Jamie’s Blog to Shepherds

Each shepherd has been chosen because of your walk with God. You are in the position you are in because you have been faithful in your walk with Jesus Christ and are pursuing a consistent relationship with him. That being said, I have spoken with shepherds who often get frustrated with some of their members because they just don’t “get it.”

I want to remind each of you that not everyone in your group is at the same place that you are spiritually. In fact, I would venture to say that all 12 people are in 12 different spots. That being said, here are some thoughts to consider:

* Don’t take it personally
* Plant seeds, encourage, model, and teach, but trust God for transformation
* Identify the need of each person in your group instead of looing at them as a whole
* keep doing what you are doing
* invest in the lives of your people. It could be as easy as a quick email

Have you ever taken time to think about all the responsibilities that a Pastor has? Some words that come to mind are Counselor, Administrator, teacher, volunteer recruiter, director, friend, and motivator to name a few. How about this question: Do you see yourself in a similar role for your group? Are you a pastor? We think so. I am realizing more and more the importance of Shepherds. As we continue to pursue the three environment vision that leads to life transformation, we see it accomplished in large part through you guys. As we expand our programming and the need for volunteers arise, we see the importance that a shepherd has of influencing and motivating their people to find their PLACE and to become involved.

So I encourage you to begin to look at the people of your group from the eyes of a pastor. Get to know the people in your group. Identify their gifts (we can help w/ that) listen for their hurt, look for opportunities to buid relationships with each of them. Every person is different and this small group dynamic is much different than just joining together once a week. It is a lifestyle of shepherding and caring for these folks.

I appreciate that you are so dedicated to being a shepherd. We can’t do it without you

I have learned more over the past few weeks about community than I have learned in a long time. The biggest lesson I’ve learned? Transparency starts with me. I have found that people will follow your lead if you are willing to be real before the people that you shepherd. I am not talking about baring your soul and every thought that you have had over the last week. I’m merely talking about a willingness to say what’s on your heart; good, bad, and/or ugly. As you model transparency you are empowering other people to feel comfortable in doing the same. When we get real with each other, we know how to pray for one another, we confide, we challenge, and encourage each other. All of that leads to a positive change in lifestyle and it dramatically changes the dynamic of your group.

More on this later. Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Lead others by being real.

I try to express my appreciation as often as I can to you guys for the great job that you do. I hope that my “frequentness” (of course that’s my word for often) of expressing my appreciation doesn’t come across empty. I do it because I see from this side how important your role has become and will continue to be. When people have needs, they call you first, not us. Why? You have the relationship with them. If we have questions about a particular member, we call you. Why? Again, you know where your people are. You know if they are faithful or not. You know if they are growing or drifting, you know much more about them. In short, they have become your sheep and you are their shepherd. You won’t allow them to wander off never to be seen again. You go looking for them. I know that some will wander off and never return, but it is not because there was no effort on your part. And because of that, I continue to believe that your role is one of the most crucial roles in our church. I’ll say it again (frequentness) I appreciate so much what you do in your groups.

The more I talk to Shepherds the more I understand it is about building relationships. Not every person is the same, not every person can attend every week, etc… However, the fact that our shepherds know where these people are by staying in contact with and the person knows that they belong even when they are not there, drives at the heart of what we are trying to accomplish.

Life transformation happens in many different ways, but it happpens most when people follow the lead of the shepherd and begin to invest in one another’s life. It’s about building genuine relationships. It has been said that people are not spiritually open until they have been realtionally accepted. Meeting people where they are and encouraging them to follow God’s direction for their life is the beginning of life transformation. God bless you for your efforts in building relationships with your group.

Over the last few weeks our sermon series have been speaking right to the heart of many people. We are dealing with real life issues such as death, the grieving process, circumstances, lack of fulfillment and satisfaction in the lives of our people. Many people have responded to these issues publicly and privately. The good news is that people are beginning to wrestle with the message that is being communicated.

This is where I get to stress the vision and importance of the Compass material. The study guides are designed to go right along with the message. By doing so, our members are able to get a firm grasp on the message of the week. And this allows the C-Group environment (because of the size) and its members the opportunity to share their personal experiences.

We often times receive requests to do other studies. There will be future opportunities for this to occur at different times throughout the year. However, our bread and butter must continue to be the Compass material. There are so many issues that people deal with on a daily basis. This format allows us to stay on a subject for a week to hear, study, share and process what is being taught. I have to believe that in the last month there hasn’t been a single person who hasn’t experienced personally some the issues that have been preached.

This is the environment that gives our people permission to wrestle with these issues and to do so with a group of believers who love and care for them. Is there anything wrong with doing another type of study? Of course not, but there is a greater opportunity when a person has time to reflect for a week. It too is great that as an entire membership we understand exactly what is being communicated so we learn together as a unified body. In other words, this week, we as a body of belivers are learning…….(fill in the blank).

Hope this helps. Have a great day.

We had a great service yesterday. In all 3 services Jeff simply invited anyone who is hurting to come down, followed by others who aren’t hurting (at the moment) to come and pray over those who responded. It was such a moving experience for many, me included. We have all been through tough circumstances. We all can identify. And life change begins to happen in our church when the environment that is created is an environment of transparency.

Many people in churches across the country come to church every Sunday wearing masks. We have our “hey good to see you, I’m great how ’bout you” mask on most of the time. We walk away from church having listened, but having not been heard. It’s only when we begin to be real with ourselves and each other that lives begin to be healed. God never intends for us to carry our own burdens. Sure, we all will have to weather life’s storms. But God provides first, himself, and secondly, others. It’s up to each of us whether or not to let anyone in.

Yesterday, many people surrendered to the God’s invitation and we all saw the result. That is the definition of community. And that is the goal. Will it happen every single week in your group? Probably not; but for our members to understand that there is an environment that exists where people are welcomed to come as they are and to be lifted up by their brothers and sisters, is what the role of the of a community group should be.

There are six elements that we are striving to achieve in our groups.

An environement or a place to:

Belong
Learn and Grow
Be accountable
Be real with one another (Transparency / care)
Apply
Serve

Whether you are in a C-Group or a Sunday school class, these are the expectations that we have because they will bring about individual life transformation in our members. A good exercise for your group would be to continually list these elements and from time to time evaluate yourselves as a group. My guess is that some of these are strengths and some are not. And they are different for each group. If you take time to evaluate them and discuss ways that you can improve the one’s that need improvement.

Another good exercise is for the shepherd to evaluate each member of the group according to the six elements (Please don’t do this publically, I get enough phone calls already). Sure this evaluation is somewhat subjective. However, by evaluating each person mentally or privately on a sheet of paper, you can begin to see opportunities to specifically minister to each individual and encourage each of them personally. This is the advantage of having a smaller group. You are able to spend time with each member. This is the importance of the role of the Shepherd; to help others bring about life change.

I plan on expanding my thoughts about each of these elements in future blogs. But for now take a few moments and go through this exercise with each person and then do a group evaluation. It reminds them why we are here and what we are trying to accomplish.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sandra Hawkins and Tonia Ashley did a great job yesterday. It is obvious that from Tonia’s testimony,she has found a place to experience Community thanks largely in part to Sandra and Jerry’s leadership. That is the goal for every member of our church; to find a place where they belong, a place to grow, and a place to be real. That is a great goal and a huge one at the same time. But For every Tonia Ashley, I could name several people who are yet to get anywhere close to where she is.

The role of a shepherd is a tough role. There are so many dynamics that a shepherd must address. Inconsistent attendance, some people talk too much, others don’t say a word and haven’t in two years, people who have no problem talking until the subject turns spiritual then they clam up, groups that are “surfacy,” people who get it while you just want to shake others are just some examples of what occurs in just about every group. Dealing with these issues are what I am talking about when I say that the role is tough. But let me also run to say that it is worth the investment.

The purpose of today’s blog is to encourage you. The things that I mentioned above have happened to all of us. If you are like me you do what you can not to take it personally but it is very hard not to. So my word to you? Don’t give up! You may need to evaluate, you may need to have your group evaluate themselves, you made need to comment on this blog and ask for help of what is working for others. But what none of us need to do is give up. Believe it or not we are beginning our third year of this format called C-Groups. We are dealing with real people with real issues. Some are willing to address them and others just smile as if their world is always right. Never underestimate the difficulty of this role. But at the same time never underestimate the impact you are making. Even the people who never say a word will gladly admit that they appreciate what you do. Don’t give up!

I intend to address some of these specific issues in the future.

Thanks for tuning in. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?!

Jamie

As many of you know, My spiritual gift is not Aministration. In addition, one of my New Years Resolutions is to stop procrastinating (I hope to get to that in April or May). These two factors combined, along with sheer busyness have given me a great excuse for not blogging since last April. I will do much better this year and here is why (starting to get serious now).

It’s just too important not to. I can’t communicate North Side’s vision for community enough, there is no such thing as too much encouragement, too much support, too much training, or too much contact. We are becoming more and more mobile and time is so precious to all of us. So I will commit to make this blog a primary source of communication. We will have to meet from time to time but hopefully this site will allow me to convey to you my thoughts and feelings on various topics and give you an opportunity to comment as well.

I need your accountability and you have my permission to keep me from being slack. I don’t want to blog for the sake of blogging but I do want to stay consistent (a couple of times per week). So beginning Monday I will post my first official, non procastinating blog and begin to talk more intently about our expectations of “Community.”

That wasn’t so hard! See you Monday.