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Nov
17
F Leader , Jay Fennell

Setting Goals for Your LIFE Group

By Jay Fennell

You probably have a lot of experience setting goals in your life. Professional goals, financial goals, spiritual goals, relationship goals…but have you ever, as a LIFE group leader, thought about establishing goals for your LIFE group? Have you ever stopped to consider what God might want to accomplish through your LIFE group this year? Goals are important. They give us direction and purpose. As we wind down the calendar year and prepare for the New Year, it’s a great time to begin praying and thinking about goals for your LIFE group.
Some of you might be thinking…is goal setting unspiritual? I’ve heard some leaders say, “I just allow the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do in my group, so I don’t make any plans like that.” I agree that we should not simply make our own plans, but instead should be receptive to God-centered, God-sized plans. And that takes diligent prayer to discover how God wants to work and what He wants to accomplish in your group. After all, the group you lead belongs to Him. The people in your group are His, and you are simply a steward of the group at the moment.
But Jesus was a planner. When he called his followers he told them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” This little statement contains both Jesus’ goal and his three-year plan for his disciples. The Goal: for them to become fishers of men. The Plan: to follow Him. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said to the disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.” The Goal: for the gospel to reach Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the whole earth. The Plan: To be his witnesses through the Holy Spirit’s power. It’s okay to set goals, but they must be the goals that God wants for your group.
So what does that look like in your group at Brentwood Baptist? Well, you know that our groups are defined by 4 functions expressed by the acronym L.I.F.E.

  • L stands for Loving one another.
  • I stands for Involving ourselves in community.
  • F stands for Focusing on God’s Word.
  • And E stands for Engaging the World.

So what would it look like, in the New Year, to establish one goal under each one of these functions? For example, under Loving one another, you might want to notice that you have group members who have fallen away, people you haven’t seen in a while. And you notice that there isn’t a mechanism to follow up with people that have fallen away. Maybe a goal that could be established is to develop a system or appoint a person who will take the lead in reaching out to group members who have fallen away. Maybe the goal is to reach out to group members who have missed 3 times in a row.  If you could accomplish this goal, your group would improve the way they are loving one another. I encourage you to do this with each one of the functions of a LIFE Group, to establish goals that will help your group become healthier and more effective in helping people move toward Christlikeness.
You’ve probably heard it said before, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” Take some time now to pray and ask yourself the question, “What does God want to accomplish in my LIFE group this year?”
 

Nov
3
Jay Fennell , L Leader

Pastoral Care in LIFE Groups

By Jay Fennell

One function of a LIFE Group at Brentwood Baptist Church is to “Love One Another.” What does that mean? It means that the group is committed to praying and caring for one another in the mountain and valley moments of life. It means that the group responds to needs and serves in a biblical and God-honoring way.
But from time to time, pastoral care needs emerge in LIFE Groups leaving the leader and the group unsure of what to do and how to serve. It can be quite intimidating to navigate the issue at hand because the leader can feel ill-equipped to handle the pastoral care need that has emerged.
Before you tackle a pastoral care need in your group, consider these things:

  1. Your role as a LIFE Group leader is to bear burdens, not carry the load. Paul writes in Galatians 6:2 – “Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” When someone staggers, we steady the load, but we don’t take it off their shoulders and carry it for them. If someone is straining, we help bear the burden, but we don’t remove it and take it all on ourselves. Boundaries are important and must be established. You are responsible to love, minister, serve, pray and care under the wisdom and guidance of the Lord. You are not responsible to make them happy or solve their problems.
  2. Some issues go beyond the scope of pastoral care for a leader and the group. In these cases where leaders feel completely inadequate and ill-equipped to handle a serious pastoral care need, it’s best to refer to a specialist or trained minister. It doesn’t mean that the group cannot still pray diligently for the person, it just means that the leader and group will not take the lead on providing hands-on care. Pastoral counseling is available through Brentwood Baptist by calling 615-324-6169.
  3. Pastoral care happens best in LIFE Group environments where multiple people can partner together to meet needs and provide ministry, rather than one-on-one. In a church the size of Brentwood Baptist, LIFE groups provide the best opportunity to meet needs and provide care. How can the group collectively provide resources to bear the burden for someone in the group?
  4. The ultimate goal of our care is to help provide healing and forward movement toward Christlikeness. Ultimately, we want the people receiving our care to be reestablished and on course to grow and become more like Jesus. The beauty of the Body of Christ is that we’re for one another, caring and encouraging each other to grow toward Christlikeness.

 
At Brentwood Baptist Church, we have a ministry that coordinates and manages benevolent needs that arise in the church. If you have a benevolent need that arises in your LIFE group, have the person in need call 615-324-6179.