Habit #5: Faithfulness
9 Habits for Effective Life Group Leadership
Habit #5: Faithfulness
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
– Parable of the Talents, Jesus - Matthew 25:23
“Faithfulness is our business; fruitfulness is an issue that we must be content to leave with God.”
– J. I. Packer
The next set of habits of Effective Life Group Leaders will focus on the Life Group Leader. The healthier you are, the healthier your group can be. So let's dive into the fifth habit.
While excellence (last week's email) is often hard to define, faithfulness is not. Faithfulness is so easy to define it is embodied in the title we give dogs, "man's best friend." A dog will meet you at the front door. A dog doesn't judge.
During the last years of President George H.W. Bush's life, Sully provided comfort and helped the former Commander-in-Chief deal with the symptoms of Parkinsons' disease. The picture above shows Sully's resolve to not leave his master until the final moment.
While faithfulness can be illustrated by God's creation, what does Jesus have to say about faithfulness?
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells his disciples a parable. He starts by relating the kingdom of heaven to a boss going away and leaving his employees in charge of parts of his business. The first and second servants immediately begin to employ what they have been given to make more. Out of fear, the third servant buries what he was entrusted with to steward. When the master returns, he commends those who did something. The master also labels the servant who reacted out of fear and did nothing as lazy, takes the talent given to him, and casts the servant out.
So what can we glean about faithfulness from this story:
Faithfulness requires action. The two stewards rewarded did something.
Faithfulness requires knowledge of the master. The master tells the unfaithful steward: "You know me so you should have done X action."
Faithfulness does not require success. From the tone and statement of the master, I believe it is logical to conclude that just doing the bare minimum would have saved the steward. Any action would have kept him on the right side of the master.
So, let's wrap up the definition of faithfulness. Being faithful means we remain steadfast and loyal to the transformation God wants in our personal lives. Setting an example of faithfulness to those around us and especially those we lead in our Life Groups reminds them that: Everybody's Welcome. Nobody's Perfect. And with Jesus, Anything Is Possible.
