As for me ...

Today as I was reading Micah 7, I stopped at verse 7: "As for me, I look to the Lord for his help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me."

"As for me..." This phrase appears 54 times in the Bible (NIV), often as a comparison of a godly person's response to others in the world. The instance that immediately comes to my mind is Joshua 24:15: "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (For deeper study, also see 1 Samuel 12:23; Ps. 55:23; Ps. 71:14; Ps. 73:28; Jer. 26:14; Micah 3:8. Even Pilate uttered these words at Jesus' trial: "As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him"[John 19:6].)

Here, in Micah 7, the prophet has shared his heartfelt sorrow for the decline of the society around him. He said that the godly people have all disappeared (v. 2); they've become skilled at doing evil (v. 3). With that in mind, Micah says, but as for me ... Micah, like other leaders after God's own heart, decided to be distinctive and distinguishable, even if others thought he was just weird.

So how do I respond? Others around me are doing ____, but as for me, I will _____. As for me and my family, we will _____. How would you fill in those blanks?

The world around us is getting increasingly evil. Even Christians (but are they "Christ followers"?) I know rationalize sin, dishonesty, and lack of integrity. But as for me, I will put God first and obey him. I will, by the Holy Spirit's power, live a life of integrity and authenticity. I will, by His power within me, love God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love my neighbor as myself.

Everyone who desires to be a leader after God's own heart must also complete this phrase, As for me, I will _____.

Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:10-12).

Don't Point Fingers, Leader

Did you know that as a spiritual leader, God will hold you accountable for the spiritual condition of the people you lead? You are a steward of the leadership responsibilities and the people He has entrusted to you (1 Peter 5:2, 3) and you and I will someday give an account to Him (Matthew 25:19; see vv. 14-30 for the entire parable).

In Hosea 4, God held the spiritual leaders accountable for the spiritual condition of the people.

"Don't point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! Look, you priests, my complaint is with you!" (Hosea 4:4, NLT).

If you're a leader, don't point fingers at the people you're leading. Look in the mirror first. God's complaint may be with you!

In verse 6, God says, "My people are being destroyed because they don't know me. It is all your fault, you priests, for you yourselves refuse to know me." Spiritual growth--discipleship--begins with us as leaders. We know that. We've heard it before. But I wonder how seriously we take it.

As I read this passage, I feel the weight of my spiritual leadership responsibility. And I should feel that weight! People's lives are at stake. Many people are depending on me to be a model of what having a real relationship with the living God looks like. God will someday hold me accountable for what I did with what he entrusted me. And yet, I realize that I don't have to carry this heavy burden myself. In surrender, I can take it to Jesus, and he will provide me with rest and peace. In his presence and by his power the burdens--even the leadership burdens--are not heavy at all.

Jesus' Small Group Curriuclum

What curriculum did Jesus use as He led His small group?

That question seems absurd, at least to me. Jesus' curriculum was life. He asked great questions and told great stories as He did life with His group. And so they learned how to live life as they observed Him and did life with Him.

One of my favorite quotes outside of Scripture is from Leroy Eims:

Disciples cannot be mass produced. We cannot drop people into a “program” and see disciples emerge at the end of a production line. It takes time to make disciples. It takes individual, personal attention. It takes hours of prayer for them. It takes patience and understanding to teach them how to get into the Word of God for themselves, how to feed and nourish their souls, and by the power of the Holy Spirit how to apply the Word to their lives. And it takes being an example to them of all of the above.

What Eims describes here is shepherding. The Best Small Group Leader Ever was a shepherd: the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, the Chief Shepherd. He had compassion on people who were "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36).

I think Jesus is our best model for being a small group leader.

Which is why I believe small group leaders should be much more than just facilitators or hosts or disc-jockeys who put in a DVD and press the PLAY button. Small group leaders are called primarily, in my opinion, to be shepherds. When we take a minimal view of small group leadership, the members of our groups are still “like sheep without a shepherd.”

What do you think?