The corollary to the authority of gifts is our understanding of servant leadership in Seekers mission groups. We believe that leaders are called to lead in the way Jesus taught. The leader must be the servant of the group. This means being faithful to the call of the mission group and the good of the community in the exercise of gifts. It means not using a role within the mission group to push for a personal agenda. It means keeping clearly in mind that every participant has authority at the point of their own gift. Contributions to the health of the mission group and the ability to follow a call comes through being part of the community rather than a lone individual.
The interplay of authority for the use of spiritual gifts and leading as a servant of the group is a central element of spiritual growth for many Seekers. It is one important place where we are learning, from the teaching of Jesus, a way that the world has rejected.
The role of spiritual guide is perhaps the most important and least understood function within a mission group. Each Seekers mission group has a spiritual guide. Each participant in the group, as one of the conditions joining the group, agrees to enter into a spiritual guidance relationship. We believe that the Holy Spirit will provide within each group the gifts necessary to nurture the participants and sustain the life of the group.
Spiritual guidance in Seekers groups takes a variety of forms. Ideally, one member is confirmed as the spiritual guide, receiving reports from all other members. When one individual is not called to the role of guide, the group determines other arrangements so that each participant is accountable to one other person in the group for her or his spiritual nurture and growth.
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