Your Church-Wide Campaign Topic Determines Two Huge Outcomes
Warning: Do not miss this important concept. The topic you choose for your church-wide campaign absolutely determines two very important outcomes: The topic determines who you are able to connect. The topic also determines who will say yes to hosting a group. Here’s what I mean: First, the topic you choose for your church-wide campaign…
Read MoreTop 10 Posts of May, 2013
Miss a day? Here are my ten most popular posts in May, 2013. A great month, there were visitors from 68 countries around the world (they used Google’s translation feature to read my blog in 35 languages!). You’ll notice that only two of this month’s top 10 were actually written in May. The other 8…
Read MoreDilbert on Building Trust
Here’s an exercise for your team:
Read MoreRecruiting Like Jesus
If you are at all like me…you’re always on the lookout for leaders and leaders of leaders (whether you call them coaches, mentors, community leaders, etc.). Isn’t that our reality? In the last few weeks I’ve been studying the gospels, examining them to try and understand the sequence of Jesus’ invitations to the disciples. Here…
Read MoreQuotebook: Dallas Willard on the Greatest Issue Facing the World Today
Here is something for all of us to chew on today: “The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life…
Read More5 Honest Thoughts about Small Group Ministry
I am a natural born analyst. Not a day goes by that I’m not analyzing what I’m reading, what I’m hearing, what I’m seeing. As I analyze any small group system or aspect of a strategy, I always add a few important understandings and questions. First, I am sure there are no problem-free solutions. Second, I’m…
Read MoreGroupLife Philosophy for the 21st Century
Disclosure: Depending on your own bias or bent, you might read this rant as either heresy, confirmation that I’ve lost it, or maybe something worth sharing with your team. To start with, at some level I believe the missional community strategy and the current discipleship emphasis are both needed and smokescreens at the same time…
Read MoreSkill Training: Learn to Celebrate What God is Doing in Your Group
Whether you’re finishing a challenging study, coming to the end of a semester, or completing an outreach or mission project…celebration ought to be part of the culture of your group. It’s important to build a culture of celebration for at least three reasons: First, if the journey your group is on on is about life-change…you’re…
Read More7 Perplexing Dilemmas of Small Group Pastors and Directors
Call them dilemmas, issues or problems…we all have them. Here are what I’ve found to be the most common…and some steps you can take to break through the barrier: 1. My senior pastor won’t be the champion of small groups. There are several basic reasons for this. Some don’t want to play favorites and choose…
Read MoreEven a Lizard Can Respond to Come and See
Before we get into it, the answer is yes…that is a lizard. I think it is a southern aligator lizard. I snapped this picture when it crashed a recent small group ministry event at Saddleback. Seriously, it meandered through the room from front to back, creating a little bit of mayhem every time it got…
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