period that
you let the cell sizes to become so big."
That story represents a common occurrence.
Most volunteer leaders, if properly encouraged and supported, will willingly
take on a group of about ten people. In many cases they'll not only
provide excellent care, but will also find great joy and fulfillment
in
doing so.
When that same person looks at the challenge of
caring for thirty-five people, however, the answer is usually a hasty,
"No thanks. That's too big a job for me.
Had those "size 35" groups been training apprentices
and starting new groups to keep sizes down to less than a dozen, they would
have had more people willing to lead . The people who were successfully
leading the groups of thirty-five were probably charisma-type leaders
of large groups rather than relational facilitators of small groups.
To make a cell leader's job manageable, keep the
scope small. Don't ask people to do too much.
Any mother will tell you that caring for twins is
a great deal different than caring for one newborn. If a young mother gives
birth to triplets, she needs all kinds of special assistance (and a medal)
in order to be able to sustain that kind of load. A new parent, like a
cell-group leader, needs a manageable span of care in order to be effective.
Here's a summary of the Jethro principle
1. Moses, in serving too many people, grows weary. The queue of needy
people is unending.
2. The Israelites, in turn, aren't receiving the help they need. They
are impatient and frustrated.
3. Jethro observes a day in court as Moses tries to handle the entire
load himself.
4. Jethro proposes a court system with "lay judges" who each handle
ten families. More difficult cases move up to their supervisors. The only
cases that reach Moses are the most difficult ones.
5. The first result is that people go home satisfied! The span of care
never exceeds 1 to10.
6. The other result is that Moses doesn't burn out from fatigue.
(All the above based on pages 53-61, The Coming Church Revolution by Carl George)
Please study the questions and references and add your comments and
applications:
1. What is the span of care in the groups you lead? Is it a workable?
Why?
2. Why is span of care such an important issue?
3. How will you handle the span of care in the groups you lead
or supervise?
3. How can groups learn from both charisma-type leaders and relational-type
leaders?
Record of Prayer Needs for the Group
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