Are they competitors or team members?
by Daphne Kirk
When I speak at conferences or seminars, I ask people to write down the areas of ministry they are involved in and then prioritize them. Sadly, the majority of people never list one of the most important ministries entrusted to them by their Heavenly Father: their own family. It's the ministry of raising our sons and daughters (and even grandchildren) as children of the most-high God.
(Read the full article HERE)
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Confessions of a Small-Group Leader
A lay leader tells what he'll do differently the next time around.
by Joe Higginbotham
My first experience in small-group ministry is now over—sooner than I expected. But I still believe in the concept. Even though I made so many mistakes, I intend to go out and try again. In fact, I'm already involved in a second small group, and I've taken steps to safeguard against the problems I'm about to describe.
The first group started after my Sunday school class complained that 45 minutes wasn't enough time to do the text justice. I suggested we meet on some weeknight in addition to Sunday morning.
One couple volunteered their home, and before long, their living room was filled with young adults we never could have coaxed out of bed for Sunday school. More important, the teaching enjoyed an efficiency over tortilla chips and cola that somehow had hit snags coming over a pulpit or lectern. The church had given me a license to preach, but the small group gave me license to minister.
We made some serious blunders, however. What were they? Here are several.
(Read the full article here)
by Joe Higginbotham
My first experience in small-group ministry is now over—sooner than I expected. But I still believe in the concept. Even though I made so many mistakes, I intend to go out and try again. In fact, I'm already involved in a second small group, and I've taken steps to safeguard against the problems I'm about to describe.
The first group started after my Sunday school class complained that 45 minutes wasn't enough time to do the text justice. I suggested we meet on some weeknight in addition to Sunday morning.
One couple volunteered their home, and before long, their living room was filled with young adults we never could have coaxed out of bed for Sunday school. More important, the teaching enjoyed an efficiency over tortilla chips and cola that somehow had hit snags coming over a pulpit or lectern. The church had given me a license to preach, but the small group gave me license to minister.
We made some serious blunders, however. What were they? Here are several.
(Read the full article here)
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
E-Groups
Sometimes, the ideal small group doesn't have all its members in the same room.
by Marilyn A. Yocum
My ideal small group would have included three good friends: Lynn, Margaret, and Susan. But I figured it could never happen. They were all busy people. We saw each other in church on Sunday and exchanged e-mail through the week, but the last thing any of us needed was another weekly meeting to attend.
The four of us operated in different spheres with little overlap. Lynn was a young mother of three in a world of playgroups and preschools. Margaret, 50, was an administrator at a local college, single, with a master's degree. Susan, 28, led an active parachurch ministry on campus, so her hours aligned with those of college students.
Seeing no convenient time or place for us to meet, I nearly abandoned my dream of forming a group. Then early one morning I turned on my computer to retrieve my e-mail. My inbox contained three messages: one from Lynn, one from Susan, one from Margaret.
At that moment, I saw a possible solution. Our meeting place had been right in front of me all along. Why not form an e-mail small group?
(Read full article here)
by Marilyn A. Yocum
My ideal small group would have included three good friends: Lynn, Margaret, and Susan. But I figured it could never happen. They were all busy people. We saw each other in church on Sunday and exchanged e-mail through the week, but the last thing any of us needed was another weekly meeting to attend.
The four of us operated in different spheres with little overlap. Lynn was a young mother of three in a world of playgroups and preschools. Margaret, 50, was an administrator at a local college, single, with a master's degree. Susan, 28, led an active parachurch ministry on campus, so her hours aligned with those of college students.
Seeing no convenient time or place for us to meet, I nearly abandoned my dream of forming a group. Then early one morning I turned on my computer to retrieve my e-mail. My inbox contained three messages: one from Lynn, one from Susan, one from Margaret.
At that moment, I saw a possible solution. Our meeting place had been right in front of me all along. Why not form an e-mail small group?
(Read full article here)
Nine Ways to Support Your Support Group
Follow these foundational steps to get your groups off to a great start.
by Randy Christian
I watched the TV screen scroll through the public-service announcements, finally seeing the one I'd been looking for: "Divorce Recovery Group," it read, with information and the name of our church below. In the past year I have received dozens of phone calls regarding this group, and more about others we sponsor. It's one way our church is responding to the needs around us.
More and more churches are offering divorce-recovery, addiction-recovery, grief, cancer, pregnancy, parenting, and retirement groups, among others. These support groups give a forum whereby people can stand by one another, support and encourage one another, and receive, in the process, the very comfort of God (2 Cor. 1:3-7).
Many churches, however, hesitate to start a support group because they simply feel unqualified. Yet the process isn't as intimidating as it sounds. Here, for example, are the steps our church takes in forming support groups.
(Read the full article here)
by Randy Christian
I watched the TV screen scroll through the public-service announcements, finally seeing the one I'd been looking for: "Divorce Recovery Group," it read, with information and the name of our church below. In the past year I have received dozens of phone calls regarding this group, and more about others we sponsor. It's one way our church is responding to the needs around us.
More and more churches are offering divorce-recovery, addiction-recovery, grief, cancer, pregnancy, parenting, and retirement groups, among others. These support groups give a forum whereby people can stand by one another, support and encourage one another, and receive, in the process, the very comfort of God (2 Cor. 1:3-7).
Many churches, however, hesitate to start a support group because they simply feel unqualified. Yet the process isn't as intimidating as it sounds. Here, for example, are the steps our church takes in forming support groups.
(Read the full article here)
Thursday, January 25, 2007
How to keep your small groups involved in discipleship
by Steve Gladen
Today, all around the world, people will join with other people in homes or restaurants or workplaces to study God’s Word and grow in Christ together in a small group. In many cases, however, the results may be less than what Jesus desires.
Jesus said, “Go into all of the world and make disciples.” But as Dallas Willard’s book, The Great Omission, points out, the Church doesn’t always have a plan for doing that. It’s as if the Great Commission had read, “Go into all of the world and make church members.” That’s certainly a worthy goal, but it stops far short of what our Savior commanded.
Community is belonging together, joining as part of the Body of Christ for the biblical purposes that Jesus charged us with keeping. And since small groups are also chartered with keeping the purposes, how do we turn them into small groups centered around God’s purposes? And as a part of that, how do we ensure they’re growing in discipleship?
Clearly, there are some things to be mindful of.
(Read the full article here)
Today, all around the world, people will join with other people in homes or restaurants or workplaces to study God’s Word and grow in Christ together in a small group. In many cases, however, the results may be less than what Jesus desires.
Jesus said, “Go into all of the world and make disciples.” But as Dallas Willard’s book, The Great Omission, points out, the Church doesn’t always have a plan for doing that. It’s as if the Great Commission had read, “Go into all of the world and make church members.” That’s certainly a worthy goal, but it stops far short of what our Savior commanded.
Community is belonging together, joining as part of the Body of Christ for the biblical purposes that Jesus charged us with keeping. And since small groups are also chartered with keeping the purposes, how do we turn them into small groups centered around God’s purposes? And as a part of that, how do we ensure they’re growing in discipleship?
Clearly, there are some things to be mindful of.
(Read the full article here)
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Men Don't "Need" Christ
by Patrick Morley
There is a basic flaw in how many of us go about reaching men. This flaw is based upon the presupposition: “Men need Christ.”
When we assume “men need Christ” we just can’t understand why they don’t respond. You’ve had that bewildered feeling, right? Maybe you’ve even been angry about it!
Of course, men do have a “real” need for Christ more than for anything else. But men don’t need Christ in the way they need food, water, gasoline, a haircut, or a paycheck. Those things are necessities for sustaining life. However, a man can live quite comfortably without Christ.
(Read the full article here)
There is a basic flaw in how many of us go about reaching men. This flaw is based upon the presupposition: “Men need Christ.”
When we assume “men need Christ” we just can’t understand why they don’t respond. You’ve had that bewildered feeling, right? Maybe you’ve even been angry about it!
Of course, men do have a “real” need for Christ more than for anything else. But men don’t need Christ in the way they need food, water, gasoline, a haircut, or a paycheck. Those things are necessities for sustaining life. However, a man can live quite comfortably without Christ.
(Read the full article here)
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Relationships are essential for spiritual growth
by Rick Warren
Your people will not grow on their own.
In fact, we can’t fulfill any of God’s purposes on our own – and spiritual maturity isn’t an exception. Trying to help your congregation become more Christ-like without developing the relationships within the church is like fighting an impossible battle.
Unfortunately, our culture’s idolatry of individualism has influenced even the way we think about spiritual growth. So much of the teaching on spiritual formation is self-centered and self-focused, without any reference to our relationship to other Christians. This is completely unbiblical and ignores much of the New Testament.
(Read the full article here)
Your people will not grow on their own.
In fact, we can’t fulfill any of God’s purposes on our own – and spiritual maturity isn’t an exception. Trying to help your congregation become more Christ-like without developing the relationships within the church is like fighting an impossible battle.
Unfortunately, our culture’s idolatry of individualism has influenced even the way we think about spiritual growth. So much of the teaching on spiritual formation is self-centered and self-focused, without any reference to our relationship to other Christians. This is completely unbiblical and ignores much of the New Testament.
(Read the full article here)
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