【关于牧养】小组带领应该做的五件事
上周日我走进教会的教室时，教室里只有75个空座位和一个空白的白板在等着我。于是，那句每周都反复出现在我头脑中的话又浮现了：“帮助我，耶稣。”
不论你是带领家庭小组，还是带领主日学，或是其他的教会聚会，成为一个小组的带领都是一件令人生畏的事情。倘若你还没有这种感觉，那么你或许该重新考量一下，你的任务到底是什么：你是这群人的带领者。如果他们对某处经文有疑问，你有权作出解释。小组聚会的这一个小时能不能被合理利用，很大程度上取决于你。
你要站在这些人面前，帮助他们在基督里长进。直到有一天你要站在上帝面前交账。（希伯来书13:17；雅各书3:1）
现在你感觉到了吗？我希望你感觉到了，你理应有这种压迫感。这是一个需要高度重视的职任。这种压迫感是健康的，它是你（或者你的小组）真实认知的回应——你没那么聪明，没那么有意思，也没有足够的天赋可以带来真正的属灵改变。
事实上，如果你不介意承认这些，它就是一个好消息。它也许会让你麻木或者无休止地自我怀疑，但也许它会让你对神有更深的倚靠和信心。
如果你相信上帝把这群人聚集在一起是为了达到此目的，那么操练信心的最佳方式就是努力做工而变得更好。要确保你能尽可能地吸收从神而来的话语。这样看来，每个小组带领都应该好好操练下面的五件事。
1.充分准备，克制自己
利用资源。现今如此丰富且易得的资源是前所未有的。你们可以从数以百计的在线资源中获得注释、教学计划和讲章。等你开始探索这些资源时，你很快就能发现哪些是最能帮助你做预备的，接下去你就会一次又一次地使用它们。当你真这样去着手了，你会发现，填补课堂的空白时间不再成为挣扎。但是随之而来的更大挑战是要控制你讲课的范围。
这种控制是极其重要的，不然你的课堂就变成你展示自己聪明才智的工具了。此乃失败之举。与此相反的智慧做法，是把你学习内容中的主旨提炼并写下来，然后将这一主旨作为其他信息的切入点。
2.营造一个开放讨论的氛围
与其想方设法地找到最佳的教导方式，不如想想有什么好的问题是可以帮助组员去更好地讨论的。当然站在人群前面简单地传授信息也是好的，但是如果大家能靠着自己的领受得到相同的结论，那会是一个更奇妙的经历。别忘了，我们的目标就是要阐明真理。
3.让大家讲述自己的故事
当我在带领一群比较内向或者很难融入讨论的人时，我经常会询问组员们一件个人经历，以此来带出我的主题，接着我会用这个个人事件作为跳板，开始一个更大的讨论：
“如果在一次旅行中，你的计划被打乱了，你该怎么办？”（为了引出关于忍耐的讨论）
“告诉我们一件你的孩子做过的让你感到很开心的事情。”（为了引出关于顺服与爱的讨论）
利用这些故事来营造一种开放的氛围，同时，让大家更乐意也更自信地参与其中。
4.为你的小组献上具体的祷告
当小组讨论越来越深入，你就会了解到组员的生命状况。当碰见各样问题时，把它们写下来。在这一周可以为他们祷告。然后在接下来的一周，把那个人叫到一边，询问更多情况。这样关心一个人不仅带来很大的益处，也将他们的感情联系在了小组中。
5.为前景考虑
你真的要为那些上帝交付给你的人的前景考虑，要记得你的目标不只是让你的小组变得更大或更受欢迎。你应该有这种意识——你的小组里有一天会有一些人出来做带领，带领他们自己的小组。如果你的目标聚焦在这样的前景上，装备这些未来带领便会成为你的日常工作。你可以把带领讨论和教导课程的机会交给他们。
帮助他们评估事情的进展。然后与他们同工，带领他们进入到未来的带领角色中。这是做乘法，不是做加法。
带领一个小组肩负着巨大的责任。小组需要打磨，好让我们可以在其中成长。但是通过积极地寻求长进，我们也会发现信心不是建立在自身的领导和教导才能上的，而是建立在托付我们责任的上帝手中。
作者：Michael Kelley
翻译肢体：韩冰
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用圣经视野和实用资源装备教会领袖
进而通过健康的教会向世界彰显神的荣耀
Five Things Every Group Leader Should Do
Last Sunday I walked into a classroom in our church’s building. There were 75 empty chairs and a dry erase board at the front, and I had the same thought I do most every week: “Help me, Jesus.”
It’s intimidating to be a leader of a group, whether you are leading a home-based small group, a Sunday school class, or some other kind of church gathering. If you don’t feel this way, then maybe you should reconsider what you’ve been tasked to do: You are the leader for this group of people. If there is a question regarding a biblical text, you’re the de facto authority. It is largely in your hands whether that hour or so will be well spent or wasted. You are going to stand before a group of human beings and help move them forward in their Christian walk. And then one day you will stand before God and re-evaluate together how it all went (Heb. 13:17; James 3:1)
Feeling it yet? I hope so, because you should. It’s a weighty task, and one that deserves great care. That nervousness is healthy, because it’s really just a reflection of what you (and probably your group) know to be true—you aren’t smart enough, entertaining enough, or talented enough to bring about real spiritual change.
That’s actually good news, if you let it be. It can either move you to paralysis and endless second guessing, or it can move you to deeper dependence and faith.
FIVE TIPS FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS
If you believe that God has put this group of people together for this purpose, then the best way to exercise that faith is to work hard. To get better. To make sure you are doing everything you can to embrace the Spirit of God who speaks through what God has spoken. In light of that, here are five things every group leader should put into practice.
1. Over-prepare, then limit yourself.
The resources are out there for the taking. Never before has so much information been available so easily. You can access commentaries, teaching plans, and sermons from hundreds of resources online. After you start doing your research, you’ll quickly find out which of these resources best serve your own preparation and you’ll return to those again and again. And when you do, you’ll find that it’s no longer a struggle to fill your class time. The bigger struggle you’ll have is limiting your scope.
That limitation is important or your class will simply become the means by which you show everybody how smart you are. That’s a fail. Instead, articulate to yourself in writing what your main point is, after deriving it from your personal study. Then use that main point as a gate for all the other information.
2. Foster an atmosphere of openness and discussion.
Instead of thinking about the most effective way you can teach, think instead about what question you might ask in order to help someone else in your group articulate the information. It’s okay if you stand at the front and simply give out the information, but it will be a more engaging and memorable experience if people come to the same conclusion seemingly on their own. After all, the goal is for truth to be expounded.
3. Let people tell their stories.
Often if I’m leading a group in which people seem to be shy or have trouble participating in discussion, I’ll ask the group for a personal example of something that relates to the larger point, then use that personal experience to springboard into a larger discussion:
“What is one time on a vacation when your plans didn’t go exactly right?” (for moving into a discussion of patience)
“Tell us about a time when your children did something that genuinely made you happy.” (for moving into a discussion about obedience and love)
Using these stories fosters the kind of open atmosphere you’re looking for and, at the same time, makes people more willing and confident in contributing.
4. Pray for your group. Specifically.
In a group where discussion is fostered, you’ll inevitably come to learn things about people’s lives. As those things come up, write them down. Pray for them throughout the week. Then, the next week, pull the person aside and ask them more about their situation. Not only is there incredible value in caring for people like this, it also links them emotionally to what’s going on in your group.
5. Think about the future.
To really think about the future of the people that God has entrusted to you, your goal must be bigger than seeing how big or popular your group could become. You have to recognize that your group will have people who will be able to lead their own groups in the future. If your focus is on that future, your work of equipping future leaders will become regular part of what you do. Give them opportunities to lead the discussions and teach the lessons. Help them by evaluating with them how things went. And then work with them to move them into greater leadership roles in the future. It’s about multiplication, not addition.
Leading a group is an immense responsibility. It’s one that should be crafted and honed; one in which you and I can both grow. But by seeking that growth actively, we demonstrate our faith not in our ability to lead or teach, but in the God who has given us this responsibility.
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