Responsibility BCBP Unit Leaders

In Support of Action Group

Leaders’ Responsibilities
The BCBP Basic Formation Manual 2008
The BCBP Basic Formation Program 2008
Pastoral Responsibilities of
Unit Leaders
Introduction

In the BCBP, unit leaders care for Action Group Leaders.

They take responsibility not only for the life of the action
group leaders under them, but also for their service. What is
specified below applies primarily to those unit leaders who
oversee action group leaders caring for new members in the
formation program, although mutatis mutandis it concerns as
well those who oversee action group leaders over committed
BCBP members. In general, the pastoral responsibility of unit
leaders is to make sure the action group leaders they are
responsible for actually are able to do and do what they are
supposed to do.
The Method and Process of Oversight
of Action Group Leaders
The unit leader’s action group meeting should be divided roughly
into two parts. In the first personal life issues of the action group leaders
are taken up and in the second, issues arising from their service are
handled. If the unit leader uses the Seven-Step Bible Sharing Method,
Step 5 is devoted to personal sharing and step 6 to sharing about service.
If no Bible sharing method is used, then after prayer, the first half of the
meeting should be devoted to the members sharing how they personally
are living out their BCBP commitments. Putting it another way, the
members should share about their personal life and concerns. In the
second half of the meeting the focus is on the service of the action group
leaders.
Specific Responsibility of Unit Leaders of
Action Group Leaders over New Members
Unit Leaders are responsible to find out if the action group leaders do the
following After the BCLP
Do the action group leaders actually follow the meeting structure as outlined
in the formation manual and if not, why not.
If the action group leaders encounter problems and difficulties, the unit
leader needs to help them solve these problems
If the action group leaders do not know how to assist their members in how
to pray, the unit leader needs to instruct and train his action group leaders to
help their members in the area of prayer.
The unit leader needs to make sure the action group leaders know how to
teach their members the Bible sharing methods the correct way.
The unit leader needs to use his group meeting to get the follow-up after the
BCLP to happen so that the new members actually get into the habit of praying
regular as it states on the commitment card.
 At the end of the two months after the BCLP, the unit leader needs to schedule a
one-on-one with his action group leaders, in order to assess together with each one,
how the members in the group are progressed with respect to prayer and prayer with
scripture and their beginning integration into the BCBP. After the “Free to Follow the
Lord Weekend”
The unit leader needs to assist his action group leaders in the following way and
make sure that the follow-up takes place and bears fruit.
Where the action group leaders able to get their members make a regular
schedule and life according to it.
Help the action group leaders with any difficulty they encountered and train
them to teach their members with respect to schedule.
Where the action group leaders able to get their members to make a budget and
to begin to live according to it.
Help the action group leaders with any difficulty their men encountered and
train them to teach those under them with respect to budgeting.
Toward the end of this two-month period, the unit leader needs to schedule a
one-on-one with his action group leaders in order to assess with each one where the
new members are at with putting good order into their life as stated on the
commitment card. Regular prayer should also be reviewed, because the action group
leader is supposed to make sure that new members don’t forget or neglect what they
learned first over new aspects of BCBP life.
The BCMR
 The unit leader assists his action group leaders in the following way and
makes sure that the following are achieved for the Lord:
 That the action group leaders are able to help their members to come into
regular and good communication between spouses
 That the action group leaders are able to help their members to grow in their
ability to communicate regularly with the children through one-on-ones,
especially fathers with sons and mothers with daughters.
 He makes sure the action leaders get their members to begin and to grow in
regular family prayer.
 Toward the end of the two-month period, the unit leader needs to schedule a
one-on-one with his action group leaders to assess where the new members
are at in all the areas so far covered by the various formation weekends.
The BCBR
 The unit leader assists his action group leaders to follow up effectively the
action plans made by the weekend participants.
 He helps them with problems or difficulties and trains them to help their
members to live out the Lord’s values in the marketplace and in the
professions
 At the end of the two-month period he schedules a one-on-one with the
action group leaders under him in order to assess where the new members are
with respect to all the various areas. Together they determine specific areas
that need to come into better order in the lives of individual new members
before these new members can make a commitment to the BCBP. This is in
preparation of the one-on-one the AGL will have to have with the new
members after the final formation weekend: “The BCBP Way of Life
Weekend” (cf. Manual).
The BCBP Way of Life Weekend
 The unit leader assists and trains his action group leaders to use these last
two months for a complete review of the formation and how it has been
translated into the life of the new members.
 He makes sure the action group leaders were able to get their new members
to see that the heart of the BCBP life is a life dedicated to the Lord
 He makes sure the action group leaders were able to get their new members
to understand the importance of supporting the BCBP life and mission with
their time, material and financial resources.
 He makes sure the action group leaders were able to get their new members
to see the importance for caring for one another as brothers and sisters in the
Lord in the context of the BCBP’s governmental and pastoral structure.
 He makes sure that the action group leaders were able to help their members
understand what it means to live the BCBP way of life.
He schedules a one-on-one at the end of these two months. The purpose of the
meeting is to determine the readiness of each new member to make the
commitment. Just having gone through the formation course is not enough.
There needs to be concrete evidence that the new people have begun to live the
commitment card in a consistent way. This should be concretely visible in the
following way:
 They have become regular in prayer and reading of Scripture
 They attend faithfully BCBP Action Groups, Assemblies, etc.
 They’ve put good order into their lives: they live according to a schedule
and budget
 They support the BCBP with their finances
 They are generous with their time and are open for service.
 Their marriage and family life and their business life are in good order
according to the Lord.
If the above have not come into basic good order the new members should be
told that they need to first work on these and grow in these areas with the Lord’s
grace, before it makes sense to commit to a life they are not yet able to live.
They should be assured the BCBP will continue to support them and help them to
grow.
Unit Leader and Chapter Governance
After this final one-on-one, the action group leader
should be warned not to tell members that they will make
their commitment until that has been approved by the
Chapter Governance Team.
The Chapter Head and the Unit Leaders need to go over
the assessments made by unit leader and action group leader
and determine in each case whether an individual new
member is ready to make the commitment. Those that are
ready should then be officially invited to make the
commitment by the Chapter Head.