The Shoreline Insider

I have found in being a home owner that good home maintenance requires that I identify and respond to problem areas. I have learned that every structure comes to a place where it requires repair and remodeling. Repair and remodeling require careful skill.

Before we purchased our home,  an inspector spent 4 hours evaluating a house that eventually became our new place of residence. The home inspection process is important to protect the potential buyer from unseen problems and it allows needed repairs to be made before the house is inhabited. After we moved in, the inspections were not over. Through the years, we have had to give the house regular inspections- What needs to be cleaned? What needs to be repaired? What needs to be repainted? What needs updating?

Likewise, it’s good to do an occasional inspection of the spiritual houses we are building. It’s good to give ourselves and the areas where we lead regular spiritual gut checks. Our house could be falling apart in places and we don’t even know it because we don’t take the time to check. Some people only repair and remodel when they discover problems. It’s much better to discover problems before they become eyesores or, worse, result in serious structural decay, so today, I want to offer some suggestions for completing a spiritual home inspection of your Life Group or the ministry team that you lead.

Inspect Yourself
“Search me , O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

I recommend starting your evaluation with yourself. Make sure that your own spiritual house is intact and that you are a leader worth following.

• Am I growing in my faith? Are there people that I am sharing my life with in an authentic, transparent, confessional, and mutually challenging way?

• What is my leadership style? What type of leadership does my group or ministry team need?

• Why am I leading? To fill a need? Because I have a vision? Because I care about people? Because I love God? Answers will vary with each leader. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer. A right answer for one leader may be a wrong answer for another.

• Am I enjoying leading a Life Group or a ministry?

• Do I look forward to Life Group and leadership gatherings and or do I dread them?

Inspect Your Group or Team
“To the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:2-7)

Paul doesn’t waste any time telling the church at Galatia what needs to change. From the very beginning of the book he calls them out on a pretty big issue.

Consider the following questions:

• What is the purpose of your group or ministry team? Does it help people connect with God?  Each other? The world? Does it help people foster deeper relationships with one another? Does it move people into a growing relationship with Christ?

• How long has the group or team been in existence?

• Are we growing closer to God?

• Is the group or team adding new people?

• Are we growing closer to one another?

• Which members are growing the most spiritually?

• How are the members growing as seekers, new followers and seasoned saints? Is the group or team balanced across these three dimensions?

• Are our discussions Biblically centered?

• Have we had any group or team wins lately?

• What prayers are being answered?

• What kinds of prayer requests are typically offered in the group or team? Are we taking the time to take prayer requests and pray for one another?

• What are the biggest needs in the group or team?

• Are there any current or unresolved conflicts with any members of the group or team?

• Is the group or team focused more in inward needs or outward opportunities?

• What kinds of service projects have we done together? What can we do together to take us out of our normal serving routines and foster a team spirit?

• List 3 adjectives to describe the community of your group or team.

After evaluating yourself and your group or team on your own, you might find it valuable to talk about some of these questions as a group or team.

Inspections are never easy. They might reveal cracks in the foundation, broken windows, structural instability, dangerous wiring, leaky pipes, or aesthetic problems. However, it’s better to identify them and do the hard work of repair and remodeling instead of letting the house fall completely apart. Too many groups deteriorate in a long, painful way. Keep your community construction project honest, tight, and always moving forward.

These are the questions that I am asking my self as the pastor and as the leader of the “leaders” of Shoreline. Don’t be surprised if this is part of the discussion of the next Leadership Pipeline.

Until then, love God and have fun.

Pastor Eric