Being a leader

For 8th grade cell groups

Main point: Be a spiritual leader

Overview

  • One of the central reasons student ministries exists is to raise up workers and leaders for the church. The students in your group have potential to become some of the most important Christian leaders in the world, especially if they start now.
  • The big picture is that students can make an impact now. The series investigates five aspects that are common among spiritual leaders.
  • Other leadership material to help you prepare:
  • Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders
  • Dennis McCallum on leadership

Rough outlines

1. Spiritual leaders are filled with the Spirit (Acts 6)

  • Main point: Be filled with the Spirit (Acts 6:3)
  • When the early church needed leaders, they chose people filled with the Spirit
  • Being spiritual is the main characteristic of spiritual leaders
  • If you want to lead people you have to go ahead of them
  • Define and explain what it means to be filled with the Spirit
  • Antithesis: Follow cravings
  • The easiest way to ruin your life is to do whatever you feel like doing
  • The opposite of being led by the Spirit is satisfying cravings (Gal. 5:16-17)
  • Illustration IDEAS
  • A phone with a dead battery is like a Christian who isn’t filled with the Spirit
  • Trying to play sports without eating all day, no energy
  • Application IDEAS
  • Ask God to fill you with his Spirit
  • Prioritize growing spiritually above everything else
  • Reject anything that distracts you from spiritual things (relationship, hobby, goal, etc.)

2. Spiritual leaders think like God (Romans 12:2)

  • Main point: Be transformed (Rom. 12:2)
  • How you think is more important than how you act because thoughts determine action
  • Paul emphasized thinking the right way (Phil. 1:9; 2:5; 4:8,12)
  • The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible authors. If you understand how they think, you will be thinking the very thoughts of God. This is why developing a habit of studying the Bible is so important.
  • Antithesis: Pressed into the world’s mold
  • Most Christian students are no different than pagans (cf. stats from Barna)
  • Illustration IDEAS
  • Give a personal example of a time where thinking the wrong way messed you up
  • Ajith Fernando’s story of Fanny Crosby in “The Call to Joy and Pain” (Ch. 25)
  • Application IDEAS
  • Ask God to help you think his thoughts
  • Ask God to remind you to study the Bible
  • Develop a plan for getting into the Bible every day

3. Spiritual leaders love others (1 Peter 4:6-9)

  • Main point: Show deep love (1 Peter 4:8)
  • It will all burn (1 Peter 4:7a)
  • Everything you have and want is temporary. People are forever.
  • People are more important (1 Peter 4:8)
  • The main characteristic of a spiritual leader is that they are loving
  • Develop loyal friendships
  • Learn to ask good questions
  • Cheerfully share (1 Peter 4:9)
  • Share Christ
  • Invite people to Bible studies
  • Look for ways to love the lost
  • Invite people to your house
  • Share your best stuff, not just the stuff you don’t care about
  • Antithesis: Self-focus
  • The opposite of love is indifference
  • Lust, greed, pride (1 John 2:15-17)
  • Our culture is set up to help you become more selfish. You have to reject this to make progress.
  • Illustration IDEAS
  • Every car in every junkyard preaches powerful sermons against materialism: “You fools, you fools, you fools for trusting in money!”
  • Critique commercials that promise people will love you if you get the right clothes, car, etc.
  • Application IDEAS
  • Ask God to make you more loving
  • Brainstorm ideas on how your group could be more loving
  • Pick one or two people and come up with a plan to try to love them this week

4. Spiritual leaders serve (Mark 10:42-45)

  • Main point: Be a slave of all (Mark 10:44)
  • James and John thought they were getting the inside track (Mark 10:35-37)
  • Jesus warns that spiritual leadership involves sacrifice (Mark 10:38-40)
  • Jesus says greatness is based on serving (Mark 10:41-45)
  • The strong serve the weak
  • Good parents serve children
  • Good generals serve soldiers
  • Good leaders serve followers
  • Antithesis: Self-promotion
  • When leaders promote themselves, they ruin their reputation with their followers
  • People root against the arrogant
  • Most students argue constantly about who is better than who at what
  • Illustration IDEAS
  • Give a personal example of a time promoting yourself backfired
  • Watch some fail blog and talk about how fun it is to watch arrogant people fail
  • Application IDEAS
  • Ask God to help you be humble
  • How are you strong? Look for opportunities to use that strength to serve
  • Take initiate to find a place to serve
  • Volunteer consistently even if it isn’t easy at first

5. Spiritual leaders repent (Psalm 32)

  • Main point: Pray while there is still time (Psalm 32:6)
  • Repenting is changing your mind in a way that changes your actions
  • Forgiveness is awesome (Ps. 32:1-2)
  • Refusing to repents sucks your life away (Ps. 3-4)
  • Confession leads to forgiveness (Ps. 32:5)
  • Pray while there is still time (Ps. 32:6)
  • Repentance results in closeness with God (Ps. 32:7-11)
  • This is a great teaching to emphasize the Gospel
  • A leader who won’t come to his senses and change his mind will lose his leadership or lead his people into harm
  • Other texts to consider
  • Blind man vs. leaders (John 9)
  • Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near (Matt. 4:17)

Unrepentant / Repentant
Rationalizes, minimizes, shifts blame / Takes responsibility for sin
Unable to explain the problem / Able to explain why it was wrong
Thinks consequences are unfair, argues about process / Accepts consequences and tries to fix problems
Angry with those who discipline / Grateful for those who discipline
Bad attitude about the future / Confident in God’s solution
Feels sorry but doesn’t change, empty words / Might still fall, but shows lasting change
  • Antithesis: Guilty
  • Most people feel very guilty most of the time. Repentance is how to get rid of guilt.
  • Having a hard heart embeds guilt (cf. horse and mule in vs. 9)
  • Illustration IDEAS
  • Give a personal example of a time it was hard for you to repent. Explain what happened when you finally did. Extra points if your story is from middle school.
  • See Youtube video of Marion Jones’ apology for using performance enhancing drugs
  • Application IDEAS
  • Ask God how you have a hard heart
  • Admit what you did wrong
  • Come up with a plan of action for change