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Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 109: Darrin Patrick

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Darrin Patrick about community and accountability.

Darrin Patrick is a teaching pastor at Seacoast Church. He is the founding pastor of The Journey Church and is the author of multiple books including the Dude’s Guide to Marriage.

Darrin is the former chaplain to the St. Louis Cardinals and former vice-president of the Acts 29 church planting network. He has appeared in the New York Times, The Today Show and Fox and Friends for his innovative approach to reaching the un-reached.

Darrin is married to Amie and they have four children. He enjoys reading, writing and coaching his kid’s sports teams.

Questions:

  • From the outside, you were a very successful pastor, chaplain of the Cardinals, head of a church network. What was happening on the inside during all of this?
  • What did community and accountability look like for you when career and reputation were at the perceived peak?
  • What happened when those friendships were suddenly gone?
  • In the sense of accountability and community, is there a limit to the number of people you really want to be in contact with?
  • What role did having healthy community around you play in your eventual restoration?
  • What advice would you give to leaders who may be heading down the same path that you were on?

Quotes:

  • My ministry was growing, but my soul wasn’t growing.
  • What really brought me back was community, and I’ll never do ministry without that again.
  • Ultimately, I wasn’t willing to slow down the pace to develop those relationships.
  • Always err on the side of reaching out.
  • It was like God said, “I’m perfecting you through this imperfect process.”
  • You’re moving into that “sage” stage and having a hard time moving on from “warrior.”
  • A lot of leaders have failed to develop those soft-side leadership skills, and it’s mainly related to them not engaging their emotional life.
  • We’re really good at following Jesus as God, but we’re not good at following Jesus as man.

This Episode’s Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources 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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 108: Reid Patton on Asking Good Questions

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Reid Patton about how to ask good questions when facilitating a Bible study.

Reid Patton is a Content Editor for the Short-Term Discipleship Team at LifeWay Christian Resources. 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, watching NBA Basketball and Auburn Football, and going to record stores. You can find him on Twitter @jreidpatton.

Questions:

  • If I’m using a pre-written curriculum, how can I make the most out of those questions?
  • What types of questions invite conversation?
  • How should I structure the questions in my group?
  • How would you sum up the big questions small groups should answer?

Quotes:

As someone who writes Bible studies, I don’t know your group better than you do.

I would rather give someone more than they need than less than they need.

The open question is far superior to the closed question.

There are going to be three types of questions in every Bible study: observational, interpretive, and application-based. A good Bible study will balance between those three types of questions.

The three big questions are what? so what? and now what? What does the Bible say? So what do we do with that, why does that matter? Now what do we do with it?

A holistic approach to the text will give you a holistic disciple.

This Episode’s Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources 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.

 

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 107: Ken Braddy on Group Leader Training

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Ken Braddy about developing consistent and effective training for group leaders. Other than serving as the manager for LifeWay’s ongoing adult Bible studies, Ken is an 18-year church education staff leader and blogs regularly about Sunday School and groups ministry at kenbraddy.com. His new book is Breathing Life into Sunday School.

Outline for Leader Training

  1. Right Timing
  • Frequency
    • Georgia Bapt. Convention’s Research Findings
      • No training: -2%
      • Weekly: +6%
      • Monthly: +13.4%
      • Quarterly: +13.8%
      • Annually: +4%
  • Day of week
    • Friday night
    • Saturday AM
    • Sunday afternoon
      • Noon-2:00PM
      • 3-5PM
    • Midweek (Wed.)
    • Sunday AM (“time shift”)
  • Overall length
    • 1 hour
    • 90 minutes
    • 2 hours
    • Ongoing training: shorter
    • Infrequent training:  longer
  1. Right Topic
  • 4 general categories
    • Teaching/Leading
    • Reaching/evangelism
    • Relationships/fellowship
    • Service/inside and outside the church
  • Sunday School Matters topics (good, easy to use resource)
    • Teaching matters
    • New groups matter
    • Evangelism matters
    • Souls matter
    • Ministry matters
    • Growth matters
    • Etc…
  1. Right Touch
  • Arrive early
    • Set up room
    • Check a/v equipment, temperature, supplies
    • Set up the room for collaborative learning
      • Sit in a circle or in a “U” so people can see faces (increases conversation)
  • Start/end on time!
  • Quality counts
    • Excellence is an attention to the detail
      • Handouts, candies, extra pens, nametags, etc.
  • Don’t ask people to come and then make announcements that you could have emailed them!
  • Teach/train with variety (engage your group leaders)
    • Demonstrate a variety of effective teaching techniques
    • Make the training active! No “sit and soak”
      • Attendees should talk and participate at least as much as you do
  • Tie the training to your church’s mission/values

Win five copies of Leading Small Groups by Chris Surratt by Tweeting or Facebooking a suggested show topic and tagging @LifeWayGroups!

This Episode’s Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources 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.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 106: Bobby Gruenewald

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Bobby Gruenewald about the Bible and technology.

Bobby Gruenewald serves as Pastor, Innovation Leader at Life.Church and is the founder of the YouVersion Bible App, which has been installed in every country of the world. As one of the leading voices in the Church on innovation and the use of technology, Bobby has been featured in The New York Times, TechCrunch, CNN, and more. Prior to joining the Life.Church team in 2001, he started and sold two technology companies as well as served in advisory capacities for various startups and venture capital funds. Bobby and his wife, Melissa, live in Edmond, Oklahoma with their four children.

Questions:

  • Tell us about your journey from rapper/entrepreneur to pastor.
  • What was the impetus behind creating YouVersion?
  • Why do you think people struggle with consistent engagement with the Bible?
  • What do you say to people who have issues with others reading the Bible digitally?
  • The opportunity for community is built into the YouVersion app. How can small groups take advantage of it to encourage and challenge each other?
  • How can Bible Plans help people engage with the Bible on a deeper level?
  • What is next for technology and the Church?

Quotes:

We were beginning to connect with Scripture more consistently in places we had not done that before.

It’s been a sprint of us racing to keep up with what God’s doing.

For many people, I think the Bible is a bit intimidating.

There are some things about technology that give some new opportunities for people to experience Scripture in different formats that have been very helpful for people in their consistency and their engagement.

The Bible has changed formats many times over the last few thousand years.

There are many people today who still cannot read Scripture in their own heart language.

It’s difficult today to have meaningful conversations around Scripture in some of the more public social media environments. We wanted to create a safe place for that conversation to take place.

We just see technology as a tool that can be used for the Gospel.

Church leaders need to be asking the right questions.

Sometimes the most effective thing to do is write it on a piece of paper.

This Episode’s Sponsor: Feeling unequipped for marriage ministry? Woo Marriage is here to help. Backed by research and designed with your church in mind, Woo Marriage provides Christ-centered marriage coaching for your entire church. Get your first month free with offer code LEADERSHIP at WooMarriage.com/FreeTrial.

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 105: The Making of a Bible Study

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On this episode of Group Answers, the guys discuss Brian and Joel’s recent journey to the Himalayas to produce the Bible study, Something Needs to Change. During this trip, Pastor David Platt was stunned by the human needs he encountered, an experience so dramatic that it “changed the trajectory of my life.”

This Episode’s Sponsor: Feeling unequipped for marriage ministry? Woo Marriage is here to help. Backed by research and designed with your church in mind, Woo Marriage provides Christ-centered marriage coaching for your entire church. Get your first month free with offer code LEADERSHIP at WooMarriage.com/FreeTrial.

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: How to Gather, Launch, Lead and Multiply your Small Group.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 104: Secular Disciple Makers

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian, Chris, and Brandon discuss secular disciple makers and what we can learn from them as we become better disciple makers for Jesus.

Secular Disciple Makers Discussed:

  • MaryKay Ash
  • Steve Jobs
  • Phil Knight
  • Elon Musk
  • Steph Curry
  • Lebron James
  • Walt Disney

This Episode’s Sponsor: Feeling unequipped for marriage ministry? Woo Marriage is here to help. Backed by research and designed with your church in mind, Woo Marriage provides Christ-centered marriage coaching for your entire church. Get your first month free with offer code LEADERSHIP at WooMarriage.com/FreeTrial.

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: How to Gather, Launch, Lead and Multiply your Small Group.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 103: Reid Smith on Soul Care

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brandon talk to Reid Smith about the importance of soul care for ourselves and the leaders we serve.

Reid Smith serves as the Director of Communities of Purpose for the Small Group Network and has been a Pastor of Groups at Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach County, FL since 2008. He has been equipping leaders in churches of all sizes and stages of growth for effective disciple-making since 1996. Reid has been a contributing author for Christianity Today’s smallgroups.com, LifeWay’s Ministry Grid, and he developed small group training for the North American Mission Board’s Send Network. One of the ways he expresses his love for helping leaders start and multiply healthy groups throughout their churches is through www.reidsmith.org.

Questions asked:

  • Ministry isn’t easy. 80% of pastors feel discouraged (more so for their spouses!), 71% of pastors stated they were burned out and battle depression on a weekly, even daily basis. Only 1 out of 10 ministers actually retire as a minister. Soul-care is obviously vital. What, in essence, is “soul-care”?
  • Practically-speaking, how can we be proactive about our own soul-care to ensure we’re healthy and effective in ministry for the long-haul?
  • What are the biggest threats to soul-care and how do you overcome them?
  • What’s most challenging for you in your personal soul-care?
  • What do you look for in potential coaches?
  • Many leaders see the value of coaching, but they’ve had a hard time making it work. Why do you think that is?
  • Give us a picture of success. Ideally, what does healthy coaching look like? How do you encourage it?

Quotes:

If you have been in ministry for some time, you have probably battled with burnout or depression.

Soul care is addressing a person’s inner world that is largely hidden from other people.

When we are spiritually healthy, our ministry can be sustainable and strong.

Bring others around you that will be lifting you up in prayer.

The enemy wants to take you and your family out.

Replenish yourself on a regular basis. Find out what fills your tank and do it.

Don’t try to please everyone and do everything yourself.

I have to constantly remind myself of things that are true.

The second time that I got run down, I didn’t feel it.

Coaches are the lynchpin for knowing that your group life is healthy.

Relationships have to take priority over the reporting.

This Episode’s Sponsor: Feeling unequipped for marriage ministry? Woo Marriage is here to help. Backed by research and designed with your church in mind, Woo Marriageprovides Christ-centered marriage coaching for your entire church. Get your first month free with offer code LEADERSHIP at WooMarriage.com/FreeTrial.

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: How to Gather, Launch, Lead and Multiply your Small Group.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 102: Dhati Lewis

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Pastor Dhati Lewis about discipleship in an urban context.

Dhati Lewis is the Lead Pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta, Georgia and the Executive Director of Community Restoration with the North American Mission Board. He was born and raised in California and later moved to Texas where he completed his undergraduate studies from the University of North Texas. He later earned his master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and his Doctorate of Ministry in Great Commission Mobilization from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

During his time in Texas, he started a college ministry, served as a chaplain to UNTs football team, coached high-school football, became a college pastor, and eventually planted a church. In all these years of ministry, Dhati became increasingly burdened to see healthy disciple-making churches in the city. This burden grew until the Lord gave Dhati a clear vision to plant a church-planting church in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2009, Dhati, along with twenty-five others, moved to Atlanta with the goal to become the last generation of believers who have to leave the urban context in search of sound discipleship.

Dhati is is most passionate about making disciples, equipping urban leaders, and loving his family. He is the author of both the Bible Study and book, Among Wolves: Disciple Making in the City.

Questions asked:

  • What have you learned about disciple-making within an urban environment?
  • What has been most challenging for Blueprint in developing such a unique group ministry?
  • In addition to pastoring Blueprint Church in Atlanta, you are also the VP of the Send Network at NAMB. What is the aim of Send when it comes to equipping churches for discipling their cities?
  • Tell us about the four D’s strategy that your church uses in its discipleship strategy.
  • How do your missional communities use the Venn Diagram of God’s Story, Your Story, Our Story, and The City’s Story?
  • I understand that you have a wall with every church member’s name on it and how they are connected to a missional community. How did that start, and how is it used on a regular basis?

Quotes:

We wanted to be a church that plants churches.

Our part of the city is the cornerstone of gentrification in the south.

A call to membership is a call to discipleship.

Discipleship is not a ministry, it is the ministry.

The misconception is that Christianity has been reduced to conferences, concerts, and church services.

When you create environments where everyone belongs and matters, then they are bringing their giftedness.

We tend to go find the latest book or resource and copy and paste in the church.

God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

This Episode’s Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why LifeWay created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 101: Jared Musgrove

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Jared Musgrove about how small groups are changing at The Village Church.

Dr. Jared Steven Musgrove is Groups Pastor and an elder serving The Village Church in Flower Mound TX where he orchestrates Home Groups & Recovery Groups. He earned his B.A. in journalism from The University of Oklahoma, his Master of Divinity in preaching from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his Doctorate of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has directed small group discipleship environments in parachurch and local church contexts for over 16 years.

Jared is a contributor to For The Church, Baptist21.com, PreachingSource.com,and LifeWay Groups and serves on boards for Southwestern Seminary and Beta Upsilon Chi. He teaches regularly on groups ministry in various venues, but particularly through the Community Leadership Cohort for groups and discipleship pastors. He is the author of the forthcoming small group guide to B&H Academic’s Superheroes Can’t Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies. Jared is most of all the proud husband of Jenny and father of Jordan and Joshua. You can follow him on Twitter at @jsmusgrove and find out more about the Community Leadership Cohort at leadershipcohort.org.

Questions asked:

  • What is changing in Groups ministry at The Village these days as opposed to what you guys have done for the last 15 years?
  • What biblically clicked for you a few years ago in regard to small groups? Particularly being on staff at a mega-, multisite church?
  • Tell us about the Community Leadership Cohort you guys are starting. What makes it different?

Quotes:

Multisite kind of happened to us and we jumped on that train.

The goal for multisite for us was these campuses would eventually become autonomous churches. It was a long-term church planting strategy.

We decided to collaborate together and send these brand new campuses off in style. It was great for us in groups.

Jesus ministered almost exclusively in homes as he got closer to the crucifixion.

The calling of Abraham in Genesis 12 led to small groups who were ministering to one another.

Those 59 one another passages come up informed by Jesus, taught by the apostles, and have missional output.

You have to have a place to learn your Bible, and you have to have a place to live your Bible. That is in our Home Groups.

This Episode’s Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why LifeWay created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 100: Rick Howerton

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On this special anniversary episode of Group Answers, Chris, Brian, Brandon, and special guest Rick Howerton, talk about the history and future of the Group Answers podcast.

This Episode’s Sponsor: One of the greatest predictors of a disciple’s spiritual growth is regular Bible reading. That’s why LifeWay created the Daily Discipleship Guide. To download four free sessions of the Daily Discipleship Guide, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/DDG.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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