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Tuesday Thoughts

Tuesday Thoughts: 3 Distinctives of a Biblical Group

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[VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]

Okay, today I want to talk about having a purpose for your small group. Your small group can be about a lot of things and if we’re not careful, they can just become social clubs and not have a purpose that’s different from any other group that people can be a part of. So what are those distinctions that set your group apart from anything else that people can join in the world? I think we can find three specific distinctives when we look at the early church and the small group that they formed in acts. So if you look at acts 2:42 through 47, we can see three purposes jump out at us. It says they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and signs were being performed to the apostles.

Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property, distributed the proceeds to all as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number, those who were being saved. And so as we look at this passage, I think we can see three distinctives that they had that all our groups should have. And so the first one that our group should be about is creating disciples. They were creating disciples. It was about discipleship. If you look, they were devoted to the teaching of the apostles. So how is your group creating disciples? Are you doing a study that’s kind of setting up those conversations that’s leading to discipleship? Second, they were living in community. It says that they went from house to house, that they broke bread together. They did life together. So how is your group doing that? How are they in community? Are you just about the study or are you actually doing life together? Breaking bread, having fun. And then third, they were on mission.

It says that they sold their possessions and they distributed to anyone who had need to. How is your group on mission? Are you making a difference in the culture that you are in? Are you making a difference in the community, in the neighborhood? Are you reaching out beyond the four walls that you have your meetings? So look at those three things. Are you creating disciples? Are you in community? And finally, are you on mission? Does your group have a purpose?

Church Leadership

Three Types of Leader Training

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Summer is the perfect season to work on the ministry and not just in it. We have a little bit of breathing room before the fall groups semester kicks in, so this is the time to re-examine all aspects of our systems and processes. A good place to start digging in is with your leader training.

You should never ask a volunteer to do a role that you are not going to train them for. That doesn’t mean you have to cover every aspect of leadership in an 8-week course, but you should set them up for success in those critical first weeks of their small group. As you think through your current leader training, here are three areas to make sure you are covering:

1. Training for the head

In this aspect of the training, you want to cover things they need to know about your church’s theological and doctrinal stands, and the basis for biblical leadership. This part of the training can get really deep, really fast, so choose only the aspects that are critical to a new leader in the church. The rest can come through accessible documents online or in a booklet.

2. Training for the heart 

When designing training for the heart, talk about what the new leader needs to be when it comes to group dynamics. This is a perfect place for the senior pastor to share the heart behind why the church offers small groups in the first place. Leaders should hear the “why” from the lead vision caster. This is also where you want to teach what it looks like to be a shepherd leader. You are asking these new leaders to shepherd a portion of the congregation, so they need to know what that means.

3. Training for the hands

This hits what the leader needs to do. You will focus on skill training for the first 90 days of the group in this section. Look to cover topics like: how to host an effective group meeting, how to facilitate a conversation, how to deal with a difficult group member, how to encourage your group to serve, how to handle prayer time, etc. The more practical this portion is, the better. Example role exercises can be very effective here if you have time in the training.

After you have filled in your training outline, the next decision will be what needs to be in the initial training before they launch the group, and what should be included in ongoing training. I like to take each one of these categories and list out my top five for each one. What five things do they have to know before the group starts to be successful? Everything else goes into ongoing training that takes place more informally along the way. Too much information initially will overwhelm new leaders.

So what are you going to cover with your leader training this fall?

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with over 22 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 just released by Thomas Nelson. You can follow his blog at chrissurratt.com or follow him on Twitter @chrissurratt.

Church Leadership

Three Ways to Sabbath as a Small Group Leader

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We need to develop a regular rhythm of Sabbaths to stay healthy and avoid burnout as leaders. In today’s video, Chris Surratt gives us three ways to take a Sabbath as small group leaders.

  1. We have to Sabbath weekly.

Take one day a week where you focus on prayer, God’s Word, and physically and spiritually refueling.

  1. We have to Sabbath quarterly.

At least once a quarter, take a break from leading a weekly Bible study and do something fun with your small group and family.

  1. We have to Sabbath yearly.

Just a like a yearly vacation with our families, look at taking a short vacation from your group. Leading and hosting a weekly meeting can be exhausting. Take a few weeks each year to step away from those meetings to rest and be ready for the next season with your small group.

Video Transcript

Okay, today I want to talk about how do you avoid burnout as a leader by taking regular sabbaths. You know, as small group leaders, we’re used to pouring into other people, pouring into our group members, into our group, but if we’re not careful, if we’re always being poured out but not poured into, it can easily lead to burnout and that’s not good for you, for your personal health and it’s not good for your group, so I want to talk about three ways that you can sabbath as a group leader to stay spiritually healthy.

The first way is you need a sabbath weekly. What does that look like? That’s simply taking one day every week where you’re going to focus on prayer and if you don’t have a regular rhythm of prayer at least once a week, get into prayer, get into The Word, find a plan that you can follow, maybe a devotional with some scripture. Do that hopefully every day, but at least once a week. Start that rhythm and then also resting and refueling–whatever that looks like for you. For everyone, it’s different. Maybe it’s an activity that refuels you find out whatever that activity is and try to do it as much as you can one day every single week. So we want to Sabbath weekly.

We also want to Sabbath quarterly that looks like, you know, maybe you do Bible studies every single week and you want to take maybe at the end of the study, maybe at the end of six weeks, take a week in, just celebrate and do something fun with your group so you don’t have to necessarily put together a Bible study, uh, maybe go outside of your home, maybe go somewhere and do something fun like a picnic, something easy. So you’re resting, but still spending time in community with your group. So Sabbath, quarterly, about every six to eight weeks. Do something fun, do something relaxing with your group.

And then finally we want to sabbath yearly. You know, you probably take a yearly vacation maybe with your family during the summer. Well, it’s the same concept with your group. You want to look at maybe taking a vacation actually from your group, maybe take two or three weeks during the summer or during the holiday, not have group every week and just refuel, rest, and then by the time you get back, you’re going to be revived and ready again for your small group. So follow these three things, sabbath with weekly, quarterly, yearly, and hopefully you’ll avoid burnout and be in this for the long game.

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.

Church Leadership

Five Things to Do Now Before the Fall Groups Semester

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It’s the end of May, and for most churches, that means activity for small groups is slowing down. The natural attendance slide into summer is about to commence.

Your groups may not be stopping, but they are shifting gears for the hectic summer months. This time is a great opportunity for groups to point people to spend time working on the ministry—not just in it. We need these opportunities to shift, realign, and refresh our systems.

Here is a list of five ideas and questions that you should start thinking about to prepare for the next season in groups.

  1. Lock in the theme for the fall alignment series.

Start meeting with the teaching pastors now to see where God is leading them to take the church in the fall. What can we creatively do with groups around the teaching theme?

      2. Refresh your leader’s training for new leaders in the fall semester.

It may be time to revisit how you train your new leaders. Check out ministrygrid.com for help on potential training topics. Has the culture shifted since you last built your training? Are there more effective ways to deliver the information?

      3. Build your curriculum map for groups after the fall alignment series.

Start thinking now about the next step for groups after the fall alignment series. Smallgroup.com allows you to easily design a discipleship map for your groups to follow. Where do you want groups to grow spiritually? What is a natural transition from your alignment theme?

      4. Ask current group leaders to identify possible new leaders from their groups for the fall.

Now is the time to start identifying the new leaders for the fall push. Your best recruitment will come from existing leaders tapping their group members on the shoulder. How can we help our current leaders identify and commission new hosts and leaders?

       5. Identify and start recruiting new coaches.

If you are planning on growing your groups (and I hope that you are), you are going to need coaches to help care for all of the newly recruited leaders and hosts. Now is the time to start having those conversations. Recruiting effective coaches takes time and patience. Which current leaders would be a natural fit for coaching other leaders? Are there any former leaders who are not currently leading a group, but would be great at caring for other leaders?

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 Leadership

Five Keys to Leading a Great Video-Enhanced Bible Study

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Leading a Bible study for a small group is an achievable task for most leaders. With the right preparation and curriculum, a group leader’s main goal is simply facilitating a conversation aimed at creating a discipleship experience.

On the other hand, teaching an effective Bible study is not easy, and only a few people are gifted enough teachers to exegete Scripture in an applicable, understandable way.

That is why I love having video-enhanced studies as a curriculum tool for small-group leaders. They free the leader up to focus on the discipleship conversations, while making sure the group is getting doctrinally sound teaching from teachers you can trust.

Widespread use of broadband Internet has made the video delivery easier as well. Instead of each group having to purchase a DVD, they can stream it straight from a site like smallgroup.com to their TV or computer.

But like any tool, there are a few things a leader should still do to make it a good experience for the group. Here are five tips for leading an effective video-enhanced study:

1. Watch the video ahead of time

A good leader is always one step ahead in the process so she knows how to steer the discussion in the right direction. Watching the video and going over the questions before the meeting helps you know where the finish line should be for the meeting.

2. Pre-test the tech

We can easily distract from the group experience by just assuming the video will work. Technical issues will occasionally happen no matter what, but testing it every time before the meeting will make those awkward moments rare.

3. Allow the group to process the teaching

If a leader has done his homework and pre-watched the video, then he has already processed the material and is ready to dive right into the discussion. The rest of the group, however, will need a few moments to digest what they just watched. It’s okay to let the first couple of questions hang in the air while everyone is still processing.

4. Study the Bible, not the teacher

A good video-enhanced study will lead the group to examine the Bible for answers, but it will be tempting to just discuss the best quotes from the teaching. The leader will need to always press the group to dig further into Scripture and not just rely on the video. That’s why it’s so important to have a study guide to go along with the video teaching.

5. Leave time after the video for discussion

One of the most important pieces of a successful Bible study is time management. A good leader should always keep one eye on the clock and know when to move the group to the next segment of the study. If the group spends too much time on the icebreakers, and the video is 30 minutes or longer, there will not be enough time to study the Scripture behind the teaching and discuss how to apply it to their lives.

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with more than 23 years of experience serving the local church. Chris served on the Executive Teams at Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tenn., and Seacoast Church in Charleston, S.C., prior to becoming the Discipleship and Small Groups Specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources. He is the author of Small Groups for the Rest of Us: How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes. You can follow his blog at www.chrissurratt.com.

Group Leadership

Four Things to Do With Your Group Before Summer Hits

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Easter has come and gone, and now the countdown is on for summer vacations and activities to kick in. The temptation for a lot of leaders at this point would be to mail in these last few weeks and let the group slide into June. You can avoid that natural slump by doing these four things before Memorial Day.

1. Choose a 6-week study that follows up on Easter.

Easter is always a wonderful time to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now is the perfect time to follow that celebration with a study that takes a deeper look at the impact Jesus has in our world and lives today. My small group is starting the study, Jesus Among Secular Gods, by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale. The Forgotten Jesus by Robby Gallaty would be another great study to check out.

2. Start planning fun group activities for the summer.

Just because your group may not meet every week during the summer months does not mean that you should stop meeting as a group. Take a portion of an upcoming group meeting to discuss fun things for the group to do each month during the summer. Go to a baseball game. Meet for a picnic. Go whitewater rafting. Take in the 4th of July fireworks together. The summer is a perfect time for your group to laugh and play together!

3. Start researching a summer missions opportunity for the group.

Ask one of the group members to start looking for an organization to partner with on a weekend during the summer. Your church may already have opportunities or a list of organizations you can start with. For example, volunteering to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity is a great way for your group to bond and serve your community at the same time.

4. Choose an online study to do during the summer.

Choose a study on smallgroup.com. But instead of meeting together every week for the discussion, set up a Facebook group page to go through it online. Your group members can watch the video on their own, and then post comments on the page. This will allow the group members to do the study at their own pace, but still participate in the discussion. A great study to check out is Onward, by Russell Moore. All of the videos and study guides are available at smallgroup.com.

Let’s take these last few weeks of spring and prepare our groups for a strong summer!

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 Leadership, Start New Groups

Four Reasons to Give Your Groups a Discipleship Plan

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I have a go-to low carb eating plan that I turn to whenever I sense the extra pounds starting to come back on. The diet includes mostly eating eggs and black beans every morning. I will be honest, before starting this plan I was not a raving fan of eggs and black beans. But what I had not yet discovered was how creative you can get when you are desperate. I knew the only way I was going to last longer than one week on this diet was by coming up with a variety of ways to prepare eggs and beans. However, no matter how many ways you spice it, I was still only eating eggs and beans. Every day. That might be great for the short-term gain, but it’s not exactly a balanced, healthy diet.

In the same way, our small groups are not going to be their healthiest without a balanced spiritual diet. Our goal should be to create mature disciples who make disciples, and the best way to achieve this is by offering our groups a well-rounded discipleship plan to follow throughout the year.

Here are four reasons to provide a balanced curriculum plan for your group leaders to follow.

1. They know what to study next.

Research for the book Transformational Groups found that 75% of group leaders want more direction from church leaders when it comes to their groups. The majority do not have the time or the ability to choose the best studies for their groups. They often feel burdened by and unprepared for the task of setting a course for discipleship. They are grateful to have a plan to follow that is taking their group somewhere spiritually and purposefully.

2. It drives members toward spiritual maturity.

Paul compels us to seek maturity in Hebrews 6:1: “Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity…”

J. Oswald Sanders said that the correct sense of the verb in this passage is, “Let us continue progressing toward maturity.” In other words, maturity will not occur overnight. There is not one event or moment—or Bible study—that will make us mature Christians. It happens slowly through a growing knowledge of Jesus and Scripture, and the way to get there is through intentional study after intentional study with a small group of believers.

3. It helps assure sound theology.

Groupthink can quickly lead to bad theology. Not every leader will be mature enough to just open Scripture and exegete it correctly for the group. They need doctrinally sound content to keep the group on the true path. Not every published study is created equal, so we have to be diligent in what we put in our leaders’ curriculum toolbox.

4. It helps raise up new leaders.

If you are looking for new leaders for your groups (and we all are), the best way to develop them is through existing groups. After following a balanced discipleship plan for a year, they will be ready to step out and guide others along the same path.

This is why LifeWay has developed a Balanced Discipleship Plan for group leaders to follow. Throughout the course of a year, they will choose studies from seven categories—Foundational Discipleship, Bible Book or Character, Doctrine, Real Life Issues, Identity, Mission, and Community—that will ultimately move them toward spiritual maturity.

It’s time to stop just eating scrambled eggs every day. Let’s help our groups get healthy through a balanced plan.

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 Leadership, Start New Groups

Capturing the Momentum of Easter for Groups

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The timing of Easter Sunday this year provides a unique opportunity for small groups. When Easter is later on the calendar, it’s difficult for newly formed groups to get traction before the summer vacations start after Memorial Day. An April 1st Easter Sunday leaves two full months, and that’s plenty of time for a group to begin to build community. Here are four things you can do to capture the Easter momentum and create new groups that will thrive.

1. Recruit new leaders on Palm Sunday. 

Make an announcement that you are looking for leaders and hosts to launch new groups the week after Easter for unconnected people coming next Sunday. This call should emphasize the vision of community and discipleship for everyone in your church. Make sure that you have turbo-type training ready for the new leaders.

2. Choose an easy-to-use 6-week study for new groups.

You can choose one from this list, or sign-up for a 30-day preview of smallgroup.com. There are over 3000 studies to choose from on smallgroup.com, and many of them are video-enhanced, 6-week studies. You may also want to build custom sermon-based studies with smallgroup.com to go along with the sermon series. It’s always a good idea to start a new series on Easter to give people a reason to come back the next week.

3. Only announce the next sermon series and small groups on Easter.

With that many people in the room, it’s tempting to announce everything that you do as a church. Resist that temptation and only announce what the next series is and how people can get connected in groups. Truthfully, most people will be thinking about Easter lunch at the end of the service, so they will only have an attention span for one or two announcements. Make those the most important initiatives they need to hear: what they will learn if they come back, and how they can get connected in community.

4. Have a summer plan ready for groups.

You don’t want your new groups to cease to exist when vacations start, so plan to follow up with them the last week of April. They don’t have to continue meeting every week, but this is not the time to disband as a group. Give them ideas for doing something fun and missional through the next two months. That will help keep the new community going.

With some quick planning and recruiting, you can launch new small groups that will build on the excitement and momentum of Easter. 

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 Leadership, Start New Groups

The Top Five Questions Every Small Group Leader Has

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Every small group leader has questions. Most have lots of questions. It can be intimidating to take on the leadership of a group, but you can be assured that (almost) every small group leader has the same doubts, concerns, and questions that you do. The second that we as leaders think we have it all figured out is when we should stop being leaders. I have discovered that the best leaders always have questions—and they’re not afraid to ask them.

Here are five questions that I hear small group leaders asking the most.

1. How much Bible knowledge do I need to have?

This is a natural question to ask as you begin to lead a biblical community. It’s also the number one question that keeps many people from taking on leadership of a small group. The simple answer is: just be one step ahead of the members of the group. You obviously want to always grow in your biblical knowledge, but leading a small group should not require a seminary degree. Follow your church’s leader training, and know where the study is taking the group before the meeting. That will help you feel confident as you facilitate the Bible study.

2. How much training do I need before I start?

There is basic group leading knowledge that you will want to know before you start your group, and information that you will obtain as you lead the group. The logistics of starting a group, facilitating a discussion, and your church’s theology and philosophy around groups will need to studied prior to launching. Almost everything else will be learned on the job. Never be afraid to turn to a pastor or church staff leader for help on difficult situations that might come up during the life of the group.

3. How do I choose a study?

Choosing an effective, gospel-centered Bible study is critical. There are thousands of studies to choose from, so it’s easy to achieve decision paralysis when picking one out. Here are a five guidelines to help make the choice a little easier.

A good study is:

  1. Rooted in Scripture. Make sure the study points to the Scripture and not the author for the answers.
  2. Focused on Christ. Every study must ultimately point to the gospel message of the cross.
  3. Flexible for groups. You should be able to make a study work in the unique culture of your small group.
  4. Empowering for the leader. You should feel confident leading the discussion.
  5. Crafted with a purpose. Where is the study taking the group? Every study should be designed to help group members live out the principles taught during the study.

4. How do I facilitate a great discussion?

The goal of a small group leader is not to teach a lesson, but to walk the group members through a facilitated discussion of the Bible study. Here are a few rules of thumb when it comes to facilitating a good discussion:

  • Only talk 30% of the time. That will help assure that everyone has an opportunity to enter the conversation.
  • Know the finish line of the discussion. A good Bible study will end on application.
  • Always land on what the Bible says. Be careful of personal opinions or group think when it comes to major issues. Always bring the group back to what the Scriptures say about the topic.
  • Be okay with saying “I don’t know.” The group will not expect you to have all of the answers, and it’s healthier for the group and the discussion if some lines of conversation are closed until more information can be gathered.

5. What if they don’t like me?

Although we want to get along with everyone in the group, it will be impossible to be every group member’s best friend. In fact, trying to be would not be healthy for you or the group members. Look for two-to-three same gender members that you can personally disciple, then help other group members connect to each other outside of group time.

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 Leadership

Five Things to Do When There’s a Breakup in Your Group

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Dealing with the aftermath of a broken relationship within a small group can be extremely tricky for a leader. It would be easy for group members to choose sides and splinter the group. But the way the leader responds will set the direction of health and reconciliation for the couple—and the group.

Here are five things a leader should do when a breakup happens:

  1. Do not take sides.
    The leader’s and members’ roles are to love both people unconditionally. Taking sides will guarantee a split in the group.
  1. Guide the couple toward professional counseling.
    The leader or members should not take on the role of mediator between the couple. Talk to a pastor at the church about where to point the couple for biblical counseling.
  1. Help them find new groups.
    If it’s impossible for them to stay in the current group, work with the church leadership to find a group where they can begin to heal.
  1. Be honest and open with the group.
    Rumors and speculation will destroy the trust of the group. If there are members who are personally affected by the situation, meet with them individually outside of the normal group meeting time. It might be best to offer to meet with one of the church pastors at this point.
  1. Allow God to strengthen relationships in the group.
    Satan wants nothing more than to destroy marriages and relationships, and he will use this opportunity to plant seeds of distrust. Use this time to help couples in the group rededicate themselves to God and to each other. This is an ideal time to take the group through a good relationship study like this one.

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.