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February 6, 2020

The Recipe for a Small Group Disaster

by Scarlet Hiltibidal

My house was so tiny and so lacking air conditioning and so full of so many kinds of bugs. And my hair was so bright red. And my necklaces were so cheap they turned my neck green. I was 22. I had plenty to learn and needed much maturity, but I really wanted to love Jesus. So, while I lived life with the hair dye and the bugs, once a week, I crammed 15-20 high school girls into my stuffy little living room to talk about Jesus.

A lot of great moments happened in that little warm room. And a lot of foolish ones, too. A stand-out, “seriously—I can’t believe that just happened” memory for me was when this group I co-led got into a full-blown fight, complete with semi-shouting and soft-glaring and possibly the passive questioning of people’s salvation.

I’m not even kidding you right now. We were really riled, and I can still picture the faces of the younger, impressionable girls in the room as they whipped their heads back and forth while I, in a full Pharisaical moment, bellowed, “If speeding is against the law, doing it is wrong! And if you know you’re doing something wrong and you don’t change, you’re in sin!”

Yep. Thank you, ladies and gentleman! This small group meltdown peaked with me passionately preaching condemnation on all the speeders in my life.

It was a disaster.

I’ve learned a lot from the mistakes I made while leading that group, and hopefully, God’s grace overcame my foolishness and reached the hearts of those young girls. But, if you’re a first-time disciple-maker, or if you’re just a young group leader, here are three ways you can avoid setting yourself up for small group disaster.

1. Don’t Co-lead with Someone When You’re Lacking Unity

This is something I could have easily avoided. You’ll probably never find another human that you agree with about every little thing 100% of the time. But, if you’re co-leading a small group, which is always wise if you want to be ready to multiply, you need to be pretty unified. Since you will differ on some things, even biblical interpretations, it’s so important to pow-wow about issues privately BEFORE they arise publicly.

If you know that your group is supposed to talk about something divisive like speaking in tongues or how the Bible speaks about politics, or, you know, how many miles over the speed limit constitutes unpardonable sinning, make sure you and your co-leader are on the same page before your group meets.

If you don’t agree, hash it all out in private, or just agree to facilitate that question for the group members without weighing in in a divisive way.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” —Ephesians 4:3 (NIV)

2. Don’t Meet Without a Study Plan

Many groups these days don’t have a content plan with a curriculum designed to help disciples grow. Studying the Bible by itself is awesome, but if you get a group together without any plan to facilitate a discussion, you’re setting yourself up for unexpected detours that could lead to unhealthy conflict.

I’m pretty sure the high school group I led was going through a book together. Going through books is wonderful too, but if you’re reading Scripture, or reading an author, and then setting up a discussion with the can-of-worms phrase, “Tell me what you think about…,” your conversation is very likely to take turns into places you are unprepared to handle or places that lead to little spiritual growth.

Have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.” —1 Timothy 4:7 (CSB)

Be ready to train. If you don’t have a plan, you could have a problem.

3. Establish a Culture of Grace

Any group of believers should go into their small group ready to talk in a gracious way. Groups that don’t lay the groundwork of grace are bound to go sour.

If Co-Leader and I had started from the beginning of the group saying things such as, “We share the same spirit…we speak the truth in love…we fill in the gaps with trust…,” the tone of conflict could have been vastly different. We could have disagreed in a more respectful way. We could have sought to understand instead of overstate.

If those girls and I were in a room together today, having that same discussion, we might have the same differing opinions we had then, but I hope I would communicate my thoughts in a way that displayed the grace of Jesus.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” —Ephesians 4:32 (CSB)

Scarlet Hiltibidal is a writer living in Nashville, Tennessee. Scarlet has a degree in biblical counseling and worked as a Christian schoolteacher before she started writing. She has written for and managed several online publications. Currently, she does freelance writing for various Christian publishers and produces small group curriculum for children. Scarlet is wife to Brandon, who is part of the Groups Ministry Team at LifeWay, and Mommy to her daughters, Ever Grace, Brooklyn Hope, and Sawyer Joy. Visit her blog at scarlethiltibidal.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @ScarletEH.

Group Answers Podcast

February 5, 2020

Online Bible Study

February 3, 2020

Not Forsaken Online Bible Study

By Joey Jacob

We are so excited to announce our next online Bible study starting this Spring!

Beginning Tuesday, March 17th, we will be studying Not Forsaken by Louie Giglio! The online Bible study will run each Tuesday from March 17th until April 21st and will be hosted in our Facebook Group!

About the Study:

You’re so much more than God’s creation; you’re a fully loved son or daughter of the Creator. And while it’s true that God is the Creator, the King, the Great I Am, the Prince of peace, and so much more, He’s primarily a Father–your perfect Father. And everything changes–your view of God and your view of life–when you know you’re living under the fullness of His blessing and approval. Join Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church and the original visionary of the Passion movement, in this Bible study, which invites you to understand the character of God in a life-changing way–as a perfect Father.

We will be hosting this Online Bible Study experience on Facebook! We are excited to dive in to this study with everyone!

Click here to read a sample, order the Bible study, or to find out more.

To participate in the study:

Head over to our Facebook Group and sign up! You will be asked to accept the rules of engagement of the group as well to provide a valid email address. This will let us know how many people are participating in the study and we will provide you with a reminder each week when we post the next session.
Purchase a copy of the Not Forsaken Bible Study Book here. Please note that while a Bible Study Book is not required, we do recommend one to enhance your experience going through this Online Bible study.
Join the conversation by participating in the comments inside of the Facebook group. Be sure to turn on your notifications so you can keep up with the discussion!

Once you sign up for the study, you will receive an email each week with a link to the session so you can participate! If you have notifications on for this group, you will also receive a notification when we post the next session.

We hope to see you in our Facebook Group!

Church Leadership

January 30, 2020

3 Questions to Ask About Commentaries

By Reid Patton

Recently during a small group I help lead, a couple of friends made the comment that they fell off the wagon in their Bible reading plans about the time they hit Chronicles. Why? Because 1 and 2 Chronicles are books of the Bible filled with lists and names. We don’t know what to do with texts like these, so we skip them or gloss over them in hopes for a “better” text. However, God could have chosen to leave these texts out of the Bible, but that’s not what He did. He included them for a reason, even if that reason may be hard for us to discern.

This discussion got me thinking about how we as small group leaders should equip ourselves to then equip others. According to Paul, every part of Scripture is profitable for us (2 Tim. 3:16). As leaders, we need to understand the text ourselves to help others see why it is profitable. Yet, sometimes we need a little extra help to see what is profitable in a difficult text. In those instances, it is worth your time to consult a reliable commentary.

The following passage in Nehemiah shines a light on the need for commentaries, so let’s take a look at a passage and then ask three questions about how to best use commentaries as we prepare to lead or facilitate a small group.

⁴Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.⁵Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. ⁶Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, ‘Amen, Amen!’ Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁷Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. ⁸They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.” —Nehemiah 8:4-8 (HCSB)

While much of Nehemiah tells a story, verses 4 and 7 remind us of those passages we tend to gloss over. But these two verses also show us the value and need for commentaries.

What is a commentary? At the most basic level, a commentary is an aide to help you understand the Bible better. Commentaries include information about the author and the context of the passage you’re studying, and they help us to see what the Holy Spirit meant when He inspired the original authors of Scripture to write. Commentaries come in different shapes and sizes as well as different levels of difficulty. They can be highly practical and devotional in nature, or highly technical with emphases on things like original languages and historical context. Either way, the goal of a commentary is to help you understand the passage in the original context.

Were you to consult a commentary on the above passage, you would find helpful information about verse 4. For example, the men whose names we can’t pronounce likely stood with Nehemiah for the solemnity and importance of the moment because the law was being reinstated. This is not an earth-shattering revelation, but it is helpful information that rounds out our understanding of this passage and of the Book of Nehemiah as a whole.

Why should I use a commentary at all? Can’t I just rely on the Holy Spirit? One objection to consulting a commentary is that we don’t need it because we all have the Holy Spirit. While it is true that each Christian has been given a new heart to read and understand the Scriptures, we can still benefit from the wisdom of others.

Commentaries are written by people with advanced degrees who have devoted years of their lives to understanding one book of Scripture. If you turn your attention to the second list of guys whose names you can’t pronounce, you will notice in verse 8 that these people were Levites who stood with Nehemiah to help people understand what was written in the book of the Law. The Bible is meant to be understood, but sometimes we need a little bit of help. The returned exiles in Jerusalem of Nehemiah’s day benefited from the help of others as they sought to understand and obey the Bible. When we read commentaries, we aren’t replacing the work of reading and interpreting the Bible ourselves but getting some outside help to better understand what is being said.

How do I find reliable commentaries? Not all commentaries are created equal. So here are some good resources to help you find trustworthy commentaries. MyWSB.com comes with a small library of commentaries, including all the content of Holman Christian Standard Study Bible for free. Additionally all of LifeWay’s ongoing curriculum lines as well as SmallGroup.com lessons come with trustworthy commentary to help you better understand the passage in the lesson.

Additionally, Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has created a helpful guide for choosing the best commentaries. Blogger Tim Challies also has a series of posts that serve the same purpose.

Next time you come across a difficult text preparing to lead your group, remember that commentaries are there to help.

Reid Patton is a Content Editor for the Custom Content Team at LifeWay Christian Resources, where he produces biblical small group studies for Discipleship In Context and SmallGroup.com. He is the thankful husband of Kristen and proud father of Ceile and serves with the Life Group leadership team at the Church at Station Hill in Spring Hill, Tennessee. In his free time, Reid likes reading and going to record stores. You can find him on Twitter @jreidpatton.

Group Answers Podcast

January 29, 2020

Group Answers Episode 137: Dan Darling & Trillia Newbell on The Church and the Racial Divide

By Group Ministry

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Dan Darling and Trillia Newbell about the new small group study: The Church and the Racial Divide.

Daniel Darling is the Vice President for Communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC), and the author of multiple books.

Trillia Newbell is the Director of Community Outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and also the author of several books.

Questions Discussed:

Tell us about The Church and the Racial Divide. How did this project come together?
What is racial reconciliation and why does it matter?
How can this be pursued by racially homogenous churches and groups?
What does a church look like that’s pursuing diversity and practicing healthy racial reconciliation in their church and city?
What would you tell a group leader that was considering this study for his or her group?
What tips do you have for someone who might be leading this study?
What excites you about this study? What do you hope this does for churches?

Resources Mentioned:

The Church and the Racial Divide Bible Study

The ERLC

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 Leading Small Groups.

Church Leadership

January 28, 2020

Increasing vs. Multiplying Your Small Group

By Reid Patton

One of the great blessings of Christian community is the depth of relationships that we experience. People I have been in small groups with have supported me through some of the toughest seasons of life—helped my wife and I move four times, provided meals for us when I came down with the flu for a week, supported us when my wife was recovering from the birth of our daughter. During a recent health scare, the amount of prayers that poured in through text messages, phone calls, and emails from people I live in community with was simply astounding. In community, I have seen the Scriptures come alive to people in such a way that families and lives are changed to the glory of Christ. I believe Christian community is so valuable because I have felt and experienced the value when I needed it the most.

When we experience these benefits, our natural inclination is to dig deep and hunker down. Relationships of this depth are hard to move beyond. And that’s a good thing! That means we are embodying the type of Christian community we find in places like Acts 2:42-47. Men and women connected to Christ and devoted to each other. However, the person we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about is the person who is not there because he or she isn’t connected to a small group.

According to Dr. Thom Rainer, people who become involved in a group in a church are five times more likely to still be plugged in five years later. Small groups make a significant impact on long-term discipleship. We should want to see people find the same type of support, grace, and encouragement we have found in Christian community. To accomplish this, we must begin to value the people who are not there as much as the people who are.

Leaving groups to start new ones is hard. Once we have put in the hard work of fostering community, who would want to leave? To see the value of new groups, let’s turn to the first small groups that ever existed in the Book of Acts. In his history of the early church, Luke regularly provides us with status reports to let us know how things are going. We first find these reports in Acts 2:47 and 5:14 where Luke describes how the Lord “added” to their number. Yet when we get to Acts 6:7 we see the same idea but with one critical difference: ^“So the preaching about God flourished, the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7, HCSB).

The difference is the word multiplied, which is a different word both in English and in the original language of the New Testament. Added means “an incremental addition.” This is what happens when we stay in our same groups and continue to accept more and more people. Multiplied refers to exponential growth, meaning the disciples were making disciples who were making disciples and the church exploded.

Some of us have become so comfortable in our own group that we cannot imagine leaving, but starting new groups breaks down barriers because it places new people on equal footing—the group is new, so everyone is new. Starting new groups fulfills the Great Commission mandate to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19-20) by providing new avenues for disciples to be made.

If you want to create a culture of disciple-making in your church, the best way to accomplish this goal is to focus on multiplying the number of groups instead of increasing the number of people in groups. Take your groups and start to multiply for the glory of God in your community and in all nations!

Reid Patton is a Content Editor for the Custom Content Team at LifeWay Christian Resources, where he produces biblical small group studies for Discipleship In Context and SmallGroup.com. He is the thankful husband of Kristen and proud father of Ceile and serves with the Life Group leadership team at the Church at Station Hill in Spring Hill, Tennessee. In his free time, Reid likes reading and going to record stores. You can find him on Twitter @jreidpatton.

Church Leadership

January 27, 2020

Reporting Progress on Actionable Goals

By Dwayne McCrary

When we think about the actions we track in our Bible study groups, those being asked to carry out the actions need to know we notice them. Recognizing others is one way leaders communicate that it is not about me but about us as a group. We beats me every day.

Once we have decided what to track (see post on what to track), we have to determine what we will do with the information. Here are some questions we need to ask that will help us.

Who needs to know?

This may come as a surprise, but not everyone needs to know how we are doing when it comes to what we are tracking in our Bible study groups. Does a lost person need to know that 50% of the people in the group are engaging daily in the Bible? Making this information available to everyone including lost people could open the door for questions that turn into stumbling blocks: Why are half of the people not looking at the Bible daily? If the Bible is really important than wouldn’t they all be reading it every day?

The persons expected to carry out the action are the ones who need to know.

What do they need to know?

The purpose of tracking something is to give a picture of what is happening. We are not trying to shame them, but give them an honest picture. They need to know the good and the bad. They also need to know how the action impacts the big goal and purpose. If people are sharing the gospel with others then that should impact the number of people believing in Jesus and being baptized. Connect the dots between the two actions showing how one impacts the other.

Don’t forget to tell the story when appropriate. If a person is baptized and they were on a person’s prayer list, include that information if possible.

When do they need to know?

They need to know as soon as possible. Knowing sooner than later encourages them to continue or helps them take corrective action sooner. (Tip: If the groups meet prior to a worship time, try to include a report of the actions being tracked before the worship time concludes.) Accuracy also matters at this point. Being quick but inaccurate undermines the setting of a goal in the first place.

How do they need to be told?

Straight forward is better than hidden. Be truthful and report what is known. If 30 people report that they are praying for a lost person and that is one metric you are tracking, then share that number with the entire group being expected to pray for a lost person.

So many mediums exist for reporting. Pick the way that is used by the most number of people being expected to carry out the action. If everyone being asked to pray for a lost person has a cell phone, then share the report as a group text. Some other options are a group announcement, printed handout, or a centralized graphic (digital or static). Keep in mind who needs to know when selecting the how.

What are you tracking this year and how do you plan on communicating what you are discovering to those expected to carry out the action?

Dwayne McCrary leads various teams at LifeWay that create ongoing BIble study resources for adults. He also teaches two weekly ongoing Bible study groups in his church and is an adjunct professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Church Leadership

January 23, 2020

7 Lies About Your Small Group

By Chris Surratt

Although church-sponsored small groups have been around for awhile, there are still misconceptions about what they are—or are not. With that in mind, here are seven popular myths that I hear about small groups.

1. Groups are for everyone—all of the time.

It’s okay for people to take breaks from group life occasionally. Even Jesus retreated from His small group from time to time. A semester system can give group members and leaders time to catch their breath in between studies.

2. Off-campus groups are more effective than on-campus groups.

Both approaches to groups have pluses and minuses. A church leader has to decide what the end goal for a group experience is, and then decide where that best takes place. It may actually be both.

3. Group leaders have to be fully trained before starting a group.

Some initial training is necessary, but most training will be more effective after the group starts and leaders begin to have their own real world examples. The church should consider providing ongoing, as-needed online training.

4. Small groups are not weird.

I can almost guarantee that for most people, attending a small group in someone’s home for the first time is a strange experience. It was for me, but then again, so was eating sushi. Make sure to set the expectations for a group experience at the beginning. A good groups connection event can help ease people into group life.

5. Small groups will solve everyone’s discipleship needs.

An ongoing small group of 8-12 believers is a great environment to begin a discipleship journey, but most people will need something smaller and more focused in order to continue that journey. A 3-1 or 4-1 same-sex “D-group” (discipleship group) can offer better accountability and more open conversations.

6. There is a perfect small groups system.

Every church has its own DNA and approach to ministry. A wise small group pastor will take good practices from other churches and shape them to work in their context. Also, don’t be afraid to experiment. Every established practice once started with a crazy idea.

7. A good small group can exist without good food.

This one may just be about me.

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with over 23 years of experience serving the local church. Chris served on the Executive Team at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN, and was on staff at Seacoast Church in Charleston, SC, for 15 years. He is also the Small Group Specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources. Chris’s first book, Small Groups For The Rest Of Us: How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes, was recently released by Thomas Nelson. You can follow his blog at chrissurratt.com or follow him on Twitter @chrissurratt.

Group Answers Podcast

January 22, 2020

Group Answers Episode 136: Derek Olson

By Group Ministry

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Derek Olson. Derek loves espresso, the outdoors and is passionate about building biblical community! He has been active in small group ministry since 2004 and is honored to serve as Pastor of Small Group Network Development at Saddleback Church.

Questions Discussed:

What started your passion for coffee and community?
How did you end up at Saddleback Church and The Small Group Network?
What does The Small Group Network do?
Why is it important for small group point people to network?
Who are you learning from now?

Resources Mentioned:

www.smallgroupnetwork.com

Church Leadership

January 21, 2020

4 Things to Track in Your Small Groups

By Dwayne McCrary

Most of us track attendance when it comes to our Bible study groups. Attendance gives us a snapshot for comparison to other days or groups but attendance only gives us part of the picture. If we track the total number of people in a month who attend versus the number of different people who attend in a month we may get a completely different picture of what is going on. We may find out we have three groups meeting under the same designation: the people there every week, the people there on the first and third weeks, and the people there the second and fourth weeks.

Which brings us to the question: are there some better things to track than attendance? Some of the answer to this depends on the goal and kind of group. For example, a closed group will look at consistency in attendance while an open group will track the new people coming into a group. Having said that, here are some general principles to consider:

Define what is tracked by the big purpose. Words matter and how you define what is tracked matters. Number of people in attendance communicates something differently than number of people who engaged in Bible study this week.
Track the stuff we control. We don’t control the number of people we baptize or the number of people who actually attend our Bible study groups. We do control the number of people we share the gospel with and the number of people that are contacted weekly.
Track what creates the biggest impact. If you know that people are most likely to accept Christ if they attend a Bible study group, then track that over number of people in worship. As a side note: churches that track these types of things have found that 1 out of 3 lost people who attend a Bible study group will eventually accept Christ (those who attend only a worship service are far less likely to accept Christ), so they track the number of unchurched people in their Bible study groups.
Track things that lead to the larger goal. We want to see people come to know Christ and become disciplers. If that is the larger goal, then we should track the things that get us there. The number of people we engage in conversations about Christ is something we control and that gets us to the larger goal of seeing people come to know Christ.

So what actions might we track that give us a better barometer on what is going on other than attendance?

Number of people contacted this week. For open groups to grow, they must contact everyone on their ministry list every week. For closed groups to maintain attendance, they too must contact everyone on their list. Every organization has a number. We tracked it in one church and found that if the groups reported 400 contacts in a week, our attendance was above 225 for that week. If the reported contacts were less than 400, then attendance was below 200. In that setting, the type of contact did not matter so we did not track the contract types…we only needed to know if a contract was made.

Number of people who initiated a conversation with someone about spiritual matters. We will not reach the lost and unchurched unless we talk with them and that usually means us initiating the conversation.

Number of unchurched and unaffiliated people being prayed for. (Variation: Number of people praying daily for a lost person.) One step toward engaging in conversation with a lost person is praying for them by name daily. (Note: You can find out more about the importance of this practice in the booklet It Begins with Prayer at lifeway.com/trainingresources).

Number of people engaging daily with the Bible. The number one predictor for spiritual growth is daily Bible engagement. If the goal is for people to grow in their spiritual walk, then it makes sense that we would want to find out if they are doing the one thing that impacts spiritual growth more than any other action. That also means we need to provide them a tool for doing so, either a Daily Discipleship Guide, daily devotion, or some other tool.

What actions will you track this year that will help your groups accomplish the big goals and purposes?

Dwayne McCrary leads various teams at LifeWay that create ongoing BIble study resources for adults. He also teaches two weekly ongoing Bible study groups in his church and is an adjunct professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Recipe for a Small Group Disaster

Not Forsaken Online Bible Study

3 Questions to Ask About Commentaries

Group Answers Episode 137: Dan Darling & Trillia Newbell on The Church and the Racial Divide

7 Lies About Your Small Group

Group Answers Episode 136: Derek Olson

4 Things to Track in Your Small Groups

Dwayne McCrary leads various teams at LifeWay that create ongoing BIble study resources for adults. He also teaches two weekly ongoing Bible study groups in his church and is an adjunct professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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