3 Small Group Ministry Missing Ingredients that Lead to a Bad Taste
Years ago my wife and I came home to find our son cleaning up the kitchen. “I baked a chocolate cake today. Want a piece?” The first bite revealed that something wasn’t right, but what was it? The cake was very crumbly and dry. “Did you follow the recipe?” my wife asked with a furrowed…
Read MorePrepare for Easter with The Crucified Life
I spent some time with a new DVD-driven study this week that is almost a one-of-a-kind. The Crucified Life: Seven Words from the Cross is a 7 week study designed to be used during the Lenten season. Part of a three study series (the Christian Life Trilogy), The Crucified Life was developed by Rev. Charlie…
Read MoreThinking Thursday: Daring Greatly to Unlock Your Creativity with Brené Brown
Chase Jarvis welcomes author, scholar, and public speaker Brené Brown to his Seattle studio to discuss how to cultivate creativity. Can’t see the video? You can watch it right here. Every week I choose a video that I think you need to see and believe will inspire some new thinking. You can find the rest…
Read More“We Talk about Connecting Beyond 100%…but It’s Just Not Us.”
Very often, especially right after I post an article like 5 No-Brainer Characteristics of Churches that Actually Connect Beyond 100%, I’ll hear from readers that there church just doesn’t have it in them. “We talk about connecting beyond 100% in small groups…but it’s just not us.” Sometimes they’ll write, “As much as I’d like to…
Read More5 Clues that Point to a Change in Small Group Strategy
There’s no doubt that one of the most toxic small group ministry moves is changing small group systems, models or strategies too frequently or flippantly. It is important to make a three year commitment and pursue it with everything you’ve got when you do decide to change. See also, 5 Toxic Small Group Ministry Moves.…
Read More5 No-Brainer Characteristics of Churches That Actually Connect Beyond 100%
Trust me. I wanted to call these “surprising” or “shocking” characteristics, but I just couldn’t do it. They’re no-brainer characteristics. Still, it is both surprising and shocking that so many churches say that groups are a priority…but just can’t seem to commit to developing the characteristics that make connecting beyond 100% possible. What are the…
Read MoreAdd “Generational IQ” to Your Must Read List
I’ve spent some time with a new book from Haydn Shaw the last couple weeks. If you’re trying to reach Millennials, Generational IQ is a book you’re going to want to add to your stack. Shaw has researched and helped clients regarding generational differences for over twenty years. He is also the author of Sticking Points:…
Read MoreThinking Thursday: Tony Salvador: The listening bias
Listening to both customers and colleagues to gather insights and information is a key ability that successful people possess. Tony Salvador shares some strategies for being a better listener : to lose preconceptions, to be vulnerable and open to new ideas, and to not be afraid to hear what we’d rather not hear. Can’t see…
Read MoreQuotebook: Capturing Imagination
Michael Frost spoke about the need to tell a better story in a main session at Exponential West. So good! In his introduction he said “if you want to change the world, if you want to change people, tell them a different story.” Doesn’t that ring true to you? Since I’m always trying to figure out…
Read More7 Things You Must Do TO and FOR Your Small Group Leaders
Can I let you in on a little corner of reality? Small group leaders are no different than the rest of us. A few of them (maybe 5 to 10%) are self-starters and have the internal wiring to take the right steps to grow on their own. The other 90-95% of all small group leaders…
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