As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, my youngest son is getting married next Friday. One of the things I love about Lee is that he’s a very creative guy. He doesn’t fit into the social norm box well at all and is inventive to the point of releasing traditions into thin air. One of the things he and his fiancée decided to do for their wedding cake is unusual as well as resourceful. They decided instead of one big (and expensive) wedding cake that they’d rather have a few people bake a cake of their choice and serve multiple types of home made cakes.
We quickly realized that this was an opportunity to allow our small group to join us in this journey. My wife sent an email out to our group asking who would like to bake a cake for the wedding. There were multiple immediate affirmative responses.
Many small group leaders are hesitant to ask group members to help out with anything but group endeavors. This is a mistake. When group members choose to “help out” another this unifies a group in very special ways as well as having a few other very positive possibilities.
1. This concretes in the minds of group members that group life really is 24/7, not just a weekly meeting, organized mission endeavors, hanging out having fun together, and caring for one another emotionally.
2. This bonds group members to one another in ways nothing else can as this is a completely voluntary act and an individual decision. Anytime someone chooses to help another out a closer bond is built between those two persons.
3. This gives group members the opportunity to give a gift to the group leader, a way of saying thanks for all they do for the group. In the process a group member releases an inner tension that may exist if they feel the group leader is giving much and they are giving little to the group. Once the inner tension is released that group member may join the conversation is ways they never have before.
4. This allows the group leader to model asking for assistance, something many small group members struggle with.