Coaching Small Groups to Enrich Our Lives    coach010        Contents   Bot   Prev   Next 

Mark 3: ¹⁴Then he chose twelve of them to be his apostles, so that they could be with him. (CEV)

John 13: ³⁴But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. ³⁵If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples. (CEV)

Romans 12: ⁵That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another. (CEV)

Romans 13: ⁸Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. (CEV)

Romans 15: ⁴And the Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by giving us hope. ⁵God is the one who makes us patient and cheerful. I pray that he will help you live at peace with each other, as you follow Christ. ⁶Then all of you together will praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷Honor God by accepting each other, as Christ has accepted you. (CEV)

Colossians 3: ¹²God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. ¹³Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. ¹⁴Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together. ¹⁵Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. ¹⁶Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. (CEV)

Hebrews 3: ¹³You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. (CEV)

Relationships More Than Programs
    Relationship-based leadership is not something we assign after we've gathered people. Rather, relationship-based leadership is the something that gathers the people and sees to it that they receive care.

    The chief quality of an effective small-group leader, and, in fact, the heartbeat of cell ministry is not a programmatic organization or curriculum, but a highly relational organism that stems from a person-to-person kind of ministry (see figure 7 in book). Relationship-based leadership is not something we assign after we've gathered people. Rather, relationship-based leadership is the something that gathers the people and sees to it that they receive care.
    I .... had visited different churches around the country .... I saw them basically saying, "We're here to give you permission to do what God is calling you to. We aren't here for you to lay your vision on us like a work order. Instead, our work is to empower you by saying, 'Go for what God is leading you to do."' That approach is different from that of most churches!
    By releasing people to do their thing for God, you're actually releasing God because it's he who gives the gifts for ministry. You're challenging people to say, "Lord, show us what you would have done here. Let us be your eyes and hands here." What an exciting adventure that becomes!
    A "New" Set of Priorities Gone are the days when the church bell rang, the people came, the parson gave his homily, everyone went home, the week structured itself around pastoral acts (weddings, funerals, visiting the sick or homebound, praying at community events, and so forth), and the kingdom of God went forward. In relationship-based ministry, the assignment of clergy is to develop a growing community of faith by facilitating relationships..... tomorrow's leaders will be characterized by a relationship-driven emphasis.

Relationship-Based Ministry
 Helps people move from dependency toward development.
 Empowers people to use their spiritual gifts in community.
 Concerns itself more with changed lives than with methods or curriculum.
 Groups people by affinity relationships more than assigning by name, ZIP code or age.
 Motivates by example, more than by shame, guilt, or "oughts."

The above from pages 62-74, Chap 4 The Coming Church Revolution by Carl George

Please study the questions and references and add your comments and applications:
1. Define relationship-based ministry? Why is it important to church health and growth?
2. How could the groups in which you're involved become more relationship based?
3. What are some things that you can do to bring about that change?
4. Give three examples of relationship-based ministries in the church you serve.
 
 

Philippians 4: ⁶Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. (CEV)
 

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