Peter gave us this definition of leadership as he exhorted the elders of the first-century church: Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. […]
After finishing the book, Small Groups for the Rest of Us, in 2015, I wasn’t sure that I would ever desire to write another full-length book. Writing a book is a grueling experience, and unless you have a topic you’re super passionate about, not a lot of fun. Fast forward four years, and now my […]
Launching a group can be an intimidating process. There are a lot of questions to think through, but the first question we have to wrestle with is: What type of group will this be? We can get locked into the belief we have to begin with a small group of people meeting in our home, […]
A small group leader has many roles to fill. The key to a healthy and multiplying group is to give as many of those roles away as soon as possible. You can identify which roles to give away first by knowing which ones are naturally weak for you. We all have areas of leadership where […]
Every small group leader has questions. Most have lots of questions. It can be intimidating to take on the leadership of a group, but you can be assured that (almost) every small group leader has the same doubts, concerns, and questions you do. The second that we as leaders think we have it all figured […]
Whether your small group will be brand new in 2019 or you have been meeting for awhile, a good icebreaker question or activity is a great way to get the conversation going at that first meeting in January. Icebreakers help everyone in the group feel more comfortable about entering the discussion before the Bible study […]
I hear from churches and pastors consistently about how small groups no longer work in our modern world. People are too busy for another weekly commitment. Groups organized by the church are too forced for people to connect deeply in community. Yet, we see research telling us that offering healthy small groups will close […]
Stepping out to start a new group can be an intimidating and scary experience. All of us have the same questions starting out: Will anyone show up? Have I invited the right people? Have I picked the right study? How will I disciple everyone in my group? All of these questions are natural and healthy. […]
Video Transcript Last time we talked about the three distinctives of every small group, the three things that your group should be about, if you have a purpose. They were about creating disciples, being in community, and being on mission. So if you have those three things happening in your small group, you should have […]
When I am taking time to work on a system, I like to think in frameworks with key questions. Asking those probing questions forces issues to the surface that we would have never discussed without them. I am also a big believer in working on it with a team. I am an introvert by nature, […]