Shepherd-Leaders Help Small Groups Become Great
Michael C. Mack argues that great small groups require leaders who serve as shepherds, not merely hosts or facilitators. Using Jesus as the model, he challenges churches to think carefully about how they define and develop small group leadership.
- Great small group leaders provide spiritual guidance and care.
- Churches should not reduce small group leadership to hosting or operating media.
- Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is presented as the model for small group leaders.
By Michael C. Mack
READ THE MAIN ARTICLE: “Good to Great Groups”
READ THE SIDEBAR: “God’s Word on Great Shepherds”
Great Small Group Leaders Are Shepherds
Great small groups require great leaders, and great small group leaders are shepherds—spiritual guides for the group God has entrusted to their care. But not everyone believes that.
To get more people into small groups, some churches are launching hundreds of groups at a time with “facilitators” or “hosts” rather than shepherd-leaders. An attitude of “anyone will do” prevails today when looking for people to start new groups. Some churches use slogans such as “If you have a VCR, you can be a star” or “If you can operate a DVD, you can lead.”
The effect is many more new groups, with lots of people. I’ve heard small group ministers brag about 70 percent success rates for these groups (over a relatively short period of time). But I wonder what happens to the other 30 percent, and if the 70 percent are in great groups.
Jesus Is Our Model
Jesus demonstrated how vital the role of a shepherd-leader is as he walked among the throngs of people and “had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). That these people were aimlessly wandering through life with no one to guide and care for them broke Jesus’ heart. When churches take a minimalist view of small group leadership, the members of those groups are still “like sheep without a shepherd.”
Great small group leaders are more than merely Bible discussion facilitators, meeting coordinators, or the equivalent of Sunday school teachers who present lessons. They are more than disc jockeys, whose job is to put in a DVD and push play.
The best small group leader ever called himself the “Good Shepherd” and showed the future leaders of his church how to be shepherds. The writer of Hebrews called him the “Great Shepherd” (so Jesus was actually good and great!). Peter called him the “Chief Shepherd.”
Jesus is our model for leading a great small group. Great small group leaders are shepherds!
Michael Mack is the small groups minister at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of several small group resources, including his most recent, I’m a Leader . . . Now What? from Standard Publishing.
