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Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 129: The Story Behind the Study Part 1

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian, Chris, and Joel, talk about the story behind the making of the Bible study, The Life of a Jesus Follower by Vance Pitman.

Resources:

The Bible Study Book

The Leader Kit

Episode Sponsor:

Blackbaud Church Management connects your staff and congregation, ensuring deeper relationships and effective ministry. To see how to connect your church community with one holistic system, visit hello.blackbaud.com/blackbaudchurchmanagement.
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.
Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 128: Spiritual Practices in Your Group – Bible Study

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Dwayne McCrary about encouraging group members to study the Bible during and after group meetings. Dwayne is a project team leader for ongoing adult Bible study resources at LifeWay, including the adult Explore the Bible resources. He also teaches an adult group and preschool group every Sunday in the church he attends, and serves as an adjunct at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Questions:

  • I’ve heard you say that you deliver the group BIble study resource to each group member every quarter. Why is that so important?
  • What can we do when actually leading the group time to encourage Bible study?

Episode Sponsor

Blackbaud Church Management connects your staff and congregation, ensuring deeper relationships and effective ministry. To see how to connect your church community with one holistic system, visit hello.blackbaud.com/blackbaudchurchmanagement.

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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 127: Spiritual Practices in Your Group – Prayer

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Ken Braddy about best practices for implementing prayer in your group time. Ken serves as the Manager of Adult Ongoing Bible Studies at LifeWay Christian Resources. He manages the work of the editorial teams that create all of the ongoing Bible studies that  LifeWay produces for  adults: Bible Studies For Life, Explore The Bible, MasterWork, The Gospel Project, YOU, and other curriculum.Ken is also the new Director of Sunday School for LifeWay, and the author of Breathing Life Into Sunday School, released on April 15, 2019.

Questions:

  • What would you hope to see and hear in a group’s prayer time?
  • You lead a Bible study group yourself…what have you discovered about ways to help the group pray, and still allow time for Bible study?
  • What other things have you learned about leading a group to pray?

Quotes:

From David Francis’ book, Connect 3, the evolution of prayer in a group: Class, Community, Commission.

Where you would like to see groups go in prayer is to the commission level. They realize they  have the ability to impact people’s lives through sharing the Gospel with others.

Leaders can influence the group by asking for prayer for their gospel conversations with others.

An idea for managing the prayer request time: write requests as they come in on a whiteboard.

Make sure that requests are assigned to group members, or they may not get prayed for.

We will occasionally email out the list on the board and ask members to pray over them this week.

Folks will pray in smaller groups of three and four who would never pray in the bigger group of sixteen.

Episode Sponsor

Blackbaud Church Management connects your staff and congregation, ensuring deeper relationships and effective ministry. To see how to connect your church community with one holistic system, visit hello.blackbaud.com/blackbaudchurchmanagement.

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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 126: Group Killers – Relationship Breakups

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Eddie talk about what to do if there is a relationship breakup in your group. Eddie Mosley is the Adult Minister of Groups at Brentwood Baptist Church. Eddie is author of Connecting in Communities, Understanding the Dynamics of Small Groups and various other articles on practical approaches to reaching people for Bible study.  He is a sought-after speaker for small group ministry as well as neighborhood impact.  His passion is to help leaders develop a strategy to implement Small Groups that build community and impact their communities. Eddie completed an M.Div degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min degree at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Ideas Discussed:

  • Do not take sides. 
  • Help them find new groups. 
  • Be honest and open with the group. 
  • Allow God to strengthen relationships in the group. 

Episode Sponsor

Blackbaud Church Management connects your staff and congregation, ensuring deeper relationships and effective ministry. To see how to connect your church community with one holistic system, visit hello.blackbaud.com/blackbaudchurchmanagement.

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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 125: Group Killers – People Not Returning

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Eddie talk about how to make sure people want to come back to your group a second time. Eddie Mosley is the Adult Minister of Groups at Brentwood Baptist Church. Eddie is author of Connecting in Communities, Understanding the Dynamics of Small Groups and various other articles on practical approaches to reaching people for Bible study.  He is a sought-after speaker for small group ministry as well as neighborhood impact.  His passion is to help leaders develop a strategy to implement Small Groups that build community and impact their communities. Eddie completed an M.Div degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min degree at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Reasons Discussed:

  • The group has been together for a while and it’s hard to see a place to fit in. 
  • There is no time invested in building community. 
  • There is no intentionality behind the studies chosen. 
  • The leader dominates the discussion. 
  • The leader is unprepared for the group meeting. 

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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 124: Group Killers – Holidays

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian, Chris, and Brandon, discuss how holidays can kill a small group.

Ideas for groups during holidays:

  • Serve a local missions organization.
  • Do an online study together.
  • Plan a pre-Thanksgiving alternative meal.
  • Plan an early December Christmas party and then take a break.
  • Get your first meeting in January on the calendar.

Quotes:

Breaks can kill your group.

Most people don’t look forward to the months with heavy winters.

An exhale can become a permanent hiatus for some members.

Anytime you get out of the rhythm of meeting, it’s hard to get it back together again.

Not ending your group well, and starting back well, can hurt your group.

Think of your group as family and friends. You want to spend time with them during breaks.

Schedule parties and get togethers as early as possible in the month, and then take a break from meeting every week.

Letting people know that it is the end, helped our group. Everyone in our group showed up for the Christmas party.

Don’t try to get back together too early in January.

We roll out the schedule for December in August.

This Episode’s Sponsor: Every church must be equipped to respond well in the initial stages of learning about instances of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. That is why the Southern Baptist Convention, LifeWay, and ERLC partnered together to create Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused. This training curriculum of a handbook and 13 videos brings together top experts from various fields to help volunteers and leaders understand and implement the best practices for handling the variety of abuse scenarios at church, school, or ministry. You can access this free training at ChurchCares.com.

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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 123: Group Killers – Gossip

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian, Chris, and Brandon, discuss how gossip can kill a small group if it is not addressed early and quickly.

Ideas to head off gossip:

  • Include a confidentiality clause in the group covenant.
  • Recognize when a prayer need is turning into gossip.
  • Continually remind the members of the group’s mission.
  • Ask a member to leave the group as a last resort.

Quotes:

Gossip can sometimes creep into group and kill it.

Gossip has been around as long as there has been people.

Prayer request time is fertile ground for gossip.

You can sometimes eliminate personal names to help eliminate gossip during prayer.

Personal gossip is where you just want to talk about yourself.

The formal definition of gossip could be categorized as a lie.

When you agree what the group is about, it allows you to shape the group to be Word centered.

Helping someone change community, can get them into a new culture and impact their behavior.

This Episode’s Sponsor: Every church must be equipped to respond well in the initial stages of learning about instances of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. That is why the Southern Baptist Convention, LifeWay, and ERLC partnered together to create Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused. This training curriculum of a handbook and 13 videos brings together top experts from various fields to help volunteers and leaders understand and implement the best practices for handling the variety of abuse scenarios at church, school, or ministry. You can access this free training at ChurchCares.com.

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.

 

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 122: Ben Mandrell

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk with LifeWay’s newly elected 10th President, Ben Mandrell. Ben had served as lead pastor of Storyline Fellowship in Arvada, CO since its founding in 2014. A native of Tampico, Ill. , Mandrell graduated from Anderson (Ind.) University in 1998. He also holds a Master of Divinity degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. , and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Union University. Mandrell and his wife, Lynley, have been married 18 years. The couple has four children: Ava (15), Max (14), Miles (12) and Jack (11).

Quotes:

Our lives are a blank check, and God can rewrite that check at any moment.

It’s when I step off the cliff and trust God that I have grown the most.

Let’s talk about health, because healthy things grow.

Invite people into your life and not into a location.

Evangelism is friendship and caring for people at a deeper level.

We just tried to listen to culture and respond to it.

There are a lot of different ways to do small groups.

In Denver, people loved the authenticity of being in people’s homes.

The practical side of ministry is what younger people are longing to be taught in.

How do we create more life-on-life, with solid content, where people can learn and grow together?

When you set a group free to have conversation around the Bible, it’s going to get messy.

The relationship between our Groups Pastor and group leaders was super important.

Process eliminates the need for heroics.

There are moments in my life where I have allowed fear to overwhelm me.

I am learning more-and-more to embrace fear. Hard is the normal in the Christian life.

Books Mentioned:

Accidental Creative by Todd Henry

Getting Things Done by David Allen

This Episode’s Sponsor: Every church must be equipped to respond well in the initial stages of learning about instances of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. That is why the Southern Baptist Convention, LifeWay, and ERLC partnered together to create Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused. This training curriculum of a handbook and 13 videos brings together top experts from various fields to help volunteers and leaders understand and implement the best practices for handling the variety of abuse scenarios at church, school, or ministry. You can access this free training at ChurchCares.com.

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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 121: Elizabeth Hyndman

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris welcome Elizabeth Hyndman on to discuss women’s and single’s small groups and Bible study resources. Elizabeth reads, writes, and tweets. Officially, she’s a Content Editor. She managed to find a job where she uses both her English undergraduate and her seminary graduate degrees every day. Elizabeth grew up in Nashville, sips chai lattes every chance she can get, and believes everyone should have a “funny picture” pose at the ready.

Questions:

1. Elizabeth, you’re single and vocationally you develop Bible studies. What have you found to be unique about being single as it relates to group life, group Bible study development, and your own personal experiences in group life?
2. What three — let’s call them values — have you found to be distinct about group life in women’s ministry? These would be the values that you always look for as an editor.
3. How have you seen Bible study development evolve over the course of your tenure?
4. You actually write Bible studies. When you sit down to write, how do you tend to frame the user experience? Maybe better put, how do you create an experience that takes a group member from the beginning to the desired destination?
5. What have you noticed as the most common mistake by a small-group leader?
6. If you could give one piece of advice to the small-group leaders that are listening, what would it be?

This Episode’s Sponsor: Every church must be equipped to respond well in the initial stages of learning about instances of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. That is why the Southern Baptist Convention, LifeWay, and ERLC partnered together to create Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused. This training curriculum of a handbook and 13 videos brings together top experts from various fields to help volunteers and leaders understand and implement the best practices for handling the variety of abuse scenarios at church, school, or ministry. You can access this free training at ChurchCares.com.

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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 120: Dave Shroeder on Bible Studies vs Book Clubs

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On this episode of Group Answer, Brian and Chris welcome Dave Shroeder on to discuss Bible studies vs book clubs, and reading books in community. Dave is the marketing leader for B&H Books and cohost of the Table of (Mal)Contents Podcast.

Questions:

  1. What are the differences between a Bible study and a book club?
  2. Should people be in both?
  3. Should a church small group ever do a book study instead of a Bible study?
  4. What level of community can you achieve in a book group?
  5. What makes a successful book group?
  6. What books would you recommend for a small group to consider?
Articles referenced:

This Episode’s Sponsor: You’ve probably heard about the movie OVERCOMER. But you may not know there are a few books and Bible studies inspired by the film. One is called Defined by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick, which is a book and Bible study based on insights from the Book of Ephesians. You can find these books and Bible studies at LifeWay.com/Overcomer.

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.

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