Habit #7: Teachability

9 Habits for Effective Life Group Leadership
Habit #7: Teachability

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

- Jesus, Matthew 7:24

“It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

— John Wooden, Hall of Fame Basketball Coach

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”

— Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, Authors

We are in the next set of habits of Effective Life Group Leaders. During this set, we are focusing on the Life Group Leader. The healthier you are, the healthier your group can be. So let's dive into the seventh habit.

An Effective Life Group Leader is teachable.  

When David died, there was a scramble to see who would be the one to take his place on the throne. God, through people, guided Solomon to the throne. Now when faced with this daunting task, Solomon encounters God. Let's jump into the story in I Kings chapter 3. 

5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

Solomon's request was a discerning heart to know right and wrong. However, I would submit Solomon's greatness rested in his knowledge that he didn't know everything. Solomon knew he would need to learn to be able to govern or lead God's people. Solomon knew he didn't know everything.  

God was pleased and ultimately granted Solomon wisdom.  

So what can we glean about availability from this story:

1. The most important question you can ask:

I don't know what I don't know, so what do I not know?

Knowing what you don't know is essential to be an effective life group leader. Without the humility to admit your shortcomings, dependence on God will never come. Once you admit you don't know everything, you can be open to learning the things you need to be a better leader.  

2. Everyone can teach you something. Not everyone should be your teacher.

These two sentences seem at odds so let me explain. 

First, any situation can teach you something. Sometimes, we learn from the positive. Someone teaches us a skill we want to learn. We learn in a great environment and everything goes well. Sometimes, we learn from the negative. Finding ourselves in the midst of a "dumpster fire" can teach us skills and what we don't need to do. Sometimes, we ourselves lit the dumpster. We need the awareness to know this about ourselves. (Somehow I started using this phrase in the last week. I have a five-dollar bill for the first person who comes up and says it to me on Sunday.)

Second, not everyone is qualified to lead you to be a better leader. Among younger believers, a desire to learn often leads them to whoever seems the most spiritual. The qualities you look for in a teacher should be the same as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.

The fruit of the Spirit should define a good teacher. These qualities show the growth of a person who is following God. Not their spiritual giftings but the fruit. Let those leaders who exhibit the fruit of the spirit in your life lead you and make you a better leader.

When we are teachable, we make these three truths real in our church: Everybody's Welcome. Nobody's Perfect. And with Jesus, Anything Is Possible.