What make a good leader?

You don't have to have all the answers or be the most dynamic speaker to be effective as a Small Group leader or teacher. An interview I recently read said that competency, concern and character are the essential requirements of a leader.

Leaders make decisions and take action; and if their leadership demonstrates competency, genuine concern for others, and admirable character, people will say, "I like what that person is doing. I'm going to follow him."

Source: Three Traits of a Leader - BuildingChurchLeaders.com

Leading in the Margins

I found this blog this morning with some wise advice for leaders. I have experienced similar dynamics. When people ask me "How is your church doing?" I have often responded, "It depends on who you ask." Often times a person's perception is shaped by whom they are listening to rather than factual analysis.
The quote below is addressed to pastors, but I believe it applies to anybody who leads a group of people.

I do not pastor or lead to the margins. About 85% of the people who attend our church would identify 3-5 basic reasons they attend. These are our strengths and we build upon them. On each side we have people who attend in the margins. What I mean is this. About 5% of people who attend our church are happy with whatever we do. Short of having a shirts and skins Sunday these people attend everything and love it. On the other side is a group of about 10% that don’t like anything we do. We could have 1000 people come to know Jesus on a Sunday and they are going to complain. Volume, appearance, lighting, temperature, length of sermon, parking you name it. If you pastor or have pastored a church, right now you can see the faces of these people in the margins. I simply do not believe the good press or the bad press from the margins. I know I am not as good as the people who praise me say I am and I am not as bad as the people who criticize me say I am.
I focus about 85% on the middle 85%. To pastor in the margins is to build your church focusing on your weaknesses and in doing so lessen your strengths or even worse to believe the good press and build a church on an ego. I am not saying marginalize people or treat people poorly who do not “go along to get along.” I am simply saying there comes a time when I must focus on what I am supposed to do.

Source: MMI Weblog

The Group that Serves Together Grows Together

Several of our ministry teams (worship team, Deacons, et al.) have begun to view themselves as a type of small group. Here are 5 suggestions for adding a "small group" dimension to your task group!

1. Encourage groups to meet before or after their serving time. No matter how frequent the serving opportunity (whether once per week or once per quarter), add a community dimension to each meeting.
2. Monitor task-group curriculum selection and usage. To begin with, use simple, open-ended questions, such as those found in Nav-Press's 201 Questions. Evolve to using an uncomplicated small-group curriculum. For instance, group members could respond to discussion questions after reading a short passage from a Serendipity Bible or Life Application Bible.
3. Develop a sense of teammates versus soulmates. People who join task groups generally have a primary commitment to the task and a secondary commitment to the people. Creating a teammate atmosphere helps everyone recognize that this group is different from the two-hour women's or couples' Bible study. Task-group members should accept and enjoy the fact that they have gathered in order to do something.
4. Make the task a means to a greater end. Ultimately, changed lives is our goal. Over 50 percent of those serving in a task group will never join a traditional fellowship group. Yet a task group is an excellent place to connect unconnected people. For this reason, encourage groups to form around any appropriate impassioned cause for which a qualified leader will emerge.
5. Provide ongoing leadership development. Leaders of task groups need regular support, training, troubleshooting help, and encouragement in order to lead over the long haul. Also, leaving an "open chair" (for the potential invited newcomer) in task group meetings will serve as the principle means of gathering the next generation of volunteers and leaders.

original source