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I have truly enjoyed reading Larry Osborne’s book titled Sticky Church.  The book details the importance of healthy small groups in helping people STICK in church.

We are about to begin a new semester of groups at Church at the Grove.  Based on Osborne’s thoughts on group leaders, here is what we are looking for in Community Group Leaders:

What we want:

Spiritual Warmth:
The single most important quality for a Community Group leader is spiritual warmth.  This is simply someone who is in a growing relationship with Jesus.  It is not to be confused with Spiritual Maturity.  When choosing Elders, we want spiritual maturity which is spiritual growth and a track record over time.  When someone is facilitating a group, we are looking for passion, hunger and “spiritual warmth”. 

Relational Warmth:
The second most important trait is relational warmth.  People who are cold, relationally challenged and have low social skills make lousy group leaders.  This person doesn’t have to be a complete extrovert, but they simply must mingle well and interact well with others.  They must be likable, easy to connect with, and generally get along with everyone.  Let’s face it, if a group leader isn’t people oriented, it is likely that the group may not gel. 

Who to avoid as group leaders:

Hyper-spiritual God Talkers:
There is nothing worse than some helmet-head, televangelist wannabe that spews their group with obnoxious, monopolizing God-talk.  I am not saying talking about God is bad, but when it is someone that is wanting to present this super-spiritual front, it will absolutely squash any genuine, authenticity that is hoped for.  I hate to say it, but often these people come from other churches where they weren’t given a chance to lead and they may mean well but their haughty, “I’ve got it together with God” attitude keeps people from feeling free to be themselves.  Let them go and your small groups will thank you.

Single-Issue Crusaders:
A leader that could potentially kill a group is a single-issue crusader.  This is the leader that sees the world through one narrow lens.  Their agenda is to bring people around to their point of view regardless of the price.  They talk of a devotion to Jesus but they also talk of their point of view as equally important to Jesus.  After a while it is evident that their devotion to their view may be MORE important than their devotion to Jesus.  The Bible calls this IDOL Worship.  Their specific values and how they apply them to THEIR life may be OK, but the problem stems from their insistence that everyone else apply and interpret certain principles the same way they have.  Here is what happens:  They will recruit just a few to follow in their footsteps, they will cause most people to RUN the other way in protest of their dogma, and some will quietly leave and never return to a group.  How sad!  Keep your radar up for these leaders and SHOOOO them away!