simple small groups

Power of 2

I just finished reading The Power of 2 by Rodd Wagoner and Gale Muller (http://gmj.gallup.com/content/121931/power-of-2.aspx). It's the next must read for any small group leader, coach, director or pastor! Even though published by Gallup and targeted for business leaders, it's easily transferable to community life people. The authors unpack eight key elements of successful partnerships:

1. Complementary Strengths
2. A Common Mission
3. Fairness
4. Trust
5. Acceptance
6. Forgiveness
7. Communicating
8. Unselfishness

What amazes me is how their research backed up the basics of a healthy, Biblically-based small group! It's not just business partnerships their work will help. Anyone who is trying to grow a group will benefit by their clear, simple descriptions of each key element. I found 7: Communicating particularly helpful.

Summit of Small Groups "Experts"

Do you wonder where the small groups "movement" is headed? Listen in on February 18 at 11:30 EST to a group of experts discuss and debate the state of group life. It should be an interesting conversation with some old voices like Carl George and Lyman Coleman who are founders of the modern groups movement. Also aboard will be veterans like Greg Bowman who spent years at Willow Creek, Steve Gladen who created the groups system at Saddleback Church, and Randall Neighbor (a legend among Cell Group people). Though you have to wonder about a summit of experts if yours truly is on the panel ;-). Check out the website:

http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=362

Johnny and Chachi give some phenomenal advice for group leaders!

Canadian Small Groups

I just finished training hundreds of Canadian brothers and sisters in Christ in Edmonton, Alberta. I spent a few days at Break Forth Canada - a Christian conference with over 12,000 people. It continually amazes me how similar group issues are regardless of size of church, whether the group is from a small town or a big city, and regardless of nationality. People are people. Strong groups have members that are connecting with each other, changing to be like Jesus, and cultivating hearts for others.

What's so simple about small groups?

It sounds simple, but since organized small groups hit the church scene they have gotten more and more complicated. Are they intense bible studies for the truly devoted? Are they support groups for the broken? Are they accountability groups for the addicted? Are they dinner clubs for the socially challenged? Are they outreach groups for the spiritual seeker? It seems that small groups, like politics have gotten bogged down in philosophies and people have chosen positions like they choose political parties.

Simple small groups is an attempt to clarify what makes a group healthy. The way I see it, there are three biblical patterns of a healthy group. The relational pattern [CONNECT] is about how group members relate to one another. The growth pattern [CHANGE] is about how group members help each other become more like Christ. The missional pattern [CULTIVATE] is about how a group impacts others for God. It’s not a matter of choosing one pattern over another, but rather coordinating all three in a way that results in a  healthy, growing community.

 

Share Your Spiritual Journey

Watch this short video for a simple exercise you can do that will get your group connected like never before!

Southeast Preachers

Southeast's preachers, Dave Stone and Kyle Idleman have a blog.

"As ministers at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, we want to use this blog to share what God has placed on our hearts. Our hope is that this site will be a place where you will learn just a little more of God’s unfailing truth and love."

www.southeastpreachers.com

Three Stages of Group Growth

At Southeast we have identified 3 key stages of growth that we would like your group to experience:

Connecting to one another
If your group doesn't connect, you can't go anywhere. One clever quip goes something like this, "The relational bridge must be strong enough to hold the weight of truth." For you to move onto the next stage, you have to be connected.

Changing into the likeness of Jesus
Real life change happens within community.  Your group needs to be a place where people can help each other learn, grow, and experience transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Cultivating a missional life of service
Your group needs to help others explore how they are uniquely made, apply that to life, and impact others for Christ through a life of service. We encourage groups to seek ways to serve together.

My Favorite IceBreakers

When people show up at your group, they are likely bringing with them the stresses and distractions from their day...which can make it hard to get a meaningful conversation started.  That is where a good icebreaker can come in handy.

My 3 favorite icebreakers are:

1. Playing one round of Balderdash.  A ridiculous sounding word is given and everyone in the group comes up with a definition.  Then, all the definitions are read, and people have to guess the correct meaning.  It's a lot of fun, gets people thinking, and only takes about 2-3 minutes.

2. Open-ended questions are a great way to get people to loosen up.  There are a lot of cool books and resources with these types of questions.  My favorite collection of cool questions is from www.tabletopics.com.  "Who would you like to trade places with for one month?" "In which activity would you like a lesson from an expert?" and "If you were to own a fabulously impractical car what would it be?" are just a few of the randomly cool questions in their set.

3. Food...having dinner or snacks before your study time is sometimes the most organic way to break the ice with people.  On nights when our group has decided not to have food it has been strangly quiet.  When we have dinner, it's like we're at a 10-year college reunion.

Value in the Small Space

Small groups are the optimum environment for life change.

For those of us who believe in groups, that’s an easy phrase to repeat. But for group critics it’s a hard pill to swallow. We have no problem acknowledging the value of a large worship service attended by hundreds of people. We are quick to affirm the value of personal devotional habits. The church for two millennia has valued both the large gathering and the private setting for spiritual formation.  But, it’s the insistence that a small group is an important – perhaps essential – space for life change that has created some controversy.

Maybe it’s because groups have been around for a mere 500 or so years while public worship services have been around for about 1,700 years. Maybe it’s because it’s easier to hide in large settings and lie to ourselves when we are alone. A group doesn’t usually afford us that luxury. Maybe it’s because in our highly connected world, community seems a harder thing to grasp. Maybe it’s because in the core of each one of us we don’t like to submit to anyone or be told what to do.

Ironically we give up too quickly on the things that will help us. And it’s not just groups. I often ask people about their personal devotional habits. For most it’s a sad admission of defeat prefaced by, “…I should really try harder to…” Yet personal Bible reading and prayer is profoundly helpful. We tend to give up on healthy eating habits and return to french fries. We tend to give up on helpful exercise routines before they become either helpful or routine. And we sometimes give up on groups before we get to the life change.

The writer of Hebrews knew this was a problem.  Apparently some of the people he wrote to had abandoned their groups (10:25).  He encouraged them to stay committed to their communities and to encourage each other to grow.  I think he might write those same words to some of us today.