Leading From the Sandbox: Hearth and Home

Environment makes a difference. In the medical world the family doctor quit making housecalls and has become more “professional” or “clinical.” In the education world when I was a kid it was common for a child to bring cupcakes or some other treats to school on his/her birthday. Now some school districts require all foods served at school to be prepared in a licensed commercial kitchen. The local insurance agent now competes with online providers that are “so easy even a caveman can do it.” But we have lost the relationship with doctor who you could call with an emergency, the mothers who knew their childrens’ classmates and the local businessman who has a vested interest in the community.

The following story comes from the blog of a man I respect who leads and International ministry with hundreds of employees, but he reminds us of the power of 5-6 people in a living room. If the quote below piques your curiosity, click the link below for more thoughts on the topic.

Years ago my son Jon hosted a "theological discussion" in our home during his high school years with a number of his friends. Today, they have all graduated from college and are on with their lives but they stay connected to us. Jon recently said, "You don't know how much you guys mean to them."

The comment was a surprise because all we had done was open our home. But what we missed was the fact that our home was a haven, a place of peace, fun, grace, acceptance and a sanctuary for some whose own homes were not.

Ironically, our home was smaller than their homes, had the oldest television, and the fewest toys. None of that mattered. It was a place of peace and refuge.

Leading From the Sandbox: Hearth and Home

He Reigns

In my undergraduate education I was required to take a course called “The Church at Work in the World” that focused on the task of Christian Education. One of the earliest teaching points was explaining the difference between Christian Education and other forms of Education.

In my graduate courses I took a class that started with a classic definition of the learning process (“a function of learner, teacher, curriculum and environment”) but we added an overriding dimension of the activity of a Triune God.

Yesterday in our worship services we focused on the attribute of God that is known as sovereignty.

Have you considered how the sovereignty of God impacts your group? The events that God allows into the lives of your students influences their perception of the things you say. Before you ever step foot into your teaching environment, factors beyond your control have altered the teachability of your students.

Sometimes I have stepped into a room and been impressed by God that the current needs will not be addressed by the lesson I had prepared. This is NOT an excuse to avoid preparation. If you have done the hard work of preparation (both the content and methods you will use as well as preparing your own heart and mind for delivering that content) THEN God can freely redirect according to His sovereignty.

What other ways are you aware that God’s sovereignty affects your class or small group?

What Is Spiritual Direction?

You are more than an instructor or a teacher! Many people misunderstand our intentional change in language from “discipleship” to “spiritual formation.” In its purest form the word discipleship means the qualities of being a follower but the term has been hijacked in the common vernacular to mean “somebody who has been lead one-on-one through a specific curriculum.” The move to spiritual formation is an intentional move beyond the cognitive and behavioral into the very essence of being. The power of the Gospel doesn’t only change what we know or how we behave, it changes the very essence of who we are.

This essence works closely with my last post on “How much time do I have?” As small group leaders and Christian Education teachers we are not there to “dump data” into open minds. Our intent should be to see the person developed into a person who is more controlled by God’s Spirit.

The following 7 descriptors from Richard Foster highlight the valuable task to which we are committed.

What is spiritual direction?

1. Spiritual direction is an interpersonal relationship in which we learn how to grow, live, and love in the spiritual life.

2. Spiritual direction involves a process through which one person helps another person understand what God is doing and saying.

3. Discernment is a crucial gift in the work of spiritual direction.

4. In spiritual direction there is absolutely no domination or control.

5. The spiritual director/mentor/pastor guides another in spiritual things through the spiritual world by spiritual means.

6. God has ordained that there be spiritual directors/mentors/pastors among his people. This is the structure of love in practice.

7. Supremely, spiritual directors/mentors/pastors are persons who have a sense of being "established" in God. Otherwise they are too dangerous to be allowed into the soul space of others.

What Is Spiritual Direction? | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

How Long do I have?

I have been invited to speak several times since I began preaching as a High School student and I have invited several guests to speak in the organizations and churches that I have been a part of leading. One of the earliest questions that is usually asked in this process is “How long do I have to speak?” A much more important, but less asked, question should be “What do you want to accomplish through my message/lesson?”

It is too easy to revert to “I have a time slot to fill” rather than “I have a purpose to accomplish.” Most of us have come to realize that one lesson or one discussion is not going to bring a listener to spiritual maturity. The best we can hope is that spiritual transformation takes one step in the right direction. But do we intentionally define that one step that we desire to see?

Early in my Christian Education classes I was taught that EVERY lesson should have a clearly state AIM. When I took classes to improve my preaching I was told that EVERY sermon should have a MAIN IDEA.

Too often our motivation is to “cover the next chapter” or “get through the lesson”, but we really don’t expect our students/participants to leave the session different than they came in.

Any clown can entertain for a segment of time, but an intentional skilled leader can be used by God to accomplish lasting results in that same amount of time.