More Learning about Huddles

I don't have much time to write at the moment; however, there is something I'd like to share that has come up in regard to our development as a church, something that impacts me and the rest of our leadership.  What has come up is the idea that involvement in "huddles"* (see below) by people such as myself (a paid staff person) is perhaps better seen as volunteer service to the church or personal spiritual growth than it is as "a part of a job." 

This came up because here at Crossroads we're about to take on a new staff person.***  The question I started to ask is whether being in a huddle should be a part of the position description or not. 

This morning I talked with someone who has been mentoring me in regard to this aspect of ministry (Pastor Per Nilsen of North Heights) and he said, more or less, that he doesn't look at huddle as a "part of work" as much as the way that he, as a pastor, makes a voluntary investment in the lives of his staff.  He doesn't think of it as a part of his work day, but, instead, as a part of his "giving back" to the community and the church.  The expectation that staff people are in huddle is simply a way that a general mandate to all church staff, that is, that all staff are involved in spiritual growth and development.

Please pray for us as we work these things out here at Crossroads.  Please be patient with us as we learn!

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* Huddles are not replacements for small groups or any other part of church life.  They are specifically targeted to discipleship and leadership development.  We first encountered the "huddle" concept back in the late fall of 2010.  My memory is that my friend Wayne Murphy loaned the book by Mike Breen called Launching Missional Communities; at the time, as I recall, Wayne at that time told me about "huddles" which are a part of Mike Breen's "3dm" ministry process.**  So, I googled "huddles" and came across a Wikipedia article that, I found out recently, had been written by Mike Breen's 3dm staff.  Since that time that particular Wikipedia article has been modified out of existence but I did print a hard copy, a scan of which you can access in PDF form by clicking here.  For more that has been written on this blog about huddles, click here. 

** That might have been at the same time that Wayne had met Pastor Per Nilsen in the halls of North Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills. 

*** We are, sadly, about to lose our administrative assistant, Veda Davis, and her husband Paul, as they move on to what the Lord has called them to in the next phase of their lives.  They have purchased the "Twin Oaks" resort that they will be running and investing themselves in full time in the area between Brainerd and Lake Mille Lacs.  Oh, how we will miss them!  We are very sad to see them go, though, as I told them already, I don't let go easily and, truly, we will always be family in the Lord.

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