LifeWay

Group Ministry

Conversations on Group Practices

Group Answers Podcast, Uncategorized

Group Answers Episode 73: Dealing with Difficult People

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:41 — 49.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On today’s episode, Chris, Brian, and Brandon talk about how to deal with difficult people in your group.

Questions

  • What constitutes a difficult person in a group?
  • What steps should you take with that person?
  • At what point do you ask that person to leave the group?
  • What if you are dealing with a toxic small group?
  • When is it ok to disband a whole group?

Quotes

We can misconstrue what is difficult for someone who is just a strong personality.

You have to have an awareness and availability to deal with bigger issues.

The difficult member can be someone who confesses the same sin every week.

Ask the question: How are you growing in your joy in Jesus in this area that keeps coming up?

Always start with “Yes, I am a sinner.” There are no non-sinners in that conversation.

Ask the person to help you understand where they are coming from first.

Ask yourself if you’ve done a good job of establishing what the vision of the group is.

No one should feel like a hero and bear something they are not ready to bear.

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

Group Answers Podcast, Uncategorized

Group Answers Episode 72: Holidays with Groups

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:55 — 42.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On today’s episode, Chris, Brian, and Michael discuss how to navigate the holiday season successfully with your group.

Quotes:

Halloween is great time to get to know your neighbors.

The holiday season can be a small group killer.

You have to be intentional with what you’re going to do during the holidays.

You want to avoid doing something just for the sake of doing something.

You have to have a sense of reality and clarity when it comes to your group during this time.

The holidays are great time for discipleship. There’s a natural vibe in culture to focus on the things of God.

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

Group Answers Podcast, Uncategorized

Group Answers Episode 70: Power Ranking Discipleship Books

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:11 — 44.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On today’s episode, Chris, Brian, and Michael power rank their top five discipleship books.

Final Top Five:

  1. The Cost of Discipleship
  2. Transformational Discipleship
  3. Knowing God
  4. A Call to Spiritual Reformation
  5. Real Life Discipleship

Michael’s Top Five:

  1. Knowing God
  2. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
  3. The Cost of Discipleship
  4. Abiding in Christ
  5. Multiply

Brian’s Top Five:

  1. A Call to Spiritual Reformation
  2. The Divine Conspiracy
  3. What Jesus Demands from the World
  4. Sacred Romance
  5. Tie: The Trellis and the Vine/ Transformational Discipleship

Chris’ Top Five:

  1. Real Life Discipleship
  2. The Cost of Discipleship
  3. Small Groups with Purpose
  4. Transformational Discipleship
  5. Growing Up

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

Church Leadership, Group Leadership, Uncategorized
Church Leadership, Group Leadership, Uncategorized

Last Chance to Register for Free Small Groups Webinar

By

Hey everyone, my name is Chris Surratt and I am the Small Group and Discipleship Specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources, and author of Small Groups for the Rest of Us, and Gospel-Centered Small Groups. I am super excited to let you know about a small groups webinar that I will be hosting on October 9th, 2018 at 11AM Central. Our panelists: Steve Gladen from Saddleback Church, Heather Zempel from National Community Church, and Bill Willits from North Point Community Church, will be discussing how to have effective small groups in the modern church. At a time when churches are giving up on, or moving away from, offering small groups, how are these three trend-setting churches continuing to produce life-changing and disciple-making groups for not only just church members, but for people outside of the church as well? And, the best part about this webinar? It’s completely free! Just hit the registration link on this video and join us for one hour on Tuesday, October 9th at 11am to learn about producing effective small groups in the modern church.

 

Thursday Giveaway, Uncategorized

Thursday Giveaway: The Gospel Project

By

Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from The Gospel Project: Unit 2, Session 2—God Foreshadows His Promise. Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, September 21st at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win this free resource!

God Foreshadows His Promise

Read Genesis 22:1-14 and Hebrews 11:17-19.

When we read this chapter, we have to be careful not to sterilize it. We can do that at times as we read the Scriptures. We sometimes forget that these were real people with real feelings. Yes, Abraham trusted God. Yes, he had faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead. But that did not diminish the pain he must have felt.

In seeking to follow through with God’s bizarre and seemingly cruel instruction, Abraham held the knife above Isaac, but then the angel called out. Mercifully, the test was over. Abraham had proven his faithfulness. It was evident that Abraham feared God because he was willing to let go of his beloved son. And in not holding anything back from God, Abraham revealed who was most valuable to him—God.

God prevented Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, but then He provided a substitute sacrifice in his place. So Abraham named that place after a foundational truth he had witnessed there—“The Lord Will Provide.” And this foreshadows the promise of the gospel; this is what God did for us with His Son.

Why was Abraham able to tell the two servants that he and his son would return? Why was he able to tie his only son, his beloved son, and lay him on top of the altar? Why was he able to lift a knife, ready to spill Isaac’s blood? What made such surrender to God possible was Abraham’s faith that He can do the impossible: Abraham believed that God could raise his son from the dead.

Figuratively speaking, Isaac was raised from the dead, but historically speaking, Jesus was raised from the dead. Abraham believed God and received his son back, having passed his test. Christians believe God and receive the blessings, benefits, and righteousness of the resurrected Son of God, whose resurrection will one day be ours as well. Therefore, every day, every breath, every good gift from our good Father becomes an opportunity to live on mission for the God who has given us everything in Christ (Eph. 1:3).

Additionally, it’s important that we remember Abraham was a person and consider the pain he felt in this account because it helps us. We feel pain too—many of us concerning children. No matter how we read this passage, we can know that we are not alone in our pain.

Abraham walked through this pain too, and more importantly, Christ Jesus did as well (Heb. 4:14-15). We find comfort in sharing in Abraham’s pain, but we find greater comfort in sharing in his resurrection hope. Christ Jesus has defeated sin and death, and one day our heartaches will be no more.

This article was adapted from The Gospel Project for Adults Fall 2018, Unit 2, Session 2—“God Foreshadows His Promise”.  The Gospel Project is a chronological, Christ-centered journey through the storyline of Scripture. Preview four sessions free at gospelproject.com. 

Giveaway form

by filling out this form you agree to receive more information regarding this resource
Church Leadership, Uncategorized

Tuesday Thoughts: The 4 D’s – The Dominator

By

If you lead a small group, the chances are good that you have at least one of what I call EGR’s. What does that stand for? Just extra grace required. Now those are people in your group that take just a little bit more of your patience, probably a little bit more of your time than everybody else. I still refer to these as the four D’s. See if you recognize any of these in your small group. The first one is the Dominator, then there’s the Dodger, the Debater, and finally the Drainer, and what I want to do for just a minute is talk about what do you do if you have a dominator in your small group. And that’s just somebody who tends to answer more questions and everybody else maybe turns the discussion back to themselves. They may be a seasoned Christian so they feel like they have more answers than everybody else. So what do you do if you have a dominator kind of dominating the conversation? Well, let me give you four things that you might try. The first one is just simply how the room is set up for the discussion of your group. You might try sitting right next to the person that dominates the conversation. There’s something about being that close of proximity to the person who’s answering or asking the questions that maybe slow them down a little bit before they jump into the conversation, so you might try that. Also, maybe make eye contact with other group members when you ask the question, especially those that have been introduced into the discussion yet and kind of with your body language invite them to answer the question before the person who usually jumps in as the dominator. And then you might also bring somebody into the conversation by calling up their name, asking them specifically to answer the question. Make sure that it’s something that there’ll be able to answer, maybe more of an open ended question, but invite them in before the person who dominates is able to jump in and if none of that works, it’s always good to meet outside of the group time. Maybe grab some coffee or meet them in the lobby after church and just sit down and explain the mission and the vision of the small group. So that’s some things that you might try if you have a dominator in your small group.

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with more than twenty years of experience serving the local church. Chris served on the Executive Teams at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN., 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.

 

Church Leadership, Uncategorized

Five Hints for Doing Prayer Requests Rightly in Your Group

By

One of the challenges of leading a Bible study group is managing the time dedicated to prayer requests. I bet you’ve been a part of a group where prayer requests seemed to take a lot of the group’s time. Don’t get me wrong—I’m a big fan of prayer! But as group leaders, you and I must learn to manage the limited time we have with our group members. In order to devote time in the group to Bible study, fellowship, prayer, and other activities, consider the following ways to manage your group’s prayer requests:

  1. Assign the prayer requests. Oftentimes, I will write prayer requests on the marker board in my group’s meeting place at the church. I then ask group members to volunteer to pray for just one of the requests out loud.
  1. Use “the basket method.” Use index cards (one per person) and ask group members to write down their prayer requests, write their name and contact information on the card, and place them in a basket. Pass the basket around the group, asking volunteers to take one of the index cards, pray for the need, and then contact the person during the week to let them know their request is being prayed for.
  1. Pray in smaller groups. It can be intimidating to pray out loud in a big group, so consider dividing your group into smaller groups, maybe 4-6 people max, for the purpose of sharing requests and praying.
  1. Email them later. After hearing your group member’s prayer requests (and writing them down, of course), set aside time after your group’s Bible study and send out the requests via email (if I write them down on a marker board, I simply use my smartphone to capture a picture of the requests). That way, everyone in the group will have a current list of the group’s prayer requests.
  1. Use email to generate the prayer requests. On occasion when I can see that the Bible study is going to run long, I will say something like, “I’ll send an email to the group later today, and summarize the study for us and those who were not here today. If you have a prayer need this week, just “reply all” and let us know what it is. We’ll jump into action and begin praying for you.” I then control the length of the prayer time by simply praying for the Lord’s blessing on the group, our study time together, and those not present. When I’m running short on time, this allows me to complete the Bible study, but still make sure that people’s prayer requests are prayed for during the week.

Ken Braddy manages LifeWay’s Ongoing Bible studies, leads his church’s groups ministry, and blogs daily on Sunday School and small groups at kenbraddy.com.

Uncategorized

Unleashing Creative Group Worship

By

by Reid Smith

Although everyone would agree worship is an essential part of our spiritual life, many leaders wrestle with how to incorporate it into their group time without it feeling forced or awkward. One of the ways you can “break the ice” is to help your group members expand their understanding of what worship can look like beyond the church service. For example, worship can mean being still before God and listening for His voice, reflecting on Psalms, or listing things that you are thankful for.

In other words, don’t try to replicate a weekend worship service in your group. Rather, discover ways the people you circle up with can worship together that fits your group’s unique dynamic and personality. Gradually introduce new forms of worship by offering a few suggestions from the list below and getting a sense as to which one your group resonates with the most.

  1. Invite your group members to think of something that feels ordinary in their daily lives, but for which they are grateful. This could include a roof over their head, daily provision for food, their spouse, or their job.Then have each person express their thanks for that person or thing within the group. After everyone shares, let your group know you just had a time of worship by humbling yourselves before God and giving thanks (Psalm 69:30).
  1. Ask your group to reflect on the names of God found in Scripture. Have them share the names of God that stand out to them. Simply Google, “list of names of God in the Bible” if you’d like to give them a list to jump-start their thinking.
  1. Play worship music and ponder the lyrics. Choose a song or two that is especially meaningful to you. As you play it, have your group simply listen intently to the lyrics and reflect upon God’s goodness. Afterwards, invite them to share a word or thought that struck them while listening. Be the first to share, and watch how the Lord uses this to help people express worshipful thanksgiving.
  1. Read a Gospel account of Jesus’ death and resurrection and invite your group to reflect on God’s love for each of them and the world (John 3:16-17). Expand on this time by celebrating communion together (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
  1. Read through Psalms 23, 63 or 64 and then invite people to share what was personally significant to them.
  1. Attend your church’s weekend service or a special event where you can worship the Lord together.
  1. Plan together to participate in a local outreach. Discuss how serving “the least of these” is itself worship and touches God’s heart (Matthew 25:37-40).
  1. Identify something in your current study that you are encouraged to contend for and stand together against the enemy, renounce sin, or proclaim God’s promises. As a group, you can read through Ephesians 6:10-18, Colossians 2:13-15, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Hebrews 12:1-3, or 2 Corinthians 1:20-22.
  1. Invite your group members to bring a picture to your next meeting that’s important to them and be prepared to share how it reflects God’s faithfulness in their lives and what they’re believing God for. Pray together afterwards.
  1. Read biblical references of different kinds of worship such as clapping, raising hands, and bowing down (i.e., 2 Samuel 6:5, 14-15; Psalm 149, 150). Purposefully expose your group to various flavors of worship and talk about what you all think this says about God’s heart for worship.

Worship is a vital aspect of biblical community, and the Holy Spirit will help you lead your group to God’s throne of grace (Acts 2:47, Hebrews 4:14-16). As the group leader, be spontaneous and vulnerable in praising God because this will empower others to do the same when they’re ready.

Reid Smith has been equipping leaders in churches of all sizes and stages of growth for effective disciple-making since 1996. He lives in Wellington, Florida where he serves as a Groups Pastor at Christ Fellowship. You can find more of his helpful resources at www.reidsmith.org.

Uncategorized

The Church: United in Christ

By

A church is a group of people from many different walks of life, backgrounds, and interests who find their unity in the gospel of Jesus Christ. At times divisions occur in the church. When we let our preferences get in the way of our mission, believers are unnecessarily divided.

First Corinthians mentions several areas of potential division in a church: leaders, immorality in the church, going to secular court against fellow believers, marriage, meat offered to idols, conduct of women in the church, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and Jesus’ resurrection. Paul’s fatherly love for this church drove him to confront its problems and to call it back to unity in Christ.

Believers Should Be United through Christ

In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul called the church to unity in three ways.

1. They should agree with one another. Unity comes through a common confession of the gospel—Jesus Christ and Him crucified (see 2:2). Paul was calling the believers to doctrinal and theological unity.

2. There should be no divisions among the Corinthian Christians. Paul was calling them to relational unity based on their identity in Jesus Christ. The Corinthian believers were to be united together in Christ, not divided into factions that separated them from one another.

3. The church should be perfectly united in mind and thought. Paul was calling them to missional unity, reminding them that there’s no room for disagreement about the nature of the gospel or the mission to be ambassadors of God’s reconciling work in Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:16-21).

All Believers Belong to Christ

In 1 Corinthians 1:11-12 Paul addressed quarrels that threatened the church. Some members claimed to belong to Paul, some to Apollos, some to Cephas, and some to Christ. However, the truth is that all believers belong to Christ.

Believers Must Put Jesus before All Other Leaders

Paul’s contempt for the church’s rivalry and division is clear in 1 Corinthians 1:13-15. Even though Paul laid a foundation as a skilled builder of the Corinthian church (see 3:10), he wasn’t interested in building his own little kingdom. He was an apostle of Jesus who preached Christ only and Christ sufficient so that Christ’s kingdom could flourish. He said the Corinthians should think of him and Apollos as servants of Christ and as managers of the mysteries of God (see 4:1). Nothing more, nothing less. We ought to think of leaders we respect in this way as well.

All Believers Share the Same Salvation

In 1 Corinthians 1:18-23 Paul was contending with two objections to the message of the gospel.

1. Jews asked for signs. For the Jews, the cross was identified with a curse, not a blessing (see Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). For this reason the cross is “a stumbling block to the Jews” (v. 23); it’s a divisive claim on God’s behalf.

2. Greeks sought wisdom. Paul’s argument compared the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God. For the Greeks, wisdom meant the teachings of their pagan philosophers. Because the gospel didn’t meet the logical standards of their thinkers, they rejected it as foolishness.

“We preach Christ crucified,” Paul said in verse 23. This claim, at its heart, is divisive to the world, but to those God has called, it’s God’s wisdom and power. The cross divides because the world seeks its own way, but the only way to God is through His crucified Son.

For Paul, the cross of Christ was a rallying point and unifier for the church. There should be no disagreement, disunity, or division about that among God’s people. There’s no higher authority than our Lord, who Himself prayed that His followers would live in unity with one another (see John 17:20-23).

This article is an excerpt from the Bible study Explore the Bible: 1 Corinthians—Remember Who We Are by Clint Pressley.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers®. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.