It's been an incredible week of ministry preparation for September small groups.
- Last Wednesday I received Rooted Leadership training. The big takeaway was to create an environment of belonging, hospitality and connection. Rooted is built on three things: the foundation of the faith, the formation of a man, and the essential truths of what we believe. It walks through who Jesus is, what it means to have Christ living in you, and the everyday habits that grow a man: the Word, prayer, purity, sharing your faith, and standing firm when life gets hard. I'm doing this online Saturday at 8:00 a.m. CDT. Just specify you want to be in Ben Lorence's group here: https://atgrace.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/3892/responses/new
- On Monday my friend Becky at Grace Church aligned that Spanish translation of Rooted would take a few weeks to modify the materials and ensure a high quality product. We aligned on developing an online Community to host Rooted Bible study participants. The platform will account for the goals belonging, connection, prayer support and life change in the context of daily Bible study. This morning I saw my idea to fix/simplify Spanish lectures with youtube went into production at grace.church/spanish
- Thursday was the BSF Leadership Workshop for the Roman's study year. We focused on our hearts, identifying where we're working in step with the Lord vs getting away from our calling.
- Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Alpha Leadership training at Substance church with my TC friends and family. I received prayer to call additional leaders into the Portland house Alpha opportunity as this will be my last year of serving as the primary leader. Prayer on Thursday will continue.
- We've also been praying for our own family dynamics, health issues and living situations.
I'm like the Kook-aid guy crashing into the room with unreasonable expectations for myself and others.
Alpha leader is not responsible for controlling the conversation or producing the “right” spiritual outcome. The leader creates a hospitable environment where people can honestly explore, while trusting the Holy Spirit to work. "Evangelism is joining a conversation the Holy Spirit is already having with another person." - Darrell Johnson
Jesus life models the "Kingdom Culture" for us, he made disciples in the marketplace and at synagogue. He modeled a life on mission, helping people everywhere learn about forgiveness, prayer, healing, hope and eternal life. He was fully integrated moving with people from their felt needs into trusting God with their whole lives. We however tend to lean into one or two of the areas that turns into striving, selfishness or shallowness - we call this "missing the mark." We do all these trainings to remind ourselves that we are witnesses of God working in other peoples lives - not "doing witnessing" as an activity or manipulation.
The most useful strategic distinction is that Incubate → Implement → Increase → Influence describes organizational adoption, while Curriculum → Program → Ministry → Culture describes organizational transformation. A church can therefore measure not just "How many Alphas are we running?" but "How much has the Alpha posture changed how we engage people?"
How do we engage people coming from various perspectives:
- Skeptic: questions Christianity or its claims.
- Seeker: spiritually interested and actively exploring.
- Starter / re-starter: beginning faith or returning after time away.
- Struggler: wrestling with faith, circumstances, doubts, or behavior.
- Sampler: curious and willing to experience Alpha without necessarily committing.
- Server: already inclined toward faith and contributing to others.
The important implication is that people are not all starting from the same place, so leaders should not expect them to respond the same way.
What difficult group dynamics should leaders anticipate?
- Dominant guest
- Eager Christian who overshares
- Quiet guest
- Quiet group
- Chaotic group
- Guest dealing with significant personal problems
These are better understood as situations to shepherd rather than people to fix.
The “6 Ways to be Mindful” provide the leadership response:
| Principle | Leadership behavior | What it protects |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Recognize your own bias | Notice the assumptions you bring into the conversation | The guest from being judged through the leader's experience |
| 2. Respect various perspectives | Make room for disagreement and different experiences | Psychological and relational safety |
| 3. Model curiosity | Ask rather than immediately explain or correct | Discovery and authentic conversation |
| 4. Absorb hostility | Remain gracious when challenged | The group from becoming defensive or adversarial |
| 5. Lead carefully and confidently | Intervene when needed without dominating | Healthy boundaries and participation |
| 6. Trust the Holy Spirit to be the Guide | Resist trying to manufacture spiritual outcomes | God's agency and the guest's freedom |
There is an important progression here:
Self-awareness → hospitality toward others → curiosity → resilience → leadership → dependence on God.
The strongest leadership principle may be #6 because it changes how the other five are practiced. If the leader believes conversion or agreement depends primarily upon the leader's persuasive ability, curiosity easily becomes interrogation, confidence becomes control, and disagreement becomes something that must be defeated.
useful leadership framework emerges from the slides:
Receive → Explore → Shepherd → Release
Receive: “You are welcome here as you are.”
Explore: “Tell me more. What makes you think that?”
Shepherd: “Let's make sure we hear from some other people too.”
Release: “I don't have to force the conclusion. The Holy Spirit is the Guide.”
That produces a simple diagnostic question for an Alpha leader:
“What does this person need from me right now: space, curiosity, encouragement, a boundary, or nothing?”
That is especially powerful because the same behavior should not be applied uniformly. The dominant guest probably needs a boundary. The quiet guest probably needs space and invitation. The skeptic often needs curiosity. The struggler may need empathy. The eager Christian may need coaching. The personal-problems guest may need care beyond the group meeting.
