“Equip God’s people to do his work.” Ephesians 4:12

ISBN 978-1-4707-0449-0

RELIGION/Biblical Studies/ Bible Study Guides

9 781470 704490

ISBN 978-1-4707-0449-0 group.com

LEADING OUT: ConnECtinG PEoPLE to PURPoSE

Connect others to God’s purpose for their lives!

LEADING OUT: ConnECtinG PEoPLE to PURPoSE

Also available:

bETTEr TOGEThEr: ConnECtinG With GoD & otHERS

Are you someone who cares about helping others? Do you want to see each person live out his or her unique talents and gifts to realize their full potential? If so, this Bible study will help you become a better leader. Lead a better ministry. Be an equipping leader.

Jesus spent a great amount of time training others to go out and impact the world. That’s what equipping is all about. Servant leadership is about pouring into those you lead and preparing them to serve where God has called.

These 6 small group Bible study sessions will help you:

• Identify your personal mission • Cultivate your ability to help others

achieve ministry success • Discover the six core competencies of leaders who

help others live out God’s story

This experience will help transform how you lead people, so you will be the equipping leader God wants you to be.

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3CONTENTS |

ContentsWelcome to the E4:12 Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

About the Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Session 1: Who Am I As a Leader? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Session 2: Leading With Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Session 3: From Doer to Equipper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Session 4: The Power of Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Session 5: Move Those Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Session 6: Friend Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Getting Connected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Prayer Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

SESSION 1 | 9SESSIon 1 | 9

SESSion 1Who Am I As a Leader?The Point: Equipping leaders have a capacity for

self-understanding.

Key Verse: Colossians 3:9-10

“Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”

Getting Started Have each person in the group make a name tag as they arrive. Make sure chairs are arranged in a circle so everyone can connect visually.

Got munchies? You may want to provide snacks or start a schedule for everyone to take turns providing a dessert.

You’ll Need: o name tag material and markers

o pens/pencils

o small square of tinfoil (approximately

4" x 4") for each person during the

“Connecting With God” section

SAMPLE

10 | Leading Out: Connecting People to Purpose

Connecting With Others (about 10 minutes)

Welcome to Leading Out: Connecting People to Purpose. This study will examine six core leadership characteristics that help leaders connect others to God’s purpose for their lives. During this session, we’ll discover how effective leaders have the capacity for self-understanding. That means leaders understand who they are!

Let’s take a minute to get to know each other better by sharing this question:

If you held a yard sale next week, what’s one item in your closet you’d get rid of and why?

When we clean out our closets we usually discard the clothes that are too small, too big, too ugly, or just don’t fit our style any longer. We base these decisions on our personal understanding of what fits our bodies and lifestyle. Cleaning out our closets can be refreshing and helps provide room for new things.

Welcome people as they arrive. Introduce yourself and point participants to the table with name tags to fill out and put on. Sometime during this session pass your books around the room, and have each person write his or her name, phone number, and email address in the space provided on page 70.

SAMPLE

SESSION 1 | 1111

Connecting With God(about 35 minutes)

Let’s examine what the Apostle Paul says about cleaning out our old lives to make room for something new.

Colossians 3:9-10

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (nIV)

How is cleaning out your closet like or unlike this verse?

Why does Paul emphasize that it’s important for the new self to be renewed in knowledge?

This Scripture speaks to the challenge of changing our Christian attitudes and behaviors to be reflective of our ongoing, ever-changing relationship with Jesus. By understanding who we are in Christ, we can identify the behaviors, actions, or attitudes we need to discard, so we can allow for new ones to be embraced.

Let’s try something to experience our capacity for self-understanding. Take a few minutes to draw a self-portrait in the picture frame on page 12. But there’s a catch—you need to draw your portrait without looking at what you’re drawing; you can only look at yourself in the tinfoil.

Be sure each participant has a pen/pencil and a small square of tinfoil. Allow only a few minutes to draw the portraits. When everyone has finished, have each person share their drawing.

SAMPLE

12 | Leading Out: Connecting People to Purpose

My Portrait

SAMPLE

SESSION 1 | 13

How is your drawing like or unlike the way you see and understand who you are on the outside? How about who you are on the inside?

Why do you think people struggle with seeing and understanding themselves clearly?

What do you need to see or understand more clearly about yourself?

Like seeing our image in tinfoil, we often have a distorted view of ourselves. We may be overconfident in some areas and under-confident in others. For example, we may believe that we are effective communicators, but in reality, people find it difficult to understand what we are saying. For that reason, it’s important we have a clear capacity for self-understanding. When we clearly understand ourselves—our abilities and shortcomings—we can be more effective leaders and lead the way God has gifted us.

Let’s examine what the Bible says about the advantage of knowing our strengths and abilities.

1 Peter 4:10-11

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”

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According to this Scripture, what is the value of knowing your gifts? How about your leadership strength?

How does God work through us when we use the gifts he provides?

What influence does leading in our gift area have on others?

When we’re able to clearly understand ourselves, we can confidently lead and serve to the best of our abilities.

SAMPLE

SESSION 1 | 15

Connecting With Self(about 10 minutes)

When we know who we are as leaders—our strengths and weaknesses—we lead confidently and competently, equipping others to do the same. Likewise, when we confidently know and believe who we belong to—Jesus—we can boldly share our stories of life-change and grace.

How does having a clear understanding of yourself impact your leadership?

Why would a leader choose to not have a clear sense of self?

How can you increase your sense of self-understanding?

SAMPLE

16 | Leading Out: Connecting People to Purpose

Connecting With Prayer (about 5 minutes)

As we wrap up this session, switch books with someone nearby. Take a moment to write a note of affirmation on your partner’s portrait on page 12. Include a word or two that describes what you appreciate most about them.

After everyone has finished, invite them to pray silently for their partner. Ask God to help them discover more about themselves and their relationship with Jesus as we continue through this Bible study.

Next time…

Date:___________________ Time:___________________Place:___________________________________________

SAMPLE

SESSION 1 | 17SESSIon 1 | 17

Equipped 2 Serve Write a letter to God, expressing the qualities that describe who you are.

Let him know your strengths and weaknesses. Tell him about your fears. Share

your joys. Ask him to help you understand yourself better. Put your letter in a

place you’ll remember, and read it again at the completion of this study!

“Know Thyself” —Inscribed on the ancient Greek temple at Delphi

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18 | Leading Out: Connecting People to Purpose

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