Do you celebrate volunteers who do exactly what you ask them to do?

Or do you encourage creativity, outside-the-box thinking, and pursuing God-given passions?

Teaching people to punch a button is easy.  Raising up (and giving space to) leaders who are creative and innovative is not.

Raising up creative leaders is:

1. Messy – When you ask somebody to think outside of the box, it ceases to be “clean, concise, and manageable.”

2. Decentralized – It’s difficult to have a two-hour training on this stuff.  It’s more about cultivating an environment than about transferring information.  And allowing creativity to permeate each person (rather than having those you lead simply parrot back a response) means that you won’t be the sole trainer.

3. Slow – Since it’s not chiefly about transferring information, it takes much longer.

4. Difficult to replicate – Many times, this process differs from person to person.  Creativity is unique to the individual, and thus not exactly duplicate-able.

5. Risky – Asking people to think outside the box means that they may go off in a direction that you didn’t intend.

However, I think that it’s worth dealing with each of the above.  Because in the long run, organizations that embrace and encourage creativity will produce innovators who work through plaguing problems, promote development, and help a company (or a church) sustain long-term growth.

If you’re content doing things the same way you’ve always done them, then you’re going to raise up leaders with that same value.

Here are a few reasons that you should never, under any circumstances, be in a small group:

You should not be in a small group if

…you cannot tolerate messiness. Doing life together with others is often messy, because you are doing life together with sinners (don’t forget that you’re a sinner, too!)!  Don’t always look for a neat bow to be tied at the end of each week of meeting together.  It’s just not going to happen.  Your story, and those in your group, is ongoing.

…you cannot tolerate a bit of chaos. Coordinating schedules, activities, emails, curriculum choices, food choices, etc. can be a big headache.  If you can’t put up with a little bit of chaos, please check out now.

…you show up expecting to receive, but not give. In a small group, you’ll be expected to participate in the discussion.  To reach out and build relationships.  You’ll be expected to, on occasion, host the group in your home…or pray for others…or lead an icebreaker…or lead the group discussion.  If you’re there just to soak it all in, small groups aren’t for you.

…you think that discipleship is limited to information transfer. It’s not!  Read more about my thoughts about discipleship HERE.

…people get on your nerves. It’s inevitable.  There will be “that guy” in your group.  If you just absolutely can’t stand to be around “that guy,” then you can count on God putting him (or her) in your small group (just so you know, I think that it actually works for your good when God puts people who are not like you in a small group together.  Conflict with others often reveals the sinful patterns in our own hearts.  James 4:1-6 speaks to this.

…you are comfortable with your life.  Small groups stretch you to love more, serve more, give more, and sacrifice more.  Small groups are not for the faint of heart.

…you don’t want your faith to grow. Being an active part of a small group will grow your faith.  The early church met in a gathering service and in homes (Acts 2:46).  I’m not saying that the fact that they met in homes is the sole reason that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved,” (Acts 2:47) but it was surely one piece that God was using then…and that, I believe, he continues to use now.

What can you add to this list?  Why would somebody not want to be in a small group?