Month: December 2008

by Jeff Tunnell

www.bigbearchristiancenter.org

Remember that new cell we started back in September? We are well under way by now and moving into the “storming” segment of discovering our differences.  Personalities, approaches, who’s on time, who’s late, who talks too much, or not enough, along with hiding behind “nice” exteriors to avoid relationship closeness are just a few things that show up during this phase of development. 

The BIG QUESTION now is, “Will we move through these problems in order to establish sincere love and the fulfillment of the “one another” passages in the New Testament?”

Loving one another is a mark of true discipleship according to Jesus and in turn becomes remarkable in the eyes of the world.  “By this they will know…” Making the decision to love is a first step in which we shape our will by choice and wait for the emotions to follow. Commitment will outlast the problems that arise in relationships. All this by His grace!

How have you succeeded in the “storming” stage while building your cell?

by Steve Cordle

Yesterday Joel introduced the idea of how to structure and choose staff for a growing cell church. Today let me offer a few thoughts on how to lead staff once they are hired.

Every staffer needs to know what their targets are and how they are doing. So what is the target for a cell staff pastor? We could say the goal is to produce more healthy groups, and that would be true.

But an even sharper focus would be for that staffer to think in terms of developing leaders of leaders. In other words, instead of thinking about producing group leaders, focus on producing coaches.

This changes the way the staff person leads. Now the goal is not just to see that their groups are healthy, but to work toward the next level of ministry: where leaders have multiplied and now coach other leaders. This means the staffer will train, pray, vision, disciple, and challenge their leaders to move to a new level.

Do you and your staff person share the same target?

Another practical step is to make the staff meetings a tool to keep the vision sharp. At each meeting of our network pastors there are reports lying on the table which shows the attendance and other stats of each group in each pastor’s network. We ask each pastor to share: a) a highlight in your network b) a hot spot c) any advice you’d like from other staff d) the major step you will take this week to strengthen your network. (It’s also important to ask how last week’s step went.)

Also, this is the time of year for goal setting. We ask each pastor to share numerical goals they believe the Lord is leading them to pursue for the next year. Spirit-led, personally-owned goals will drive a pastor’s ministry from the inside out.

Your thoughts?

Steve