Posts Tagged ‘Gary Hamel’
Do Good Groups Really Practice the Open Chair?
One of the best known ideas of small group ministry is the open chair. And one of the best known axioms of group life is that good groups practice the open chair, implying that they are open and everyone is welcome. Is that true? Is there any truth to the idea? Or do closed groups…
Read MoreDo Good Small Groups Really Grow and Birth?
Good groups grow and birth. If you’re a student of group life, you’ve heard that line. It’s shorthand for two of the key concepts of the Meta-church Model; the ideas that every leader should have an apprentice and that healthy groups grow over time and at about 12 members are “pregnant” and ready to birth.…
Read MoreWhat Do You Need To Fix?
I have a friend who recently announced that it was time for changes in their small group ministry. They went on to say, everything except the semester system and free market model are “up in the air.” Continuing, “I think it’s healthy to re-examine everything you do regularly, but it didn’t take us long to acknowledge…
Read MoreWho Makes the Best Coach?
In our ongoing look at the top 10 axiomatic beliefs of group life, one area that ought to draw our attention is coaching. It is logical that a coach would be helpful…even required. But who makes the best coaches? It is so common for churches to make that assignment to their elders or deacons. But…
Read MoreThe Ingredients of a Deep Connection
What produces a genuinely deep connection? Is it just time spent with someone? Or are there other essential ingredients? When I listed what I called the top 10 axiomatic beliefs of group life, I included the belief that “the longer a group is together the more deeply connected the members become.” I’ve heard this argued…
Read MoreEssential Ingredients for Life-Change
You’re reading this…so you already know that the optimum environment for life-change is a small group. Right? After all, that is one of the key axiomatic beliefs of small group ministry enthusiasts everywhere. The question is, “Is it true that a group is the optimum environment for life-change?” Or are there some factors that must…
Read MoreWhat Part Does Your Senior Pastor Play?
If you want to become a church of groups…what part does your senior pastor play? More to the point, does your pastor need to lead a group in order for group life to become a deeply held value in your church? [quote]Although I’ve written a 4 part series on The Role of the Senior Pastor,…
Read MoreTop 10 Axiomatic Beliefs of Group Life
When you think of group life, of small group ministry, what are your axiomatic beliefs? Remember that an axiom is an established rule or principle or self-evident truth. We all have them stored away in our brains. The key is that not all of them are true…and not all of them are the kind that…
Read MoreDebug Your Thinking – a Group Life Webinar
Thursday, September 3rd, 12:00 to 12:45 pm CDT Click here to register Trying to figure out why your small group ministry isn’t really delivering the results you’re looking for? Resigned to the fact that in your church it just doesn’t work? I want to suggest that there are probably some underlying assumptions that are keeping…
Read MoreFour Questions That Will Inspire Breakthrough Thinking
How dry is the cement around what’s possible in your discipleship effort? Pretty firm? Room to wiggle? As we continue to think about how to help more people experience genuine life-change, I find myself drawn again to ideas in Gary Hamel’s The Future of Management. Here are four questions he uses to maximize the chances…
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