3. Jesus led a small group.
I know this sounds trite but it’s very true. If you are a pastor, you should do what Jesus did and lead a group. Jesus’ small group was at the center of his ministry, enabling him to make disciples who make disciples, laying the foundation of the growing movement he was establishing. When I was doing my master’s research on Jesus’ leadership development methods, I was curious just how much of Jesus’ time he devoted to leadership training. Unable to follow Jesus with a stopwatch, I looked at the verses recounting Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Mark and tallied how many of these he is with just his small group—the twelve disciples. It’s a whopping 49%. Clearly, pouring into others through modeling, instruction, prayer and interaction was at the heart of his earthly ministry. It should be at the heart of our ministries too.
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4. For your spiritual health you need to be in a small group.
The New Testament is filled with dozens of different “one another” commands like “love each other,” “be devoted to one another,” “encourage each other,” “carry one another’s burdens,” and “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other.” This kind of body life doesn’t happen in a Sunday morning service; it happens in the context of caring small groups. Every Christ-follower needs this kind of community. You need this kind of community if you are going to thrive in leadership. That’s why I believe every pastor should lead a small group.
This article on why pastors should lead a small group originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
