Lead Well

We’ve been doing Orange for about 2 years and made the transition to small groups 5 years ago. Growing up in the traditional children’s church model of Sunday School and Large group, it has been an uphill battle understanding what it takes to lead a quality small group that focuses on relationship over content and teach others to do the same. One of the hardest principles of Lead Small is Partner with Parents. I know it’s a great idea, and I use the tools that 252 provides for take homes, but I wasn’t confident that my SGL’s were connecting with their few or their parents outside of Sunday morning. One of the things I love about Weekly is their weekly to do lists. I don’t do everything on the list, but it’s great to get some ideas. Recently, they listed a small group leader focus group. I loved all the questions and how it gave me a plan to get a pulse on what my small group leaders were thinking. I’ve learned that unless you put something on the calendar it won’t happe...

In life and leadership, mistakes are bound to happen. There’s pretty much nothing we can do about it. How we handle those mistakes, however, determines the difference between a great leader or just a good one. So here are 7 things to do when we mess up. Don’t bury it. When we make mistakes, our natural inclination is to cover it up. We don’t tell people about it. We try to control the outcome. Inevitably this fails, and causes far more harm than if we had just confessed at the beginning. Don’t blame others. This one is really easy to fall for. Even if it’s not your fault, if you are leading others throwing them under the bus won’t help you in the long run. The person who made the mistake still needs to be confronted, but that interaction will go much better if accept the responsibility as the leader. Don’t beat yourself up . I’m so guilty of this one. I hate to fail and can feel bad for days after a mistake. Hold onto the truth that you’re human and mistakes are bou...

www.gettyimages.com I'm just going to admit it. I'm a conservative Republican.  You can imagine my dismay with Tuesday's election results.  I was so upset, I had a hard time getting to sleep that night. All I could was pray.  As I was praying, I was reminded that God is in control of everything. The next morning, I read this tweet from Perry Noble , "Dear believers - the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses. (Daniel 4:25)." This verse is found right in the heart of the story where God was teaching the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, just who is responsible for the king's greatness.   You can read the full story here. It is a reminder to us all that God has chosen who will lead us.  We may have elected President Obama, but the reality is that God has ordained him to the leader of the free world for four more years. If we claim to be Christians, then we submit to God's authority and the authority o...