Friday it will be exactly six months since I was re-hired at NCC to work on our Discipleship Team. I’ve learned a great deal about leadership in those six months (and still have a lot to learn). Last week, Heather, my boss, encouraged our team to make a list of things we wish they had told us about small group ministry before we started. My list ended up being more a list of leadership lessons, a good number of which I learned from her.

1. Love those you lead.
2. Have fun.
3. A little tact goes a long way.
4. Make sure you keep whacking your pride with a stick.
5. People will let you down.
6. Fill a need.
7. Dream big.
8. Crucify a mindset of scarcity.
9. Children are gifts from God. Organizing childcare is an attack from the Devil.
10. Sometimes people excel in spite of your leadership.
11. Leading well means having hard conversations.
12. You will offend people.  Sometimes it will be your fault.  Sometimes people are stupid.
13. Miscommunication and misunderstanding can cause problems.
14. You can’t please all of the people all of the time.  Some people you can’t please at all.
15. You need a sense of humor and firm foundation (Jesus).
16. Unless you kill or physically abuse someone, you can’t shock me.
17. You must observe Sabbath, not because God told you to but because He created you to need it and created it for you.
18. It’s hard to let people into your life and develop meaningful relationships.
19. If you have no one to talk to, confide in, process with, etc., you’ll collapse under the weight of what you’re doing.
20. You can’t be a good leader unless you pray for those you lead.
21. Leadership is about service.
22. There’s a limit to your leadership.  You need other people.
23. Finding the right people for your team is one of the most important things you’ll do.
24. Empower those you lead.  Don’t micromanage them.  This is why it’s important to make sure the right people are on your team.
25. Guard your heart and your mind.
26. You can do it all, but you can’t do it all well.  You’ll never excel at anything without focus.
27. Tell stories.  Don’t talk numbers (unless you’re visioncasting to statisticians).
28. Get buy in from key leaders before casting vision to the crowd.
29. It’s not about you.  It’s about Jesus.
30. It’s more blessed to give than to receive.
31. Lead yourself well.
32. Your influence grows exponentially with your commitment.
33. There will always be tension between serving others and only doing what only you can do.
34. Being in ministry does not mean you love Jesus.
35. Only God is always faithful.
36. Community is messy.
37. The Gospel is like good chocolate, simple yet incredibly rich.  You can learn it in five minutes and spend a lifetime unpacking it.
38. Jesus said to make disciples, not find leaders.
39. It’s not about you.
40. Develop a plan and a vision.
41. Nothing is as simple as it looks on the outside.
42. Ask good questions. Have some answers.
43. Lead humbly but confidently.
44. Always be learning.
45. Be grateful when you get to follow a good leader.
46. The buck stops with you. Take responsibility.
47. Pick your battles, but fight the battles you pick.
48. Unless you’re Jesus, you don’t have the final say.  Learn to follow well.
49. Starting small groups is easy.  Making disciples is hard.
50. People won’t always get it the first time.  As Paul told Timothy, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2 ESV).

My plan is to blog on one of these (almost) every day until I’ve covered them all.  Don’t expect them in order though

Related posts:

1. Lessons Unlearned