Last Saturday evening I met with some of the leaders in our house church about how we should respond to the growth of our group to 27 people. After a series of questions it became clear that if my wife and I left the group it would die. No one would continue to meet this way or operate as a house church if we weren't there to hold it together. That was very hard for me to hear, but it's helped me to see where we need to change and adapt.
So, from now on I will not be facilitating our group. Instead each person will take a turn each week at leading our discussion, offering communion, directing our worship, etc. I will sit in the back of the room and observe and only contribute as needed.
This is something I honestly should have started to do after our first year together, but it needs to be done in order to train everyone on how to contribute more and take the reins from my hands and place them in the hands of our people.
Because of last week's post I felt I needed to correct some of my previous assumptions about how our house church operates.
Blessings,
Keith
Once again Keith, you have been an encouragement to us... This matter of leadership, and specifically in how the leader is to "stand aside", so that others can learn to speak up, let the Spirit lead them, and really contribute to the rest of the body, has proven to be utterly crucial. We have experienced several settings where a leader believed in the principle of not running the show themself, but in practice more often than not was in fact the one constantly taking the reigns. It takes real courage to step back and let God be the one to make things happen, and it's not easy for any of us to do, whether we come from a background of professional ministry or not... Thanks for being honest and real about what God is continuing to teach you all. It really goes a long way....
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