Soldiers or an Army?

I have spent the last week mulling over a tension that every leader must wrestle with. Is my primary responsibility to the group or to individuals that make up the group?

On one hand, healthy groups are made up of healthy individuals. If the individuals who make up your group are not healthy, then the group can never be healthy. But just because the individuals are healthy does not guarantee that the group will demonstrate corporate health.

In the movie "Saving Private Ryan" an detachment is sent to the Front to find and bring back one particular soldier because his family had already suffered great loss. Often the other soldiers in the detachment ask "why are we risking our lives for this one guy?"

Biblically Jesus told the story of the Good Shepherd who will leave the 99 safe sheep to search for the 1 lost lamb.

Do teachers/small group leaders allow the needs/desires of one participant to dictate the direction of the whole session? Sometimes that is the most compassionate response.

Last week I read Leviticus 13-14 dealing with mildew and skin disease (That's a great way to have inspiring devotions!!). In those chapters the priests were instructed to isolate or quarantine the affected garment or the lame person as a compassionate way of protecting the rest of the community.

As a Pastor I have received the Saturday night late calls to deal with a crisis. Discernment and judgment are essential to determine how much time/energy God wants me to invest in that individual/family in midst of crisis and how much time/energy God wants me to invest in the making sure I am in a proper mindset to accurately handle the Word of Truth for those who will be gathering for worship and instruction.

Part of this answer is having already invested time/energy into OTHER people who can assist during times of crisis so that I can compassionately respond to the emergency and direct the best resources for the individual AND the larger community.

As a teacher/small group leader, I hope you NEVER lose compassion for EACH person who participates in your group. But also realize that your shepherding of the whole group often means that you best demonstrate compassion for an individual by allowing another individual to assist with their crisis so that you provide godly leadership.

I guess I conclude that EACH soldier deserves compassion, but the best compassion possible doesn't always come from the primary leader. The leader has to make sure that compassion is demonstrated, but not necessarily do it himself or herself.

Sometimes the General donates his blood for the private who has been wounded on the battlefield. But the General doesn't have enough blood for everybody but has the responsibility of making sure that enough blood is found and made available to each soldier in his army whenever it is truly needed.