What musical are you?

OK, this might be pretty lame, but I had to bite. I do love musicals and have a blast playing in the pit. So here we go. What musical am I? I am…

Annie Get Your Gun
You’re Annie, Get Your Gun! You’re talented, but very innocent. You have a tendency to believe lies. You don’t always undertand what’s going on, but your cuteness makes up for it.

I guess it fits. And it is one of my favorite musicals to play. The clincher was selecting from the available songs that is most me. “I’ve got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.” Yeah, I knew it was from Annie. But I do lean toward optimism so it wasn’t a stretch.

It’s that last line that makes me want to redo the quiz. (You don’t always undertand what’s going on, but your cuteness makes up for it.) Not very flattering. It does, however, offer us something to chew on as small group leaders. We can’t know everything that’s going on with each person in our small group. It might be tempting to let our cuteness or some other trick we pull out of the bag help us through a bumpy segment of our small group life. Don’t fall to the dark side! Small groups are about doing life together. Something out of sorts? Someone suddenly turning bitter or biting? Confront it with love. Ask. Pray. Talk. Respond. There is no better way to say to someone, “You are known and valued.”

That’s life at the kitchen table.

I wonder what it would take to be Professor Harold Hill?

Instant gratification takes too long

Are you doubletaking on this title too? This bit of wisdom comes from Carrie Fisher. At first, I just laughed. Great oxymoron. But sit on it for awhile and a nugget or two of insight emerges. Like…

•  This may describe attitudes present in your small group. Continual impatience at the pace of a study. Difficulty balancing listening with contributing. Ever eager to explore the “latest and greatest.”
• You may have group members who believe they are “close” friends with everyone, yet have never actually gone below the surface in those relationships. The instant gratification relationships are quick, but have nothing solid to build upon for the long haul.

Either way, this draw toward the quick, the new, the immediate ends up taking way too long simply because it’s hard to get around to building connections and relationships with substance. It’s a bit like the stop light drag racers. Yeah, you see their tailpipes. Yeah, you usually catch up to them at the next light. All that energy output, and little to show for it.

Is instant gratification gripping your group? A great antidote is to return to your group agreement or covenant.  Particularly focus on the group’s purpose, spiritual health, and spiritual partners. Ask the entire group to review, comment, and evaluate…not necessarily about individuals, but about the group in general. Perhaps you, as the group’s leader, can pair up as spiritual partners for a couple of weeks with an instant gratification member. Pray together. Become better acquainted. Look for ways to understand what might be motivating the instant gratification actions. Can you direct any of that energy into deeper relationships, commitments, or leadership roles within the group?

Want more help? Track me down!