What Happens in a Huddle?

I have been asked "What happens in a huddle?" Here is my reply:

I am not yet an expert on Huddles, but my former colleague Nick Haigh (who is now Vicar of the Net in Huddersfield has attended one in Sheffield since summer 2005. We model our meetings on his description of what happens, together with what I gleaned from the training day in June this year and the guiding of the Holy Spirit before and during the meetings.

My understanding and present practice is as follows :
· Ideal size group 5-8 people ie On an average of 10 minutes per person + 10 minutes for leadership input = 60-90 minute meeting
· Absolute confidentiality is agreed. If someone wants permission to share anything (eg a positive testimony) beyond the group permission should be expressly sought.
· The meeting will begin with a short prayer
· If someone arrives at the huddle obviously in need of support or full of what the Lord is doing in their particular ministry area we often gather round and pray for them at this point.
· A few moments are spent on feedback and accountability, following up the issues, plans and resolutions made at the previous meeting
· The leader sets the direction of the meeting (having sought guidance from the Holy Spirit) eg Today we are going to use the Square. A bible reading might be used here.
· The leader may give a brief resume of the Lifeshape that is to be used
· A few moments in silent prayer for the Holy Spirit to show us where we are on this issue
· Each person shares in turn for a couple of minutes about how they are doing, and where they think God is wanting to develop them, and what they find difficult etc It is important to note that the “victim” only shares what s/he feels comfortable sharing. Everyone else listens and refrains from jumping in with "that happened to me" type comments.
· The other members of the group have an opportunity to ask questions to clarify exactly what the issues are, and to help the person on the spot to see past their blind spots. No advice is given at this point, it is better for the person to identify with the Lord what responses might be appropriate. We use questions like “What do you think the Father might want to prune away so you have more time for prayer and bible reading?”
· One or two brief prayers are said for the person asking for God’s help in following through resolutions or responses identified.
· The next person shares as per the previous three points. Until everyone including the Huddle leader has shared and been quizzed.
· We end with a short prayer, asking for the Lord’s protection upon us.

I attended a Huddle training day in Sheffield this June. Part of the session was a "goldfish bowl" huddle in front of everyone present where a huddle meeting was modelled. They used the Huddle Character card which has a number of questions under the headings UP IN OUT. Everyone was encouraged to sit in silence for a couple of minutes prayerfully reading through the questions whilst asking the Holy Spirit to point out which of the questions was most pertinent at present. Each person shared for about a minute and were then asked questions by the huddle leader and by other members of the huddle.

In the huddles at St. Mark’s so far we have used some of the Lifeshapes. In our first meeting we used the Semi-Circle. I reminded people of the teaching about seasons of abiding and fruitfulness, daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms. We also reminded ourselves that pruning is necessary for greater fruitfulness, and that we need the Father to guide us to the best out of a massive choice of “good” things that we could be doing. We then asked the question “What does abiding look like for you? How do you recharge? What restores your soul?” After waiting on the Lord for a couple of minutes we each shared and were quizzed. In our second meeting we used the Triangle to identify whether we were weak in any of the three areas. We shared what we felt the Lord wanted us to do about this. Some of the issues raised were worth exploring more deeply, so we used the Circle together the following week.

My hope over the next few months is to ensure that every leader is able to be reflective about their own spirituality, and can use the Lifeshapes to help them in this. Also that they will grow in their ability to hold one another accountable. I am also looking for opportunities to develop leadership skills through the huddles. I sometimes draw attention to how something shared might alter the way we lead in our cell groups. I expect this area to be more important once we all feel more comfortable using the Lifeshapes intuitively in daily life.