Posts by Mark Howell
“Messy” Comes with the Territory
“We’re stuck at 14 groups. We’d like to have more…but we can’t get any of our existing groups to birth.” “We’ve recruited hosts to launch new groups and asked the hosts to invite their friends and neighbors…but most of them said they don’t have any friends to invite who aren’t already in a group.” “We…
Read MoreAn Openness to New Ideas
Want to connect people you’re not currently connecting? You’re going to need to develop an openness to new ideas. If the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (Einstein),” connecting beyond the usual suspects is about being open to new ideas; trying different things. Two quotes…
Read MorePreoccupied with the Needs and Interests of the Right People
Who are you trying to connect? Have you ever slowed down long enough to figure out who’s already in and who still needs to be connected? There might not be a more essential next step than this one. In fact, many grouplife point leaders miss this step altogether and are mystified why they’re not seeing…
Read MoreA Bias Toward New Groups
What does it take to connect people at crowd’s edge? Among other things it requires a bias toward new groups. Let me unpack that statement. What Does It Mean? Let’s talk about what it means. First, a bias is “an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of (possibly equally valid) alternatives.”…
Read MoreReview: The Controversial Jesus (featuring Erwin McManus)
What makes for an engaging DVD-driven study? To be sure, the topic of the study is a very important ingredient. Choose the right topic and people will sign up…they may even bring a friend. The topic is big. The other ingredient? There is no question that the charisma of the speaker plays a major role…
Read MoreNext Steps for Everyone…and First Steps for Their Friends
If you’ve ever heard Rick Warren say “if you steal from 10 or more it’s sheer creativity” (from the quote: If you steal from one person, it’s plagiarism. If you steal from 5 people it’s research. And if you steal from 10 or more, it’s sheer creativity.), you’ll get me when I say, I’m a very…
Read MoreIgnite a Conversation with the Q Society Room Series
One of the most interesting new series of DVD-driven curriculum isn’t specifically for the kind of group that most of us consider an ordinary small group. Still, the Q Society Room Series will provide a great experience for two important types of groups: First, if you have groups that are tracking with the cultural shifts…
Read MoreGroupLife Idealists & Pragmatists
How would you describe yourself? Are you more of an idealist? Someone who cherishes and pursues noble goals and purposes? Or would you describe yourself as more of a pragmatist? Really all about how to get results? I’ve had conversations over the years with small group practitioners from all stripes (cell church, metachurch, free market,…
Read MoreWas Jesus Really in a Closed Group?
We’ve been working through the ongoing open vs closed group debate. And there’s been a lot of good interaction. So much interaction that I came back a couple days later and added a kind of clarification in Open Groups, Closed Groups & Specialized Groups. As you know, I’m a fan of open groups. But since…
Read MoreOpen Groups, Closed Groups & Specialized Groups
How would you describe the groups in your system? Open? Closed? Specialized? Or a little bit of all three? The Ongoing Open vs Closed Group Debate generated some very thoughtful comments and great interaction. One of the aspects that surfaced more than once is that there are times when circumstances makes it preferable to be…
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