From Group Life: Mindy Caliguire

Why the soul of a group leader is the most important thing

by Sam O'Neal

I'm listening to Mindy Caliguire speak at the Willow Group Life conference. If you don't know of Mindy, she is a powerful and growing voice in the world of spiritual formation. She's got good stuff to say in several books, and I'll actually be talking with her early in November, so you'll be able to see that interview.

Mindy also has good stuff to say here at the conference. She's talking about the soul—especially the soul of a small-group leader. According to Mindy, there are many things she used to think were the most important qualifications for a group leader. All the usual stuff -- listening skills, Bible knowledge, hospitality, etc. But now she has only one answer. The most important qualification for a small-group leader is that he or she is leading from a healthy soul.

And that reminds me of some really cool research that was conducted by Jim Egli and some other folks who made a nationwide study of several hundred churches. They looked at churches who were doing small groups well, but specifically at small groups that were healthy. And they discovered some common habits of healthy small groups.

Here are the biggest two:

1. The vast majority of healthy small groups had group leaders who had a regular and fruitful devotional time with God every day.

2. The vast majority of healthy small groups had group leaders who prayed for their group members by name every day.

Those sound like group leaders who have healthy souls, to me.