LifeWay

Group Ministry

Conversations on Group Practices

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 83: Scarlet Hiltibidal

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:56 — 46.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

Our guest today is Scarlet Hiltibidal. Scarlet is a very professional wife and mother to her family in Middle Tennessee. She loves sign language with her daughters, nachos by herself, writing for her friends, and dreaming of being a famous chef while spilling the cheese dust from the macaroni box on the kitchen counter and using it anyway. She treasures the freedom of resting in the work of Jesus and hopes to help others rest as well. She is the author of the just released, Afraid of All the Things: Tornadoes, Cancer, Adoption, and Other Stuff You Need the Gospel For.

Questions:

  • What was it like growing up, as you say, “in the green room” of SNL and other national TV shows? How has it shaped your adult life?
  • What prompted you to write your first book, Afraid of All the Things? Who did you write it for?
  • When do you first remember being crippled by fear and anxiety? What was it like and how did it shape your childhood?
  • When did you first learn to hold the gospel up to your fears, and how did that change things?
  • How do your fears and anxiety play out as a small group leader? What advice would you give small group leaders on overcoming their fears, and at the same time, helping their small group members work through their own?
  • Do you still struggle with fear and anxiety, and what do you do to combat it?
  • What are your hopes for readers after they finish the book?

Quotes:

You have to force yourself to live in the light.

I was afraid that people would not accept me if they knew about all of my flaws.

I grew up hearing the gospel, but I thought I needed Jesus to die to save me–but I better do a really good job of being a Christian.

“Am I good enough” caused an underlying panic all of the time.

The gospel is for every moment.

Resources mentioned:

www.afraidofallthethings.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 Small Groups for the Rest of Us.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 81: Jeremiah Johnston

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:59 — 42.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

In this episode, Brian and Chris speak to Jeremiah Johnston. Jeremiah J. Johnston, Ph.D., is president of Christian Thinkers Society, a Resident Institute at Houston Baptist University where he also serves at Associate Professor of Early Christianity. His latest book is “Unimaginable: What Our World would be Like Without Christianity.”  He also wrote the Bible study Unanswered, published by LifeWay. You can listen to him regularly on his nationally syndicated radio program, The Jeremiah Johnston Show.

Questions:

1. I heard it said one time, We cannot abandon the intellectual struggle. How would you define intellectual struggle?

2. How do you think the difficult questions contribute to discipleship?

3. How would counsel a group leader about how to navigate a group members unanswered questions?

4. How would you advise a group leader to lead a discussion that includes spiritual warfare references?

5. What’s the hardest question for you to answer?

Quotes:
The greatest thing about our faith is that it is holistic, we are always growing.

There is always a Pharisee in the crowd.

Where the intellectual struggle has been forfeited, that’s where faith becomes irrelevant to life.

We no longer, as a society, think in Biblical terms.

Jesus was all about addressing the difficult questions in his discipleship.

We have to give permission for our group to question our faith. Questioning your faith is not a sin.

Everybody has unanswered questions.

Questions create conversations, assertions don’t.

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

Group Answers Episode 68: Jonathan Dodson

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:24 — 44.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

Our guest today is Jonathan Dodson. Jonathan is the founding pastor of City Life Church in Austin, TX which he started with his wife, Robie, and a small group of people. They have three children. He is also the founder of gcdiscipleship.com and author of a number of books including Here in Spirit: Knowing the Spirit who Creates, Sustains, and Transforms Everything, The Unbelievable Gospel and Gospel-Centered Discipleship. He enjoys listening to M. Ward, watching sci-fi, and going for walks.

Questions:

  • What are Fight Clubs?
  • How do you equip leaders to lead Fight Clubs? How do you support Fight Clubs from the pulpit and encourage participation?
  • How have you seen Fight Clubs contribute to the ministry of the church and impact the lives of Fight Club participants?
  • Gospel-Centered Discipleship released in 2012. If you wrote it today, what from your experiences in the last 6 years would you be sure to include?
  • Here in the Spirit just released. How is this different from other books about the Holy Spirit? Talk about the backstory — what circumstances or insights led you to this specific topic?

Quotes:

“Fight clubs are discipleship groups. We are fighting for faith to trust and to treasure Jesus.”

“They follow the process of text-theology-life.”

“God picks your community, you pick your friend.”

“It’s not a highly programmed environment. It’s a natural outworking of the gospel in an ordinary disciple’s life.”

“Fight Clubs promote holiness in our church.”

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

Group Answers Episode 69: Ken Braddy

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:00 — 52.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

Our guest today is Ken Braddy. 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.

OVERVIEW: Although Sunday school is an important ministry, many churches have not experienced the full potential of Sunday school. Sunday school is in decline in most denominations, and there is a lack of health and vitality it once had.

“Teachers do not have to rely on one or two methods all the time; instead, they can expand the number of ways in which they communicate God’s Word to their group members.”

“In numerous churches, education staff leaders’ jobs have been deleted, curriculum expenditures have been cut back, training has been reduced, and other cutbacks have starved the Sunday school of life-giving resources.”

“Sunday schools have stopped growing in part because churches have forgotten the importance and necessity of starting new groups.”

“In many churches, groups have grown too large and cannot produce disciples. In order to make disciples, groups must follow biblical principles for creating them. Jesus created disciples by recruiting a small group of 12 men.”

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

Group Answers Episode 67: Michael Wear

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:46 — 35.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On this week’s episode, Brian and Chris talk with Michael Wear. Michael answers the following questions: 

  1. Tell us how you went straight from college to working in the Obama White House.
  2. It seems like a lot of people come out of working in an administration very cynical about the process, but you express in your book hope and optimism for the future. How was your experience different?
  3. How did you manage your strong Christian beliefs while occasionally working with people who did not share them?
  4. Politics is always a tricky conversation in small group meetings. How should group leaders approach political topics when they are raised? Should they even be discussed?
  5. With another contentious election season coming up, how can people in small groups have healthy conversations while still holding opposing views?
  6. What is the ultimate hope for Christians in this political climate?

Michael Wear is the founder of Public Square Strategies LLC, a consulting firm that helps businesses, non-profits, foundations, and Christian organizations at the intersection of faith, politics, and culture. Wear directed faith outreach for President Obama’s historic 2012 re-election campaign and was one of the youngest White House staffers in modern American history, leading evangelical outreach and helping manage the White House’s engagement on religious and values issues, including adoption and anti-human trafficking efforts. He holds an honorary position at the University of Birmingham’s Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, and serves on the national board of Bethany Christian Services. He lives with his wife, Melissa, in Washington, DC. Michael is the author of Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America.

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

Group Answers Episode 66: Tony Evans

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:02 — 30.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On this week’s episode, Brian and Chris join renowned author and pastor, Dr. Tony Evans. Brian, Chris, and Tony answer the following questions:

  1. What do you mean by “kingdom disciple”?
  2. There’s a need for disciples in individuals, in families, in churches, and in communities. What does a disciple of Jesus look like in each of these areas?
  3. How can pastors gauge how they are doing in regard to disciple making in their churches?
  4. Is discipling men different from women, or the same?
  5. How do we disciple men?
  6. What challenges do men face not only in the area of discipleship, but also in life in general?

GUEST: Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. A man of many hats, Tony is the president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets, and Bible studies. Tony was named as one of the 12 most effective preachers in the world by Baylor University.

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

Group Answers Episode 65: SBC – Chris Swain on Discipleship

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:57 — 29.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

Join in with Chris Swain at SBC as we talk about the ministry “Replicate” and how they are helping to change the discipleship culture in local churches. How is Bible study best approached? How do we increase Bible engagement in our church? What does accountability look like in our group’s life? Listen as we talk about Jesus approached these questions.

GUEST: Chris Swain is the Executive Director of Replicate Ministries and serves at Long Hollow Baptist Church as the Equipping Pastor. After fours years of service in the United States Marine Corps, Chris served in full-time ministry for two decades in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, leading ministries ranging from Students, to Collegiate, to Spiritual Formation. Most recently, Chris served as the Director of Student Ministry Publishing at Lifeway Christian Resources serving the Church in its mission of making disciples. Chris’s heart is to expand the Gospel through disciple-making in the local church.

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

Group Answers Episode 61: Summer With Your Group

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:27 — 35.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On this week’s episode, Brian and Chris discuss service and fun in small groups. Click on the following articles to follow along:

https://groupministry.lifeway.com/2017/06/08/four-activities-for-your-groups-this-summer/

https://groupministry.lifeway.com/2018/05/17/summer-serving-finding-the-right-project-for-your-small-group/

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.

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

Group Answers Episode 59: Gospel Centered Groups

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:00 — 38.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On this week’s episode, Brian and Chris join Brian Dembowczyk, the Managing Editor of The Gospel Project. The three tackle the following questions: 

  • “Gospel” is a buzzword right now in the church world. What does it mean to be “gospel-centered”?
  • How does failing to study Scripture as one gospel story lead to moralism?
  • How does a group leader help create a “gospel culture” in a small group?
  • Is it important to know how all Scripture points back to Jesus? How can a small group leader consistently do that during discussions?
  • What is different about The Gospel Project curriculum? What is coming for The Gospel Project this fall?

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.

GUEST: Brian knows how churches work, and understands group dynamics as he writes content for groups of churches of various sizes. In addition to being the Managing Editor of The Gospel Project, Brian is the author of Gospel-Centered Kids Ministry and Cornerstones: 200 Questions and Answers to Learn Truth. Brian and his wife Tara have three kids: Joshua, Hannah, and Caleb. Prior to joining The Gospel Project, he served in local church ministry for 17 years, primarily in family and discipleship ministry. You can keep up with Brian on Twitter.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 58: Philip Nation on Pursuing Holiness

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:36 — 39.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS

On this week’s episode, Brian and Chris join Philip Nation, the Pastor of First Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida. Brian, Chris, and Philip address the following questions:

  • What constitutes “personal holiness”?
  • How do we pursue holiness in earnest without falling into the ditch of legalism?
  • Culturally, personal holiness and set standards of living have seem to be abandoned. Where group life is concerned, how do you see pursuing holiness offsetting these cultural trends?
  • In what sense is pursuing holiness done in community?
  • As a group leader, how do I help my group members see the pursuit of holiness as important?
  • What is holiness as obedience in “real time”? How do we pursue this in our groups?

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.

GUEST: Philip Nation is the pastor of First Baptist Church, Bradenton, Florida. He has been a publishing director, church planter, and frequent speaker for conferences. He earned a Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as the Assistant Professor of Leadership and Biblical Studies at Houston Baptist University. Along the way he has written Habits for Our Holiness: How the Spiritual Disciplines Grow Us Up, Draw Us Together, and Send Us Out as well as the new study for groups Pursuing Holiness: Applications from James. He is the happy husband to Angie and father to Andrew and Chris. You can follow Philip on Twitter here.