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Church Leadership

How to Know When to End or Split Your Small Group

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This tends to be a touchy subject for many group leaders in churches across the country. The words “end” and “split” can both have very negative connotations attached to their meanings. They are the easy words, the two words that first come to mind when people talk about this subject, but they shouldn’t be. I believe that splitting a group is really a matter of biblical discipleship. If you are discipling your group members the way that Jesus commands, you won’t be splitting—you’ll be replicating, reproducing or multiplying. Any of those three words will work just fine for this context.

So how do we know when we need to step aside or replicate our small group? Allow me to give you three answers to your question.

  1. If the group you lead isn’t producing spiritual fruit, chances are you aren’t leading well. It’s time for a reality check. As a lay leader, you have the responsibility as a shepherd of that group. You are a leader. If your group members aren’t discipling others, the group is in decline (or plateaued), and  that can be a sign of poor leadership. Seek guidance from other leaders. Seek guidance from your pastors. Pray. Ask God to give you clarity on what He has for you next. Perhaps it’s stepping aside to experience a season of rest to abide in Him. Maybe it’s allowing another leader to lead for a period of time. It could mean that it’s time for you to relinquish leadership duties and be a group member instead of a group leader. Or perhaps it means that the few people who remain will be better served in another small group under other leadership.
  1. If the group you lead is experiencing rapid growth and it’s no longer possible for many of the group members to participate in meaningful conversation, it could mean you need to create two or more groups. How this replication is implemented can be a big benefit to those you lead—or it can be detrimental. Don’t announce to your group that a new class is being formed and assign members to the new class. Instead, allow people to have some autonomy and ownership. Make sure you have a plan well ahead of time to introduce to the group. Let them know that you thank God for the growth you’ve seen, but that you feel it’s best if the size of the group is limited to around 20 so they can properly be discipled. Educate your group members on when the transition will take place (make sure it’s not the next week, or even the next month, who will lead the new group and give group members an opportunity to ask questions). Focusing on biblical community here is of utmost importance.
  1. Most importantly, if you have clear direction from the Holy Spirit that you are to end or replicate your group, follow that lead and make it happen. If you feel convicted to step aside, do it. The last thing those you lead need is to be led by a group leader who has a heart that isn’t in it. You’ll be doing a disservice to them, to yourself, and to God. On the contrary, if you are convicted to replicate your existing group into two or more groups, follow that lead as well. Gather your other leaders (or potential leaders) and talk about how you’ve been feeling and how God has convicted you. They’ll offer their input and introduce some ideas you haven’t thought of on how to implement a new group or groups moving forward.

Don’t be afraid to make a decision one way or the other. Not everyone may understand, but the Lord knows what He is doing. Don’t isolate yourself in either decision. Seek wise counsel. Pray fervently. Listen to the Lord. He will guide you.

Matt Morris consults churches on discipleship strategy, executive leadership and operations. He also consults ministries and technology companies that serve churches. Matt has served in ministry for over 12 years. He is married to Carmen and they have twins, Hudson and Harper. Matt and his family are members of First Baptist Church Mount Juliet, where he serves as a deacon and group leader.
Church Leadership

Leading a Small Group Series About Prayer

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While we talk a lot about prayer, we don’t talk nearly enough about how to pray. Prayer is critical to the disciple, and we welcome this discipline as part of our conversations with other believers. In my own journey, I don’t remember anyone pulling me aside or inviting me into an experience with the objective, Pray like this. I’m sure many of us have taken it upon ourselves to search the Scriptures for effective prayers, but I’m sure there are many others who want to be more faithful and disciplined in prayer.

I scheduled a series about prayer for our small group earlier this year. Instead of a series that walked group members through Jesus’ model prayer (Matt. 6:9-13), I opted to explore several prayers of the New Testament as a means for discussing the examples from the people that faithfully forged the early church from a broken and lost culture—in this case, exclusively, Paul.

Sources. I used two sources, both from D.A. Carson. The first is the small group Bible study Praying with Paul and the second is A Call to Spiritual Reformation. I used the videos and questions from the small group study during our group time. The book was extremely helpful to me in preparing to lead the group, but also for augmenting the discussion with extra material and insights. For 8 weeks, we examined prayers from 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Colossians, Romans, Ephesians, and Philippians. Here are a few tips for leading such a group.

Handout. In addition to the Praying with Paul Bible study books, I created a handout with summaries, condensed commentary notes, future group meetings and topics, and review of past weeks. On this handout I also included discussion questions in addition to what is in the Bible study book. I like doing this for an at-a-glance discussion guide. Plus, it’s something I can send electronically ahead of the group for those people that like to use phones or tablets.

Weekly Take-Aways. I was sure to emphasize a take-away each week. Studying, discussing, and reading Scripture are their own reward. Beyond that, I like for group members to have a “1 thing” they can add to their routines to grow as disciples. In this context, the take-aways included interceding for those outside our inner circles—even people we don’t know, giving careful thought to ongoing prayer needs in our lives (those things for which we will always petition), obedience to God’s commands is the first order of being within God’s will, and developing our own understanding of what it means to be “unceasing” in our prayer life.

Quick Prayer. This isn’t prayer request time nor is it a time for a pastoral prayer of any kind. Rather, it’s an invitation to the Spirit and acknowledgement for the group that we’re entering a sacred space. For this particular series, I was mindful to introduce the weekly take-away for our prayer life.

Discussion Warm Up. Often referred to as the Ice Breaker, this question gets everyone engaged in the discussion and frames the content for the week. My warm-up questions range from list like “According to polls, what things to people pray for the most?” to something more open-ended like “What reasons do you think people give for not praying?”

Background. Right after the warm-up but before the text, I like to provide just a little insight into the authorship, historical background, or interesting word choices about the passage. This is just for context and to create an environment ready for God’s word.

Scripture Reading. We always read the text out loud. And we always read the text out loud multiple times. And we always read the text out loud from different translations. And we always read the text out loud from multiple translations, from different people. Of course, it’s important to avoid putting people on the spot or making anyone uncomfortable, but reading from the Bible is crucial to the effectiveness of any group. The text is included in the Bible study book, but I also like for group members to read from their own Bibles.

Discussion Questions. I choose 6-8 questions from my options from the Praying with Paul Bible study book, the questions at the end of each chapter in The Call to Spiritual Reformation, and questions I developed with my group in mind. The questions are extremely important. A couple of rules I employ are (1) no yes/no questions (2) no questions with easy, one-word answers. Everybody knows this, but it’s still takes intention to avoid them. You may also delineate questions by type: Objective (what does it say), Interpretation (what does it mean), Application (what do I do), Self-Revelation (how do I struggle). Too many objective questions can kill discussion and put people to sleep, while too many self-revelation questions exhausts the heart and leave group members looking for any kind of escape.

Wrap-up. This is a summary of the highlights, of course, and a clear distinction of the take-away along with any notable insights from the discussion. I like to draw from the author’s exact words during the wrap-up and include it on the weekly hand-out.

Prayer Requests and Closing Prayer. Take the opportunity to model the take-away. For instance, when the take-away was to pray for people we haven’t met, I prayed for a local church staff.

These are a few tips for leading a Bible study on prayer. I recommend Praying with Paul as your course. You may also take a look at Pray Like This that uses the Lord’s Prayer as its outline. Other options can be found at smallgroup.com for you to consider. You may want to consider leading your group in this way regularly, like every 12 months. For help in choosing your next study, we have developed the Balanced Discipleship Strategy.

Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Gospel

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is “What’s He talking About” from Gospel: Recovering the Power of Christianity At the end of this post there is a link to sign up for a chance to win a free giveaway of this resource!

WHAT’S HE TALKING ABOUT?

Parables are intended to teach one main principle or point. Today we’ll focus on Matthew 13:1-23. Here Jesus taught a parable to a crowd and then explained it to His disciples. He didn’t always explain His parables as He did here, so this passage provides great insight for us. In the well-known parable of the sower, Jesus talked about four different types of soil. He then acknowledged that the seed represents the gospel, and the different types of soil represent the different types of people who hear the gospel message.

The first person hears the gospel, but the evil one comes like a bird and snatches away what has been sown. The second excitedly hears the gospel, but because he doesn’t allow it to take root, he returns to his former idols when he faces hardship. The third person hears and believes, but the gospel gets choked out by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. The fourth person has the gospel rooted deeply in his soul; as a result, he produces much fruit over his lifetime.

Jesus’ point is that the evidence of a life transformed by the gospel will be revealed over a lifetime. Notice the three enemies of planting and growing the gospel in someone’s life.

1. The first is Satan. Jesus was acknowledging a real enemy who pursues and attacks people who hear and respond to the gospel.

2. The second enemy of the gospel is the failure to count the cost of following Christ. When tribulation occurs “because of the word” (v. 21), this person falls away. Following Christ for a while is convenient in many cases. But when functional saviors come into conflict with the gospel, many people drop Jesus for something else they think will solve their problem.

3. The final enemy may be the most potent in the church. The “worries of this age” look like anxiety, and the “deceitfulness of wealth” (v. 22) sounds like the promise that money provides security and happiness.

These enemies circle believers, waiting to pounce. But they don’t prevail against the those who yield themselves to the gospel and allow it to take root in their souls and wield authority in their lives.

Excerpted from Gospel: Recovering the Power of Christianity. Published by LifeWay Press®. © 2018 J. D. Greear. Used by permission.

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Church Leadership

Why You Should Fast With Your Small Group

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I once watched my grandpa dive, head first and fully clothed, into a dirty pond in an attempt to catch a catfish with his bare hands. He did that. And he actually grabbed it and hoisted it before it flopped free and got away. He was 65 at the time, which, to me, seems a little older than the average dirty pond diver. But he was, as you might guess, a very passionate fisherman. He was also a disappointed fisherman. After years filled with hours of outdoor sports, he admitted regret a few years back when we were talking about serving Jesus. He said, “I reckon I spent too much time hunting and fishing to amount to anything.”

He told me to give my time to the pursuit of Jesus and the mission of the church. Grandpa realized when he couldn’t do it anymore, that fishing never filled him. It never satisfied. And he wished he had pursued Christ more with the type of passion that put him head first in a catfish pond.

For you and your group, it probably isn’t hunting or fishing that fights for your focus. It might be career goals or your Netflix queue or your family drama. But every single one of us knows that we rhythmically, even passionately, fill our lives and fix our eyes on pursuits that fail us. We are constantly being drawn in and then disappointed by doomed pleasures.

It is because of this tendency to fill our lives with incomplete satisfiers that we should consider fasting with our groups. There is more to hunger for—and it is powerful when we seek it together in our groups.

We fast to remember our Hope.

Fasting is one of the Bible’s prescriptions for a heart that tends to seek satisfaction where it cannot be found. Jesus said in Matthew 9, “Can the wedding guests be sad while the groom is with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Jesus was letting us in on the secret that He is the true source of satisfaction. He said His disciples didn’t need to mourn, because they had Him. They didn’t need alternative joys, because they were going to have dinner with Him that night.

But He knew one day He would not be with them in the same way, and then they would miss Him. Then they would mourn. Disciples, like us, would be hungry in such a way that nothing but Jesus could satisfy.

And so we fast. We fast because we long for Him. We fast because so many lesser desires steal our attention from Jesus and they leave us lacking and they leave us longing. When we deny our wants, we can remember our Hope.

We fast to remember our weakness.

I have three daughters under the age of seven who are not very strong. We play a princess cupcake game that requires piecing together plastic parts to make things like the Princess Jasmine Spiced Fig Cake. I have one daughter (I won’t name names) who is not strong enough to squish the plastic “frosting” onto the plastic “cake.”

I know she can’t do it.

I offer her help.

She declines.

She tries.

She fails.

She cries.

At some point she realizes that she can’t do it on her own and she turns back to me and says, “Daddy, can you help me?”

Part of fasting is remembering that we can’t do it on our own. Part of fasting is feeling our frailty. It is remembering the reality that if we kept not eating, we would literally die. We are deeply needy, so part of fasting is saying, “Daddy can you help me?” God wants to help us, so He wants us to feel our weakness.

We fast to remember with our community.

The benefits of fasting are beautiful, but the act itself is hard. I once heard a pastor joke that he’d finished a two-week fast in two and a half hours. We’ve all had fasts die at dinner time. When that happens, we don’t just feel defeated—we miss out on the grace that God gives through the discipline of fasting.

That is where our groups can help. Fasting with your spiritual family provides support when you want to quit. Instead of fighting snacking alone, you feel your neediness with a friend. It is easier to carry on with your group. It is powerful to process your hope with your group. It is sweet to wrestle through weakness with brothers and sisters who are feeling it, too.

If you have never fasted with a group of like-minded disciples, you won’t believe the impact you’ll feel, the memories you’ll make, and the joy you’ll find that will remind you of forever.

We need to fast because we need to remember and hurt and hope. Try it together.

Brandon Hiltibidal is a former church planter and multi-site pastor, and he is now part of the Groups Ministry team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He also serves as an elder and a member of the preaching team at The Bridge Church in Middle Tennessee.
Church Leadership

Three Ways to Improve Your Skill as a Small Group Leader

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When I enlist leaders for new groups, I look for one key trait:

a teachable spirit.

The value of any teacher—whether he or she has never led a group or has been leading groups for fifty years—is his or her desire to learn—and keep learning. Unfortunately, too many leaders assume they know exactly how to lead a group, and that assumption is based on how someone once led them. Too often, bad teaching skills are simply passed down through the years.

But even for those among who do know how to facilitate a group, it’s wise to keep learning. The message of Scripture never changes, but methodologies change. Different generations process knowledge and interact with one another in different ways. Culture has an impact on the teaching-learning process, so there is great value in continually looking for ways to improve. And if our desire is to honor Christ through our groups, wouldn’t that include a desire to give Him our very best?

Let me suggest three ways you can invest in your group members by becoming a better leader.

  1. Self study. Pick up a book and read it! Many books are available on creative teaching, facilitating a group, and leading effective Bible study groups. A set of books I have found especially helpful over the years are written (or co-authored) by David Francis. Each book is intensely practical. Although short (48 pages), each book is not one to breeze through. Read a chapter, mull it over, and consider ways to apply it to your leadership.
  1. Group planning. If your group is a part of a planned, strategic discipleship strategy in your church (and I sincerely hope it is), consider getting with other group leaders to plan. When the leaders are studying the same book or using the same curriculum, they can come together and share ideas. Some churches do this weekly; some do it monthly. I can immediately call to mind specific stories of how my group study was enriched because of planning beforehand with others. On some occasions, I have walked into the planning meeting with a solid plan in place, but as we discussed ideas for leading, I left with an even stronger plan. On other occasions, I struggled with how I would approach a certain issue or part of my plan. As I shared my concern and we discussed it, I left the meeting with a great solution.
  1. Conferences. Check around for Bible study training occurring in your area. Some denominations (Southern Baptists, for example) offer training events on a state and local level. These conferences are led by experienced practitioners and offer great tips for working with different age groups, developing a creative study, facilitating a discussion, and on and on. One benefit I particularly enjoy is interacting with leaders from different churches. We learn from each other.

Leading your group has kingdom impact. It is significant! That reason alone should be the impetus for doing what you can to continually hone your skills as a group leader. Take advantage of the opportunities before you.

Lynn Pryor is the publishing team leader for Bible Studies for Life. He is serving a Nashville church as their transitional interim pastor. Lynn and his wife, Mary, have survived raising two sons to adulthood. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, Lynn has previously pastored and served churches in Texas. Read more from his blog at lynnhpryor.com. Follow him @lynnpryor.

 

Church Leadership

Three Tips for Building Trust in Your Small Group

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Imagine that, for some reason, you’ve been talked into doing something which might be completely out of character for you on your next birthday. So you wake up the morning of that birthday, get dressed, hop in the car, and drive to a small airstrip and get ready to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with a device strapped to your back. You are going skydiving.

Perhaps you’ve been able to work yourself up for the moment. You’ve told yourself what a great story it’ll make, how exciting it’ll be, and how unique the opportunity is. And that rationale has propelled you to this moment. It’s even given you enough adrenaline to get on the plane. But there will come a moment—a moment when the plane is at its height, when the green light comes on, and the door opens—when adrenaline won’t cut it anymore. That’s the moment when you’ll have to make a choice—either to step out of that plane, or to head back to your seat.

I would propose that that decision is a decision of trust. Do you really trust the instructor? Do you really trust the parachute? For that matter, do you really trust the manufacturer of that parachute and the safety inspector who signed off on it? See, all our choices are really, if you boil them down, based on trust at the core.

If you really step out of the plane at that moment, chances are the trust you display by doing so didn’t happen in a moment; rather, it was cultivated over a period of training, conversations, and questions. This isn’t unlike what happens in a small group.

As a leader, you want your group to have a culture of openness and vulnerability. You want people to share freely what they struggle with as well as their joys. You want these people to know and love each other deeply. In short, you want it to be an atmosphere of trust. But that trust doesn’t happen by accident. You, as a leader, can take an active role in building that kind of trust among your group members, and here are three ways how:

1. Make the first move.

Trust starts to happen when someone makes the first move. When someone is willing to step out and trust someone else with their true selves—their fears, their doubts, and their unmet expectations. This isn’t an easy thing to do.

But trust is also like a fire: once you get a small spark, it can quickly grow. You, as a leader, can be the spark. Of course, that means that you have to also be the first one to take a chance at opening yourself up to other people. But as you do, you’ll find those around you who are hungry for an environment of trust where they can do the same.

2. Invite people to tell their stories.

One of the easiest ways to start building trust in your group is to provide an opportunity for people to tell the stories of their lives. There are a number of ways you can do this—you might, for example, devote the first 10 minutes of each of your group times for one person to share some of their story to help others know them better.

But it shouldn’t stop there. When you come across a point you are trying to make in the group, instead of sharing a story from your personal life in order to illustrate it, ask someone else to share their story. Of course, that would mean that you, as a leader, have taken the time to get to know people well outside of the group which is, by the way, another excellent way to build trust.

3. Make time for connection.

Trust is something that is built over time. It’s constructed brick by brick as people become more and more comfortable and familiar with each other. Sure, that can happen in a structured Bible study group, but it can happen much more quickly through the unstructured times.

Don’t underestimate the value of asking your group to meet for lunch or dinner or go to the park together outside of your official group time. These opportunities for connection aren’t just fun; they become the basis for solid relationships.

Trust doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not easy, and it will take some risk, but the spiritual growth and development that happens as we live together in authentic community is worth it.

Michael Kelley lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife, Jana, and three children: Joshua (10), Andi (7), and Christian (5). He serves as Director of Groups Ministry for Lifeway Christian Resources. As a communicator, Michael speaks across the country at churches, conferences, and retreats and is the author of Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, and God; Transformational Discipleship; and Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life. Find him on Twitter:@_MichaelKelley. Check out his latest book, Growing Down: Unlearning the Patterns of Adulthood that Keep Us from Jesus here.
Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Bible Studies for Life

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is “The POINT” from the Bible Studies for Life curriculum. At the end of this post there is a link to sign up for a chance to win a free giveaway of this resource!

The POINT

Welcoming others goes beyond a friendly handshake.

We naturally gravitate to the people we know best and who are like us. It’s easier to interact with people with whom we share a common interest or background. But a problem arises when those friendships drive us to overlook or ignore others, or worse, to show preferential treatment. Jesus, on the other hand, loves all people the same—and we’re called to do likewise. We must learn to embrace people with open arms.

The Book of James was written to Christians who were undergoing persecution. James wrote this letter not only to encourage them to remain strong during those difficult times, but also to remind them that faith and obedience are linked together.

It’s in this context that James addressed the issue of partiality. These Christians claimed to believe the gospel and follow Jesus, but apparently they were not treating people equally in their congregations. The particular example James lifted out involved people coming into the congregation who had the appearance of wealth. Apparently such a person with his nice clothing and polished appearance was given a place of prominence in the church, even if it meant pushing aside someone who was clearly not wealthy. According to James, this was an evil thing to do. This is true for at least three reasons:

  1. Partiality neglects the image of God in fellow humans. When we show favoritism to one person or group of people over another, we are—whether we realize it or not—subtly neglecting the truth that all human beings have been created in the image of God. Because all of us have been created in God’s image, every one of us is worthy of honor and dignity. When we remove some of that honor and dignity, even if it seems like a small thing, we are doing more than exercising our preference for one group or another. We are denying the image of God in the neglected party.
  2. Partiality sees others as objects to be used. Why might we show favoritism? In James’ illustration of the rich man and the poor man in the fellowship, the reason is simple: we can get something from the rich man. By showing favoritism, we might get some of his money; a greater reputation because we are associated with a person of prominence; or his approval which would increase our self-esteem. Whatever the case, we are hoping to gain something from him, which means we are using that person rather than serving and loving him. While we might trick ourselves into believing that showing partiality just means someone gets a little something extra from us, as if we are making the sacrifice, it’s really the other way around; our focus is on ourselves and what we might potentially gain.
  3. Partiality sets us up as judge. Favoritism is a big deal because it sets us up in the place of God. We are determining someone’s worthiness based on some preconceived notion based on the person’s clothes, money, reputation, or whatever. But we are not equipped to make this judgment. Indeed, only God can look at the heart. When we show partiality, therefore, we are putting ourselves in place of God. We are judging the worth of another.

For discussion: What are some ways we might be tempted to show favoritism today?

This article is an excerpt from Welcome Home: Connecting and Engaging People in Your Church, a six-session study in the Fall 2018 Bible Studies for Life. Learn more about this ongoing curriculum and preview one month for free at biblestudiesforlife.com.

Fill out the form below before tomorrow night at 11:59pm for an opportunity to win a free Bible Studies for Life: Adult Group Box. The Box contains 10 Personal study guides; 1 Leader Guide, and various other leader resources.

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Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 65: SBC – Chris Swain on Discipleship

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Join in with Chris Swain at SBC as we talk about the ministry “Replicate” and how they are helping to change the discipleship culture in local churches. How is Bible study best approached? How do we increase Bible engagement in our church? What does accountability look like in our group’s life? Listen as we talk about Jesus approached these questions.

GUEST: Chris Swain is the Executive Director of Replicate Ministries and serves at Long Hollow Baptist Church as the Equipping Pastor. After fours years of service in the United States Marine Corps, Chris served in full-time ministry for two decades in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, leading ministries ranging from Students, to Collegiate, to Spiritual Formation. Most recently, Chris served as the Director of Student Ministry Publishing at Lifeway Christian Resources serving the Church in its mission of making disciples. Chris’s heart is to expand the Gospel through disciple-making in the local church.

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in LifeWay’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at LifeWay and author of Small Groups For The Rest Of Us.

Church Leadership

Links We Love

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If You Have to Choose Between Clarity and Creativity – Eric Geiger

Clarity and creativity are both admirable qualities. People seek both when creating a resource, when delivering a message, when leading a team, and when designing ministry strategy. Authors, artists, songwriters, communicators, ministry leaders, and a plethora of other people desire for their work to be both clear and creative.

Stop Defending Yourself Against Jesus – Michael Kelley

It’s an incredibly difficult thing to say, “I’m sorry.”

Those two words are packed with self-humiliation, responsibility, and acceptance of our own weakness and fallacy. And, of course, that’s why it’s so difficult. Our difficulty in uttering those two words, without self-justification and explanation and blame shifting reveals just how strong our impulse of self-defense is.

Scripture and the Christian Man – LifeWay Men

We become men of God by first loving the Word by believing what it says, and putting it into practice in daily life. Obedience in the Christian life is only possible because we’ve been born again. The result of being born again is that we will love God, His Word, and His people. Daily reading the Word will result in being men of integrity, in private and in public. Duplicity in our lives will be replaced by transparency and authenticity in our home life and at Church.

Household of Faith – LifeWay Women’s Ministry

“The rules are there for a reason.” Have you heard that before? I used to work in a residence hall on a university campus and some of their rules were rather interesting. As I flipped through the policy manuals outlining student conduct, employee expectations, and other rules, I saw a curious rule. I asked, “Why is there a rule forbidding access to the subbasement of the building? Why would this rule be in the book?” The answer: It’s there for a reason. One year a couple of adventurous male students found their way into a machine room, discovered the door leading to the subbasement, and concocted a plan to dig a tunnel under the building so they could visit the female-only wing on the opposite side. Rumors swirled concerning the tunnel and the students’ subterranean exploits. Sure enough, during the inspection of their dorm rooms, some small digging tools and muddy clothes surfaced. Their tunneling expeditions were brought to an end and a new rule was put in place. I was given a similar explanation in regard to the rule concerning access to the roof, as some students who loved to climb attempted to rappel from the building. Rules are there for a reason.

5 Ways Leaders Can Grow in Self-Awareness – LifeWay Leadership

Without self-awareness, a leader is stuck. In fact, the biggest hindrance to a leader’s development is not intelligence or work ethic but a lack of self-awareness. While self-awareness helps us understand what areas of leadership need focus and development, knowing ourselves is something we struggle with. We all have blind spots, areas of struggle we are challenged to see in ourselves. So how can leaders grow in self-awareness…

Church Leadership

3 Reasons to Get to Bible Study Week at LifeWay Christian Stores

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Decades ago, the month of August was sort of seen as the “last gasp” of summer. Vacations were still happening, pools were still populated, and the AC was still running at full blast. That’s because most schools didn’t actually begin until the last week in August, or even after Labor Day.

But times? They are a-changin’. Some of those things are still true, but increasingly August has become less of an ending of summer and more the start of fall. For churches and groups, this means that August is ramp up time.

This is when groups of all times start their planning and preparation for a new cycle. In an effort to help that planning and preparation happen well, we are pleased to host the first ever “Bible Study Week” in all LifeWay Christian stores August 6-11. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of if you lead a group, or if you are in charge of the group ministry for your church.

Specifically, here are three reasons why you should make the effort to get to a LifeWay store near you during Bible Study Week:

1. Grow as a leader.

People are busy. It’s a fact of life. As a result of our increasingly overcrowded schedules, many churches don’t have the same opportunity they once did to train the leaders for their Group Ministry. To help with this, we are pleased to offer compact training opportunities during Bible Study Week.

This training – “How to Lead a Bible Study Group” – will be offered three times during Bible Study Week:

  • Monday, August 6 at 7 pm
  • Wednesday, August 8 at 11 am
  • Friday, August 10 at 10 am

This practical training will be a great refresher course for a seasoned leader, or a helpful jump start to give you confidence if you are a leader for the very first time.

2. Join the community.

Leadership at any level can feel lonely at times. That’s why it’s important to be reminded that you aren’t the only one taking the initiative to help people around you grow spiritually. Making time to come to Bible Study Week at LifeWay will be encouraging to you in this respect. You’ll find associates there who are your biggest fans, eager to help equip you for ministry.

And through the training workshops offered, you’ll be able to sit in a circle with people who have taken on the same task as you are. Not only will you learn some of the best and helpful leadership practices, you’ll be able to interact and dialogue with others.

3. Choose the right study.

One of the most difficult parts of leading a group can be knowing what to center that group on. After all, there are tons of potential Bible studies you can lead your group through. As part of choosing the right one, you might ask things like:

  • Can I trust the content?
  • Who is the author?
  • Will this resource really meet our needs?
  • Is there a video that goes with this study?

This week, all those questions can be answered. In addition, to try and make resourcing your group as affordable as possible, we are offering a special “buy one get one free” Bible study book sale for nine different Bible studies that we are confident can help you make disciples.

If you’re a group leader, mark your calendar for August 6-11. We hope to see you soon in a LifeWay store near you.

Click here for the full details of Bible Study Week.

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