Living and being married to someone who has her MA in Interpersonal Relationships has its major advantages, especially for someone like me who generally speaking does not have a clue
when it comes to being relational and understanding how to interact with others in a way that promotes great conversation. A little while ago I learned an extremely important lesson from her about interacting with others about pain and shame in a vulnerable way that is profitable for relationships.

Leading and/or being part of a small does have its challenges. One of the greatest personal challenges for me is how to show genuine care and empathy when from a human perspective there appears to be different levels of sin or inability to relate to another persons pain because I might not have dabbled in that particular kind of sin or I may not have ever experienced that particular kind of pain. I was frustrated by my lack of genuine care with fellow brothers and sisters and I talked through these things with my wife, she explained to me a concept that I know believe is key to day to day interaction, especially interaction within the small group setting. This is a paraphrased version of what she had to say; 'I may not be able to understand exactly what your pain is, but I do know what it feels like to be hurt and I may not understand what it feels like to be living in that particular kind of sin but I do know what it feels like to be living in sin. It is possible to genuinely care and understand other peoples sin when you remember what it is like for you to feel hurt and translate those feelings into care for others.'

Think about these things and try them out. I guarantee that it will hep you care for those in your group even better.