The New (and BETTER!) Commandment

The Jewish leaders were continually trying to trap Jesus in what he said so they could condemn him publically. On one occasion, they came up with a scheme to make him choose between the hundreds of commandments from the law.  A lawyer asked Jesus which was the most important, and without hesitation Jesus replied,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, ESV)

Bam! He boiled the whole Old Testament down to two things: Love God and love other people.  There was no way the lawyer could argue against that. And when it comes to loving other people, Jesus said the qualification is that we love them to the same degree that we love and care for ourselves. Now when it comes to my family, I’m okay with that. I love my wife and kids and would do anything that is for their best. I would even take a bullet for them to save their life, or choose to get sick if it meant them staying healthy.  But Jesus said that our love isn’t just for family, it’s for our neighbor as well!

Then another time, Jesus raised the bar even higher when he said,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34, ESV)

Instead of my self-love being the measure of love for others, Jesus took it to a new level and says that we’re supposed to love others in the same way that he loves us! Wow! That’s a tall order! Jesus’ love is way beyond what we normally have.

This command is sandwiched between washing the disciples’ feet (an act of humility and servanthood) and his arrest, which led to his greatest demonstration of love: dying in our place. His love compelled him to step out of heaven and become human. His love drove him to undergo the beatings, humiliation and crucifixion. He didn’t have to do all that, but he did because of love. Then he goes on to say that this kind of love is the distinguishing mark of being a disciple (v35).

So… how’s your love for God and for other Christians? Can you say that you love like Jesus loves you? And what would it look like in your life this week? In relationship with your family… your co-workers… your neighbor… the homeless guy on the street corner?

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18, ESV)

Recruiting New Leaders for Community Groups

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Objective: Helping people discover their God-given call to being Community Group Leaders

Rather than trying to sell something that people don’t want, we are giving people the opportunity to participate in God’s discipleship agenda for the church.

We’re not trying to steal people from other ministries, and we’re not trying to make people who are already too busy to add one more thing to their plate. Instead, we’re looking for people who love God and love people, who are ready to step up to a new challenge of shepherding a group of people toward Christ-likeness and kingdom-minded service.

What keeps most people from responding to the invitation to “start a group?”

·      They’re too busy, either participating or serving in other ministries, and/or with family, kids, work, hobbies, sports, etc.

·      They don’t feel qualified to lead (they haven’t led before, not enough Bible knowledge, don’t think they can do it, don’t have the gift of teaching, etc…)

·      They don’t feel called to lead

·      They’re already in a group and don’t want to leave the community of friends they’re connected to – that can feel like a divorce!

Everybody’s challenge is nobody’s challenge! The problem with only doing mass appeals for new Community Group Leaders is that we’ll get a limited number of respondents (in recent campaign at the Rock Church, two Sundays of promotions brought in .14% of those the attendance).  Many who would make good leaders don’t respond and opportunity is lost, unless we have a parallel track of invitation and challenge.

How to personally recruit CG leaders:

1.     Craft your message:

·      Vision: develop a 30 second “elevator speech” of how God is changing lives through Community Groups and the need to grow the number of groups to impact more lives.

·      Scope: what are you challenging them to? 1 year commitment? 6 months? How about a shorter scope of “host a group for 4-6 weeks.” That’s a much easier commitment for someone to make.

·      Responsibilities: what would they be required to do?  Show a video for the teaching segment, facilitate discussion, encourage relationship, lead prayer time.

·      Process: how would they begin? Application :: training :: coach :: launch :: coaching / support

2.     Start with your circle of influence: think and pray through those you know. Who could you talk with about starting a group? Make a list and start contacting them!

3.     Make appointments to meet with your prospects: a face-to-face meeting is going to have the greatest potential of recruiting a new leader, especially if you don’t already have relationship with the person.

4.     Ask coaching questions: as you dialog with a potential leader, ask questions that will help drill down to their desire to serve God, fears that may be holding them back, and that will help them assess their priorities and schedule.

5.     Network with other leaders and ask them for referrals