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The Signposts of a Growing Disciple – Part 3

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What does a mature disciple of Christ look like? Over the past decade LifeWay Research has delved into this with thousands of pastors and church leaders. Culling through the data, we discovered that strong discipleship ministries and practices could be put in eight categories. We call these eight categories the signposts along the discipleship pathway. One sign of growing disciples is that they serve God and others.

Serving others is a good thing. Even those with no connection to the Christian faith will tell you that. Even if they don’t know it’s a biblical principle, people will teach their children it is better to give than to receive. (See Acts 20:35.) Multiple studies even validate this.

  • Those who volunteer are 42% more likely to be happy. 
  • Those who give to charity are 43% more likely to be happy.
  • Those who put the needs of others before their own experienced a “warm glow.” (communitywestfoundation.org). 

The varied studies share something in common: the focus is on feeling good about ourselves. We serve in order to be happy.

Is that why Jesus served? Jesus certainly didn’t need a boost to His self-esteem. He served because He loves. He had compassion on the people and sought to meet their needs (Matt. 9:36). He told His disciples, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

The goal of a maturing disciple is to become more and more like Jesus. Jesus loves others, and we are to love others. Jesus served others, and we are to serve others. 

Our service to Christ and others is carried out in three ways.

  • Use your spiritual gift. The Holy Spirit has gifted every believer with at least one spiritual gift. We don’t all have the same gifts, but corporately, all the gifts are present in the church. Those gifts are for serving the needs of the church. “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others” (1 Pet. 4:10).

Many people are eager to take a spiritual gifts inventory so they can know where to serve. Frankly, that’s not necessary. Just step in and serve. As we get involved, we find our hearts drawn to certain forms of service more than others. That’s an indication of where your giftedness lies. Embrace that.

  • Share your finances and resources. Maturing disciples understand they are only managers of their finances and physical resources. God owns it all. We don’t hoard money and possessions, but we are to willing share what we can to serve and meet the needs of others.
  • Seize the moment. We can’t meet every need, but when an opportunity is right in front of us to serve someone else, we take it. Much of our service is structured and planned—giving regularly and working weekly in a specific ministry—but there is a spontaneous side to serving as well. We have unplanned “intersections” with people every day, and maturing disciples are sensitive to the Spirit’s nudge to step in and help.

Ways the Church Can Foster Believers Who Serve God

  • Publicize minister opportunities. For many church members, serving means singing, preaching, or teaching. Those are valid ways to serve, but they are not the only ways. Don’t make a specific announcement like “We need two people to help with the youth group;” it may be answered by people who are not a good fit. Instead offer a ministry fair. Give each ministry outlet in the church a table and display area. Let church members mill around and learn of ministries they may not be familiar with. People who can’t sing, teach, or preach will discover other service opportunities. Consequently, as individuals express interest in an area, you can counsel, encourage, and train them as needed to serve in that area.
  • Model service. The best training for service doesn’t come from a manual; it comes from observing. As a church leader, you can’t be deeply involved in every ministry around the church, and the church family already sees you as a servant; but you can strengthen the service of others by letting them walk along side you as you serve in the ways you are gifted. For example if you are gifted in administration, encourage others with the same gifting. Let them see how your administrative work is both service to others and to Christ.
  • Encourage Mentoring. Ask others serving in different ministry areas to find someone whom they see as a good candidate for the same area of service. Challenge them to serve as mentors, helping others see their own potential. They can train them and bolster their skills. An obvious example is for every Bible study leader to adopt another person and show them the ropes of leading a group. The leader not only gains someone to help with the group, but when the church needs to launch a new group, a servant is trained and ready to step in.

Serving others can be hard. It can often be inconvenient. And maturing disciples serve whether they experience a nice warm feeling or not. They serve because they’re drawn to serve out of love—love for Christ and love for those He has placed in their path. And better than any nice warm feeling will be to one day hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:21).

We’d love to hear from you. What are some ways your church is helping believers serve?

Lynn Pryor (@lynnpryor) is a team leader in LifeWay’s ongoing adult Bible study department. He also serves as an interim pastor in the Nashville area. Read more from his blog at lynnhpryor.com.

 

Church Leadership

Four Ways We are to Shepherd our Groups

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The elders of the church were put in place to shepherd the congregation in the same way we as small group leaders are to shepherd our portion of the church. Although we are not that familiar with shepherds in today’s society, God chose shepherds throughout the Bible to lead His people. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David were all shepherds chosen as leaders by God. Jesus even referred to Himself as a shepherd: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me” (John 10:14).

Here are four ways we are to lead as shepherds for our groups:

  1. From the heart

They know each sheep in their care and will work hard to get them to their destination. The small group leader’s role is to help the people in their group take the next spiritual step to get them from where they are to where they need to be. A shepherd leader will work hard to make sure no one is left behind on their spiritual journey.

  1. With compassion

Jesus (the ultimate shepherd) set the example as a leader who always had compassion for His followers—even when it was most inconvenient.

We see in the book of Matthew Jesus withdrawing for time alone to grieve immediately after receiving the news of the death of John the Baptist, but He still could not escape the crowds.

When Jesus heard about it, he withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd, had compassion on them, and healed their sick. (Matt. 14:13–14)

Even though Jesus had every right to not care for another person at that moment, He saw sheep without a shepherd and had compassion for them. There will be many times as a small group leader where a member of your group will have a need at the most inopportune moment. It may be a phone call late at night. It may be someone who wants to stay after group to talk. It may be someone at church who needs to grab time in the lobby during the service you are about to attend. While inconvenient, it’s at those times where we have to remember the compassionate example of Jesus.

  1. From the front

“When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4). A leader that people will follow is a leader willing to go first. This may mean sharing a vulnerable story with the group to set the example of authenticity. The group will model the behavior you display. If you want your group to be open, open your heart first. If you want the group to serve, serve them first. Leading from the front does not mean dictating direction. It means setting the example for others to follow.

  1. Sacrificially

There will be times when leading your group will be a sacrifice. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). While your sacrifices will probably not involve laying your life down for someone, opening your home to a group of people weekly is a sacrifice. You have to keep the house clean, put up the pets, pull out all the extra chairs, make sure there is food, etc. It’s exhausting to host a group! You will need occasional breaks to not burn out, but that sacrifice of time and effort will lead to a group that bonds through consistency.

At the end of our time as leaders, we want to know we led our flock well. We can look to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and follow His example of shepherding His flock. Though we will not be perfect, we want to lead from the heart, lead with compassion, lead from the front, and lead sacrificially.

Chris Surratt (@ChrisSurratt) is a ministry consultant and coach with more than twenty years of experience. He served on church staffs prior to becoming the discipleship and small groups specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources. He is the author of Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group, from which this is excerpted and adapted with permission from B&H Publishing Group. You can follow his blog at ChrisSurratt.com.

 

Church Leadership

Three Things to Share with a Suffering Group Member

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I’ll never forget the first time someone called me looking for comfort in a tragedy. I was a 19-year-old student pastor, and my primary ministerial gifts at that point were ordering pizza and playing Halo. I was actually playing video games when the call came. It was the mom of one of my middle school students, and when I answered she was already scream-crying. It took her several minutes to tell me her daughter had run away from home. She sobbed, “Brandon, I don’t know what to do.”

My heart stopped. My brain shut down. I didn’t know what to do either. Nor did I know what to say. I tried to talk, but no one has ever mumbled so many syllables without any actual words coming out. All I remember was the mother asking me for answers and having nothing to offer. I had nothing to share with her but stutters and awkward silence.

If you disciple others, you likely have had phone calls like that in your past or will have them in the future. The people you disciple will experience pain. They will undoubtedly suffer dark moments. And you have the awesome opportunity to be ready for the moments your brothers and sisters come to you for help. When they call, you have the privilege of pointing them toward comfort.

There are passages all over the Bible that can bring hope to hurting hearts, but one great example is the powerful psalm King David used to preach to his own heart during perhaps his darkest moment of suffering. When David was betrayed and hunted by his own son and in danger of losing everything he had, he knew what to say to his soul in Psalm 3. This Psalm can be a powerful message for those you love when they are seeking comfort in their suffering.

But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.” —Psalm 3:3

Here are three things to share with your people when they come to you for comfort:

1. The Lord is your shield.

When those you lead are suffering, remind them God is their sovereign protector. “Lord” means “the Existing One.” Everything else exists secondarily to Him. That means everything that has power only has power to the degree that God allows it to exist. He is sovereign AND He is a shield all around us. Nothing gets to the crying mother or the group member you love without getting through God. When a suffering brother or sister calls, you can tell them they are surrounded on all sides by the sovereign Lord of the universe.

2. The Lord is your significance.

David reminded himself in his suffering that the Lord was his glory. The word “glory” means “weightiness” or “significance.” To desire glory is to desire significance. I’m sure David wanted to be significant. He was the king of the nation of Israel, but when that was being taken from him, he knew where true significance rested. Compared to the glory of God, everything else is weightless. You and the people you disciple will be tempted to find your glory in a career, or a bank statement, or a waist size, but when those sources of false significance are shaken we can remember that we matter at all only because we matter to God. The fact that we matter to Him is stunning. It is a weightiness beyond anything we could hope to scrape together on our own. When you group members suffer, remind them that God is their significance.

3. The Lord is your hope.

The Lord is the lifter of your head. In Psalm 3, David’s life was wrecked. He lost his job. He lost his family. He was homeless. Most of us probably can’t even imagine a moment that dark. But David knew who he belonged to. David had been known to sing of God’s faithfulness and unfailing love. He trusted that the heart of God was filled with love for him, so even as his head hung in suffering, he could say with hope that his sorrow would not last forever. He knew the comforting hand of the Lord would ultimately lift him up. David knew God always lifts the heads of His hurting children. And the suffering souls you shepherd have that hope, too. Our dark moments will never have the last word.

Brandon Hiltibidal is a former church planter and multi-site pastor, and he is now part of the Groups Ministry team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He and his wife have two little girls. You can read about his group ministry and his girls on Twitter: @bmhiltibidal.
Church Leadership

Praying for Your Small Group

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by: Tyler Quillet

Person 1: Shares a prayer request.

Person 2: Says they will be praying for person 1 this week.

Person 2: Doesn’t pray for person 1 this week.

I don’t think I’m the only person who has failed miserably at saying I’ll pray for someone and then forgetting to do so. Ashamed as I am of this, I hear from so many others that struggle with this same thing. As we do life alongside those in our groups, we must be faithful to pray for them.

This will be as simple a blog as you’ll read this week, but I want to do nothing more than get us praying for our group members. Colossians 1:9-14 has been a great model of prayer for me over the years, especially when I don’t know the specifics of what to pray for a person. I’ve simply added their name to this prayer. So, below, you’ll see Colossians 1:9-14, CSB. Beneath that, I’ll write this out as a more personalized prayer for the people in your group with blanks where you can say their name as you pray.

Instead of reading something that you’ll chew on throughout the day today, I pray that you’d be reminded and encouraged to pray for your group members. If you need a guide to do so, use this. If not, simply go to the Lord on their behalf. And, they’ll be incredibly blessed to receive a text from you today that simply says, “I’m praying for you today”.

Go and pray fervently for your group today.

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14 In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

God, today I ask that you fill _______________ with the knowledge of Your will. Give _______________ wisdom and spiritual understanding today as they make decisions that would glorify Your Name. May _______________ walk worthy of You, fully pleasing you. Bear fruit in _______________ in every good work and grow _______________ in the knowledge of You, God. Strengthen _______________ with all of Your power, according to Your glorious might, so that _______________ would have great endurance and patience, and that _______________ would joyfully give thanks to You, Father. You have enabled _______________ to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. You have rescued _______________ from the domain of darkness and transferred _______________ into the kingdom of the Son you love. In You, _______________ has redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Thank you, Father, for my friend, _______________.

Tyler Quillet is the Discipleship Strategist for the Custom Bible Study team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He lives in the Nashville, TN area with his incredible wife, Cathie, and two boys, Cylas and Bowen. Tyler also speaks, writes, and coaches alongside Cathie as they pour into and love on the infertile community through Cathie’s “The Missing Peace Project”. Tyler previously spent 15 years as a pastor and is passionate about serving churches and pouring into church leaders in a variety of ways. 
Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 112: Trevin Wax on Discipleship Trends

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Trevin Wax about discipleship trends.

Trevin Wax is Director for Bibles and Reference at LifeWay Christian Resources and a visiting professor at Wheaton College. He is the general editor of The Gospel Project, and the author of recent books This Is Our Time, Eschatological Discipleship, and Gospel Centered Teaching.

Questions:

  • What is multi-directional leadership? Why is this important not only for church leaders, but for group leaders as well?
  • In a groups context, what is the fallout of the apparent increase of polarization in our current climate?
  • There is a growing generational divide in how best to express our loyalty to God and our loyalty to our country. What are the takeaways as you have engaged both our culture and the church in this regard?
  • We all agree that community is essential and relationships are crucial for both the examined and the disciple’s life. So why are we so enamored with exploring a deserted island and what does this have to say about us?
  • What are some trends that you can share with us about Bible engagement?
  • What advice would you give group leaders about discipleship based on what you’ve learned over the last year?

Quotes:

  • A one-directional leader only looks in one direction for danger. A multi-directional leader knows that there are multiple ways in which danger might encroach upon a flock.
  • Social media exacerbates and polarizes so much of our discourse.
  • What group leaders have is an opportunity to actually speak truth to a small group of people.
  • Know the group you have and push in the direction they would be least likely to go.
  • Scripture speaks to a bigger variety of issues than our political parties do.
  • A lot of older Evangelicals see America as Israel, and a lot of younger Evangelicals see America as Babylon.
  • In life, you are thrown into a family you didn’t choose, and you have to make do.
  • You can’t know a hundred people really well, but you can know ten people.
  • How do people in our groups see the narrative of their lives?

This Episode’s Sponsor: With Ministry Grid’s library of over 3,000 training videos, it’s now simpler than ever to train every volunteer and leader in your church. And this is training you can trust. Each Ministry Gridvideo features an experienced ministry leader who has been where you are now. Learn how to get unlimited access for you and your church at MinistryGrid.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.

Church Leadership

Two Ways to Craft Effective Small Group Questions

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Developing good question sets may be the hardest action taken on by a Bible study leader. Question sets are designed to move people through the learning process. For every question included in the set, ten or more should have been left on the table. In the creation of a set of seven questions, one should not be surprised to find that they created one hundred different questions in pursuit of the seven. 

Lots of systems exist for creating question sets, but let me share two that I have found helpful and the steps that are needed. 

Approach 1: The Inductive Chart

Step 1. Read the Bible passage, and list people/places/things/words.

Step 2. Use Bible study resources to define and describe the items listed in Step 1. Star key discoveries that speak into the overall understanding of the passage or give deeper insight.

Step 3. Read the passage again, and list the actions taken or directed in the passage. Include actions taken by God in the passage.

Step 4. Identify principles and personal actions. Use the actions taken or directed as a starting point, seeking to place them into a question. Here is an example from Matthew 2, where the angels delivered God’s message to the shepherds: How does God deliver His message today? What role do I (we) have in delivering God’s message? What message do I (we) have to deliver? How can I (we) deliver that message? As principles are identified, look for ways the actions are tied to the principle(s).

Step 5. Organize question sets. Look for paths from the action questions back to the items in the text that feed into that question. Create question sets that move people through the discovery process to the action question(s). For example: What was the message delivered by the angels? moves to What message are we to deliver today? and How do the two compare? 

Approach 2: The Big Idea

Step 1. Read the Bible text, identifying the main points. 

Step 2. Using the main point, write your own summary statement of the main truth or principle discovered in that section. (Example: God desires for everyone to come to repentance.) The main points should be subsets of your summary statement. 

Step 3. Generate questions borne from the summary statement. (Example: What is repentance? What other passages support this idea? What does God do about those who refuse to repent? What keeps a person from repenting? From what are we to repent? Have I repented? Have you repented?)

Step 4. Convert the open-ended questions to close-ended questions. (Example: What keeps a person from repenting? might become Does a person’s pride keep them from repenting?) Convert the close-ended questions to open-ended questions. (Example: Have I repented? might become Tell about how you came to understand your need to repent and how you did that.)

Step 5. Organize the questions into logical sets. For example, before a person can determine if he or she has repented, he or she needs to know from what and how.

Step 6. Cull and refine the questions, focusing on the sets that get to the core of the Bible text and that lead to concrete action. Most people find it helpful to work backward, identifying the final question in the set and then taking a step back, looking for the question that moves the group forward. 

Both of these approaches take time and practice. The end result shows. The person who claims that creating questions is easy and can be done quickly is trying to sell you something he or she knows little about or that reflects minimal thought, especially if we are talking about an intentional question set that moves people to purposeful action. 

Dwayne McCrary 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. 
Church Leadership

Five Characteristics of a Good Question

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Most of us use questions as a framework for leading a Bible study group. We may examine several questions in search of that perfect one for that particular study. How do we determine if a question is good or not? Here are five characteristics that make up a good question. 

  1. Strategic

A good teaching plan will have questions strategically placed so that the right question is asked at the right time for the right reasons. A question can invite a learner into the learning process (why should I study this?), define a focus for the group (what is the issue we will examine?), direct learner discovery (what does it say?), help the learner process the content (what does it mean?), or challenge the learner to practice what they discovered (what do I do now?). These five actions usually happen in the listed order. Good questions are part of a large set of questions that move the learner through the learning process so they can take action. 

  1. Open, but with direction

Open questions require more than a “yes” or “no” answer, a number of times answer, or a Jesus/pray/read your Bible answer. Closed questions have their place, as long as they are followed by an open question that requires thought and reflection. At the same time, good questions have a direction in mind. Asking, “What stands out to you in this passage?” may generate discussion, but this question lacks direction and violates the strategic rule. Asking a question like, “Are you more like Mary or Martha?” and pointing to factors that justify your selection is a closed question (more like Mary or Martha), but it opens the door for an open question (by pointing to factors). That requires the person to identify who Mary and Martha are, what sets them apart, and which one they most identify with and why. One could guess that the next question in that set will be looking at the words Jesus had for both and how that applies to the person who answered.

  1. Guided, but not leading

Guided questions help keep the discussion and lesson on track. We are guiding the group toward understanding a specific truth or concept so they will respond based upon that specific understanding. We are not leading them to make the same prescriptive response. Here is a guided, but leading question example: “Don’t you think we should follow Paul’s directive and provide financial support for the local orphan placement organization?” In this example, the person really can’t say “no” without looking bad. Here is a guided, but not leading question example: “How can we actively care for orphans and widows in our community today?” The people answering this question may suggest supporting a local organization, or they may propose actions we would have never considered placing in front of the group. 

  1. Encourage higher levels of thinking

Not all questions are created equal. A question that facilitates critical thinking and processing is of more value than a “got it” question (questions that are usually fact-based and a repetition of content presented by the lecturer). Critical thinking adds breadth and depth to the discussion and lesson. Here is a “got it” question: “How many times did Paul use the word ‘believe’ in this passage?” Not much thinking is required to answer this. A better question might be: “What is the significance of Paul using the word ‘believe’ in this passage, and how does it compare to how he used the word in the previous chapter?” 

A word of caution here. We sometimes confuse substituting ourselves or our feelings in a Bible scene as encouraging higher levels of thinking. Questions like, “How do you think Joseph felt?”, “If you had been Joseph, what would you have done?”, and “How does this event make you feel?” reflect our laziness in crafting good questions. “When have you faced a similar situation?”, “How did your emotions compare to the emotions expressed by Joseph?”, or “How did your response compare to Joseph’s response?” are the kinds of questions that foster higher levels of thinking.

  1. Empowers

A great question will empower the learner to think and become an active part of the learning/discovery process. We are giving permission to explore, discover, organize, postulate, and process. One reason a lecture can be suffocating is the learner is rarely given permission (empowered) to do anything beyond listen. Learners need to know it is OK to go beyond the facts to the meaning and application of a particular truth. Good questions set them up to do so. 

Using these five markers, how do you evaluate the questions you asked in the last Bible study group you led? What changes do you need to make to the types of questions you include in your group plan? 

Dwayne McCrary 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. 
Church Leadership

When Your Group Needs to Multiply

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by Jared Musgrove and Kristen Jackson

Begin With the End in Mind

There is both a challenge and a blessing to gospel-centered multiplication. And that is often leading the conversation about multiplying. And when we say “lead”, we mean from the beginning. Often we make the multiplication more difficult because we don’t talk about it until too far into the group’s life cycle that it catches everyone off guard. The best time to begin talking about multiplication is on the first night of a new group. Or during your training of new group leaders. One of the best, most biblical things you can do is remind them to pray from day one that  Acts 2:47, “and the Lord added to their number day by day”, is the outcome for every group. That this is our goal. This is what we do.  

Steward Gifts

There are most certainly people who are in your small group who believe in Jesus, have the Holy Spirit living in them, and are capable of leading a group. Often they are already leading in other ways as well within the group.  Train leaders to take notice of the spiritual gifts in the group. This is most meaningful when we take enough interest in others, allowing us to be specific. Be observant of those in your believing community. Who is quick to volunteer and serve others? Who models self-control in their words and actions? Who exhibits patience with those who talk perhaps more than their fair share?

Based on what you observe, offer concrete examples of how you have seen this person live out their faith. It’s deeply encouraging to hear, “I saw God’s grace at work when you did this or said that.” Specific examples bless the hearer and show that you have taken genuine interest in them

Steward SpaceSometimes the living room space, or lack thereof, makes the argument for you. New group leaders will usually be trained, have people connect to their group, and then start in a living room. Two of our group leaders shared about this idea of the space in their home, “We wanted to invite new people in, but we didn’t want people to get too comfortable. We wanted a sense of being uncomfortable in community, even if that means space constraints in the first few weeks.” And the full house often makes the multiplication point.

Steward Souls

Patience.

Each person in your small group is an embodied soul, an emotional being. Throughout the course of your time together in small group, there will inevitably be rejoicing and mourning, celebration and sorrow. It is in these moments that your group can live out the “one another” commands of the New Testament. We are taught in scripture to love and encourage one another, to bear each other’s burdens, to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We are taught to consider others as better than ourselves, to serve one another with glad hearts, and to pray for one another. Groups are the place that these things can happen naturally. Together, we practice applying the Gospel to every aspect of our lives. And mutltiplication of your Group means that even more souls may be stewarded as the New Testament commands. 

 Mind the End as a New Beginning

Several will (and should!) multiply out from the leader’s influence and direction as new leaders and perhaps as coaches for groups. The constant refrain is that relationships don’t have to dissipate just because a new group starts out of an existing one. One of our group leaders said is best, “It isn’t that we won’t remain in relationship with each other, it’s just that our friendships are going to evolve. That’s the nature of what we do as leaders, as people.”

 And as Christians. 

Dr. Jared Steven Musgrove is Groups Pastor and an elder serving The Village Church in Flower Mound TX where he directs Home Groups and Recovery Groups. He is a contributor to For The Church, PreachingSource.com,and LifeWay Groups. He serves on boards for Southwestern Seminary and Beta Upsilon Chi, is the co-founder of the Community Leadership Cohort, and is author of the group guide to B&H Academic’s Superheroes Can’t Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies. He is the proud husband of Jenny and father of Jordan and Joshua. You can follow him on Twitter at @jsmusgrove.
Kristen Jackson serves as Groups Minister at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. She worked for twelve years in public school education as a teacher and administrator before coming on staff at TVC. She has studied at Dallas Theological Seminary and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

 

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.

Church Leadership

4 Questions to Ask About Prayer Requests in Your Group

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In almost every Bible study group, prayer requests are shared. In fact, we may even feel cheated if prayer requests are eliminated from our group! Unfortunately, gathering prayer requests is as far as it usually goes. But what if we saw a prayer request as an opportunity?

Here’s what I mean: some prayer requests require ministry action. For example, if a couple uses the prayer time to announce that they are expecting a baby, passing that information along to the Preschool Sunday School leaders would be important. Deacons and other ministry leaders could be informed about hospital stays, family crises, and deaths of family members. In this way, the prayer request becomes an opportunity for ministry action, reaching all areas of the church.

Prayer requests also represent opportunities for church leaders. By knowing needs, leaders can make wise choices when they plan events, host fellowships, and train leaders. The pastor could better understand the needs of the church and prepare sermons that meet the needs expressed in the prayer requests. Being aware of specific needs makes him a better pastor.

To do this kind of intentional action, you need to ask four questions:

  1. How can we efficiently gather accurate prayer requests?
  2. How do we communicate the requests?
  3. To whom should we communicate these requests?
  4. How can we encourage those making a specific request?

Let’s take a deeper look at these questions.

How can we efficiently gather accurate prayer requests?

Notice the two words, efficiently and accurate. A Bible study group could spend the majority of their time gathering requests, but that would compromise their time of actually studying the Bible. For me, making a sheet of paper available during the study time for people to record their requests has been the most efficient. The second element is accurate. We want to make sure that the requests shared are up to date. There is nothing worse than telling someone that you are praying for their loved one, only to find out that the loved one passed away a month ago.

How do we communicate the requests?

This question involves both form and medium. How we word something is very important. If someone requests prayer for a nephew who hates his job and is looking for a new one, that request could be worded when shared with others as a request for a nephew who needs wisdom about his future. We don’t know who may read the requests in today’s world, so we need to be careful. Hospital stays and other events requiring time away from home become important information if it falls into the wrong hands, which brings us to the medium: should we post all our requests on social media? What are the risks of making a request public? Do we really want everyone on Facebook to know about Dave having surgery and being in rehab for 6 weeks? How we communicate is important.

To whom should we communicate these requests?

We have already mentioned sharing requests with the pastor and other church leaders. Who else needs to know about the prayer request? We mentioned a couple announcing an addition to their family earlier. Who all needs to know about that particular request, and why?

How can we encourage those making a specific request?

Gathering prayer requests is certainly about being aware and knowing how to pray intelligently, but it is also about encouraging those for whom we are praying. There is nothing like getting a note from someone who is praying specifically for you. Those notes lighten the load and help us face whatever challenge we are facing. Part of this is celebrating God’s answers as well. Both the one being prayed for and the one praying are encouraged by answered prayer, so finding a way to include answers to requests is also important.

Prayer is an important part of the life of a Bible study group. Requests serve as a means of communicating priorities, needs, and victories. They give us clues about each other, helping us build deeper relationships. They also provide opportunities for us to minister to people and involve others in the process. If they are that important, then some strategic thought is in order. The four questions identified above should serve as starting points to help you think strategically about the requests shared in your Bible study group.

G. Dwayne McCrary 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.

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