A challenge for leaders

I just came back from (we call it) leadership training, where we trained a couple of people to rise up to be leaders in the group, in particular leading discussion (the short term goal we want to achieve).

Tonight we talked about Paul's letter to the believers in Ephesus (Eph 6:4), where he wrote this particular message and addressed it to the fathers.

During the discussion, using the principle from that passage, the discussion leader mentioned how important it is for leader/s to spend time with their members (in our case, outside the normal church, life-group meeting time and shepherding), like going for dinner together after church or simply staying back after LG meeting to joke around. Spending time in casual manner.

He likened the relationship between a leader and members to a relationship between father and his children. If the father never spend time with his children, how can the children build the bonding and relate with their father.

I believe that leaders must endeavor to spend time with their members. Yes it's challenging, but it's part of the package of being a leader. To hear it coming from my member really encouraging as when he shared it, I could feel his sincere heart.

ah... it blesses my heart to see people rising up. And I need to rise up as well.