X Least Expect It, ISSUE 5 VOLUME 1 March 21, 2010

Least Deserve It………………..1

XWhen Someone Arrives

in Pain…………………………….2
A weekly publication to encourage and equip
Group Leaders

Group
X Nuts & Bolts:
Calendar…………..…………..2

Least Expect It, Least Deserve It

From Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community
Church in Washington DC
focus
And one of the primary pathways or primary steps to
community is to decide to make a commitment to a
Posted: 28 Jan 2010 04:45 PM PST community.
—Richard Lamb

We have a core value at NCC: love
people when they least expect it
and least deserve. Go ahead and
love people when they expect it
and deserve, but that doesn't count
for much. Buying someone a
birthday gift or giving flowers on
Valentine's Day is like breaking
even. Why? Because it's expected
and deserved.
If you really want to impact some-
one, love them when they have just
made the biggest mistake of their
life and they are surrounded by an
angry mob with stones in their
hands! Isn't that what Jesus did to
the woman caught in the act of
adultery? He loved her when she
least expected it and least
deserved it. That is the example
we need to follow.
I want my life to be about loving
people and blessing people when
they least expect it because that is
how God loves us. He comes out
of nowhere and surprises us with
His amazing grace!
Mark Batterson

P.T. Forsyth once said,

“The worst sin is prayerlessness.” We usually think of murder, adultery, or theft as among the
worst. But the root of all sin is self-sufficiency—independence from God. When we fail to wait
prayerfully for God’s guidance and strength we are saying, with our actions if not our lips, that
we do not need Him. How much of our service is characterized by “going it alone”?

Tyranny of the Urgent

Charles E. Hummel
When Someone Arrives in Pain
Small-group ministry includes
bearing one another’s burdens’.
Here are some considerations for
the next time someone comes to
your group in pain.
• If possible, acknowledge the
person’s pain privately before your • If certain verses come to mind, jot
meeting and ask her if she wants
to let the group know what’s going
on. If not, keep it confidential.
• Remember that this situation is
We had all settled in with our not a surprise to God. He is in
coffee, ready to begin our Bible control of the situation and the
study. But it soon became obvious group.
that one group member was fighting • Ideally, your group will have
back tears. So we stopped and discussed in advance how to
said, “We’d like to listen if you want respond to people in pain.
to talk.” The floodgates opened, Members will know not to jump in
and we spent the next half hour immediately with well-meant
ministering to this woman. advice. Instead, they will gently
ask questions and draw out the
hurting person. They’ll be • Before you leave, ask how the
discerning in what they share group can help. Make a plan for
about their own experiences—no ongoing, practical support. If the
horror stories, but only those response is, “Just pray for me,” do
personal accounts that it, then check back in a day or two.
communicate empathy. • Make sure the whole group knows
and understands these principles.
them on a piece of paper and give - Marsha Crockett
them to the person later. It is Best Small Group Ideas
usually nest not to quote Scripture Discipleship Journal, 2005
while a person is pouring out his
pain.
• Spend a few minutes in prayer.
Incorporate the power of touch by
holding hands or laying hands on
the person in pain. When you
sense the person is finished
sharing, take a coffee break to
decompress and then return to the
lesson.

I think there are three

Nuts & Bolts for
Group Leaders
Calendar
Dates that may interest you!
• By March 28—let your
Team Leader know what you
as a leader are planning to
do next semester and fall (if
you know) and also what
your group is planning to do
(continue without adding new
members, continue and add
new members, not continue,
start a new group…)
• March 31—turn in, e-mail in,
Your Stories—to your Team
Leader or to me (Linda)
• Last Week of April—most
groups will be finishing up.
Be sure to celebrate your
group, friendships that have
been made, spiritual
decisions and progress.
Party!
• May is promotion month for
Summer semester. Summer
catalogs will be available.
• accountability, depth of
Sunday May 17—
registration will begin in the
lobby
• Sunday May 23—Group
Leader Meeting will be held
• Sunday May 30—
Registration for summer
groups will end
• Week of June 6—12
Summer groups will begin
• Week of August 29 - Sep-
tember 3 - Summer Groups
End
essential and kind of
irreducible components of
community. Community
involves a move outward, a
move inward, and a rela-
tional glue that keeps us
together. I call the move
outward partnership in
6 Leadership Essentials mission; the move inward is
1. THINK Life change
relationship; and the glue,
Why we do groups
the relational glue is
2. Cultivate RELATIONSHIPS Friendship.
How to build community
Richard Lamb
3. PROMOTE participation author of The Pursuit of God
How to lead a group in the Company of Friends.
4. REPLACE yourself
How you intentionally
apprentice
5. Provide CARE
How you handle tough
situations
6. MULTIPLY influence
How you maximize impact

Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
Psalm 103: 1,2