Small groups in the summer

Summertime is always a slow time in small group ministry. Likewise, it’s going to be a little bit slower here on the small groups guy blog. I’m taking this time to do some more in-depth writing on various issues that I will be making available in article form to you on here. I will still be blogging regularly, just not as frequently for the month of July. Happy. Summertime!!

Stuff a Small Group Leader should know pt.3 : Disciplines vs. Habits

We continue our ongoing series of stuff a small group leader should know. This one is useful both as a tool to keep your small group from avoiding “routine” and to keep you personally from putting the gospel on cruise control in your life. Today we talk about

Spiritual Disciplines vs. Spiritual Habits

I’ve been trying for some time to work out this principle because I experience it on a regular basis as a follower of Christ who is also a habit loving human. I love the routines I have in my life. Take showering for example. I have a showering routine. Warm the water up, get in facing away from the water, rinse, shampoo, wash body, rinse shampoo, finish Bohemian Rhapsody Chorus, and get out.

Why do I love this routine? because I dont have to think about it. I can go through the motions, get the job done, and not have thought about a thing. I rarely forget to do it, but I exert no thought towards it. Does that make sense?

Sometimes personally I can get into a spiritual routine. I crack open my bible, let my eyes go over a chapter of a book, shut it and pray for my family, my church, my friends, and world peace. On the surface, I appear like a pretty mature christian right? I mean I “read” my bible and I “pray” every day. Or at least, I go through the routine. I even sing the songs on Sunday at church. All of em. Every week. Another place for routine to kick in. I pay my tithe every month online through bill-pay. Another routine.

The spiritual disciplines (bible study, prayer, fasting, worship, evangelism, tithing, etc) are called disciplines because they require mental engagement. One must discipline himself or herself because he or she is not naturally inclined to fully engage such an exercise. We are CREATED to carry out these disciplines as they are all forms of worship, but our sin nature pulls us away from these acts of worship. (Paul expresses this struggle in the second half of Romans 7)

So here is my point: A group leader has got to fight against spiritual habit. Going through the motions is Satans way of pulling you away from communion with God himself. Fight it. As John Piper said at Advance09 this past weekend: “You will not know what prayer is for until you know that life is war.” Something like that.

You and your people are in a constant spiritual battle. Discipline your heart and mind to ENGAGE the scriptures, to pray with conviction and specificity, to make your words a concious conduit of your faith in your worship, to consider the sacrifice of the gospel in your tithe, to feast on Christ in your fasting, and most of all to rejoice in your salvation as you tell others.

You were created for worship. you are in a war. avoid cruise control at all costs.

Stuff a small group leader should know pt. 2…The Calendar!

In our ongoing series on stuff a small group leader should know, today we look at the Calendar. Let me put it to you this way, if you are a small group leader, you need to own a calendar. Especially if you lead a group full of families with young kids as they are forced to manage their schedule farther in advance than most. Regardless, you need to be aware of the Calendar so you can plan for success in your small group. Nothing is better for your small group than knowing what is coming so they can prepare. If you are a SummitLIFE group leader, knowing that we switch gears in June and July is critical. We want you to break from your normal leader role and focus on relationship building and week of hope project. So dont plan a ton of gatherings but instead focus on relationship building.

Exercise for you as a leader: Sit down with a copy of the remaining 2009 calendar and plan out your schedule for your small group. When can you do social gatherings? When can you do community service? When could you devote a night solely to prayer? When could you invite a church planter to come (via skype or in person) share with you? What major church initiatives do you need to take into consideration?
And can I be honest with you? I’m not good at calendaring. I have to really discipline myself here, but it is very much worthwhile.

A look at my group’s June calendar:
Notes
* I know the sg staff has encouraged leaders to focus on relationship building and our community ministry projects.
* Spence & Trevor both separately leading on-campus bible studies on Wed. nights so that is open to those interested.
* Church planters we support have a team rep. coming to town sometime. When we know, we will try to have them join us.

05.31 – 06.06:

• No gathering
• Advance09 conference that some are attending towards end of week.
• Hope 4 RDU grant application due by 06.07

06.07 – 06.13:

• Tentative hang out night at new home of the Wickershams.
• Confirm Hope4RDU week of hope ministry assignments for everyone in the group
• Check-in individually on prayer reqs & answers to prayer from 05.27 gathering

06.14 – 06.20:

• Tentative cookout / video game (old school NES) and other fun stuff night. Probably Tuesday Night.
• Church Planting Team rep. can be there to talk with us?

06.21 – 06.27

• Nothing on calendar but maybe a guys night or a girls night?

06.28 – 07.04

• Final preparations for week of hope projects.
• Some people on vacation

I hope you see that this is nothing major and some things are still not set in stone. The point is, some direction has been provided that our group can then work with. People need this. So either get on it, or entrust the calendar to a group member who you know can pull this off. We’ve got an awesome calendar lady in our group so the above is all up for her to adjust!

How to plant a small group

After much preparation and prayer, our small groups team is hosting a training seminar for our small group leaders tonight entitled: How to plant a small group.

Now, in all fairness we do not claim to be experts on this. but we think God has given us a compelling vision for missional discipleship here at the Summit and we hope to share some of that tonight along with some practical steps for any group leader to plant a new small group by the end of 2009.

I am pumped

Stuff a small group leader should know pt.1b

Series: stuff a small group leader should know

Today: What should my group study part 2. Part 1

Second, based on your answers, pick a direction
Is there something big going on church-wide? Direct your materials search based on what God is doing church-wide. Is your small groups ministry emphasizing something? Consult them about materials that will help your group “get it.” I promise they have thought about it. What about your group? If there is an issue that needs addressing, seek counsel on material that will help you cover it.  Some things to remember in this step:

• Remember the calendar:  You may be thinking…”my church is in a major campaign, the groups team is emphasizing tithing, and my group members are in crappy marriages. How do I deal with all of that at the same time???” You don’t. Get the dates of major church campaigns from your pastor. Schedule around those pushes so your group will be “with” your church during those important seasons.  Major pushes usually occur at the beginning of the fall and the start of spring. Be prepared to get on board so your group members feel connected to what is happening. You then become a momentum catalyst for your church instead of a momentum killer.
• Consult the group: Of course, the group isn’t “your” group in the sense that everybody in the group needs to have ownership over it.  A great way for others in the group to accept that responsibility is to consult them in this process. Someone may be sitting on a great idea that they would be willing to co-lead with you…. You may just discover a future group planter this way!  If nothing else, your group will know that they aren’t audience members but community members.
• Consult your coach &/or pastor: Even if you are not doing something “church-wide” you must reject the feeling that you are on an island. Seek the counsel of those in your support line. For example, here at the Summit I am a small groups pastor. That means I spend a full work week every week in the small groups world. Most of our group leaders have busy lives and do not have time to look into the endless sea of materials out there right now and google may not exactly yield the most profitable results on this one.

Third, know your limits
The best small group leader does not need a PhD in systematic theology. The best group leader cares for the people in his group and know his limits when it comes to available prep time, small group experience, Bible teaching skills, and group dynamics. If you are like me and have an infant, a pregnant wife, and a full time job, you probably don’t have 8 hours a week to devote to creating a study guide for Romans 6. Or, maybe this is your first time leading a small group and you have never prepared a discussion before. Maybe your group is full of new Christians or non-Christians. The point is, limitations are your friend as long as you acknowledge them.  The bad group leader is the one who cannot see his limits and winds up over or under preparing on a regular basis. Not sure what your limits are? Ask for some honest feedback from your coach/pastor or a member in your group you trust.

Hopefully this will help you think strategically in deciding what your small group will be studying. After all, what you should study is stuff a small group leader should know.

Stuff a small group leader should know pt.1a

We are working through evaluating and retooling our discipleship strategy here at the Summit and in doing so we’ve been reminded of how essential one particular element of small group ministry is: communication. No wonder it is one of the 7 deadly sins of small group ministry according to Donahue & Robinson in their book by that title. So in an effort to COMMUNICATE some of the things we consider foundational to small group leader success,  we are beginning a series here at the Small Groups Guy on the stuff small group leaders should know.  This means anything from how your group can create other groups to balancing elements of group life to what materials to use in your group.  The goal behind this series is to make you a more informed and equipped small group leader. We begin with the question…

“What should my group study?”

This is the one question I was always finding myself coming back to as a small group leader for many years. Even if I set up a 6 month plan for my group’s study I was always keeping an eye out for other materials out there that would be “cool to try.” As a group leader you have a very serious responsibility in this arena. What you study will define a good portion of the discipleship experience your group members have. You better get this one right hu? So let’s build a strategy to answer this question well. Hopefully you will find this strategy one you can keep coming back to.  3 phases, the first of which we will look at today, the second two we will look at tomorrow.

First, Evaluate your situation. Answer the following questions:

• What is happening church-wide?
  • What is the pastor teaching through? Is he in a series on a particular book or subject?
    • Summiters: We’ve got a 3 week series on prayer starting May 3.
  • Are there any major initiatives being emphasized such as expansion projects, service opportunities, etc.?
    • Summiters: think BELIEVE project, Hope4RDU, Church Planting, for examples.
• What is happening in your small groups ministry?
  • ideally the small groups ministry will be emphasizing the same things as the church-wide vision, but there may be some nuances or other things the sg team is putting out there to help you make disciples.
  • Is there certain material the sg team is offering or encouraging you to use?
    • Summiters: think BELIEVE guide this February and our weekly sermon discussion guides the rest of the year.
  • Is there a certain emphasis for the year or semester the sg team has put out there at leadership gatherings?
    • Summiters: What did we emphasize at Frontline this January? Hope4RDU and small group coaching
• What is happening in your small group?
  • Spiritually, where are the people in your group? Are there new Christians and/or non-Christians?
  • Is there a certain life-stage many of your group members fit into?
  • How long has your group been meeting together?
  • Is there a situation one or more of your group members are in or have been through that you think requires more attention?

Mars Hill Church in Seattle, a sister church of the Summit in the Acts29 network, describes the role of their small group leader as “to know each member of the group well enough to articulate a vision for his/her spiritual growth, citing specifics about how my group as a whole or individual members of the group nurture his/her growth.” I think this is necessary in order to answer this 3rd question well.

part 2 coming tommorrow.

Monday on the links…Childcare

Took some time off from the internet last week, back in action today with another edition of Monday on the Links. Before I get started let me give a big shout out to the people of the Summit Church. Yesterday was one of our big baptism days we do once or twice a year. Those days are my favorite day of the year hands down. I baptized dozens of people and got completely sunburnt in the process. Here is a brief word from our lead pastor on the day.

Today’s links surround one of the logistical aspects of small group ministry. If you are a group leader who isn’t currently facing this issue, you will sooner or later! The goal of this set of links is to give you some help brainstorming ideas for childcare. Again, not as meaty as a normal week, but THE main barrier to entry for people with children to become a part of your group.

• Summit Church Childcare Voucher System: This page will tell you about our efforts to provide childcare for everyone at the Summit who needs it. We’ve been using this system for right at a year and really like it. Its not perfect, but its the best system for us we have tried to date.
• Solving the Childcare Problem (Article by SGX contributor Scotty Neal): A cool idea a church is trying out that one of our SummitLIFE groups is also trying out. The group here likes this model and finds it is working well.
• What about the kids? (Article by my new friend in the SG world Pat Sikora): Pat deals with the question in a great way by illuminating the importance of thinking well through the different aspects of this decision. Pat, if you read this today, your experience, wisdom, and wordsmanship make you are great resource for us all!

Small Group Downtime

On Sunday March 8th the Summit Church was between sermon series. We had a guest preacher at one campus and a couple of our pastors preached some bangin sermons at other campuses. We here in the small groups team gave our SummitLIFE groups the week off. We encouraged them to do some social stuff, or to love on RDU a little bit (community service).  Here is what my SummitLIFE group did. Thanks to my wife for taking video at our small group. So you know, I’m the guy jammin on the lead guitar. Having just watched the video here is what I will say…it may look lame, but we had fun. so there.

Talking about money in a small group

Pretty cool time at the Summit right now. Part of the discussion our groups are having each week along with the material from Sunday’s sermon, is a discussion through a couple of chapters of the book Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. Great little book that teaches and challenges you to find great joy in giving the money, time, and talents, God has given you towards his fame as opposed to building up your own pile-o-stuff. While the book is a good and helpful read, it can be quite daunting as a group leader to embark on a discussion about people’s cash. 

Last night my group launched right into the book discussion, bypassing the sermon material, and we had what I thought was a really good discussion. The following is a basic list of things I think made the discussion helpful & encouraging instead of awkward and offensive:

• Leader lays the foundation at the start. Just as our pastor does, I as the group leader spent a couple of seconds reminding our group of the motivation for why we give: We practice radical generosity because we have experienced the radical generosity of God in the salvation given to us through Christ’s death and resurrection. Giving is an act of worship not of guilt-driven obligation.
• Group Members knew this was coming! Dont blindside your group members with a discussion on giving. give them fair warning and give them something to read through together so you have a common ground to start from. 
• We Talked  first about previous experiences giving. I had no idea where my people were coming from. Maybe they have never even given a tithe before. I couldn’t as the leader assume everyone was regularly tithing. So I asked “Tell us about your experiences (not dollar amounts) giving regularly or to missions or to a fundraising effort.” Easy question that kind of broke the ice. Turns out one of our guys (who we are convinced runs the world) has experience helping people set budgets so they can be generous with their money. Another had been through a capital campaign in a previous church setting. Guess what: Some didnt share. AND THAT IS OK! I talked about my experience as well. 
• We talked about obstacles to giving. This is not all bad stuff, its just stuff that will stand between you and giving. Things like budgeting, debt, and “somebody else will do it” were all talked about along with others. 
• We prayed together & left the conversation open. I marked this as the beginning of an ongoing conversation we will be having among one another about how God is convicting us and challenging us to give of our finances. I dont want our conversation on this limited to our discussion time and frankly I dont want it to always dominate our discussion time. So it will likely become a part of our accountability / prayer time.

Hope this helps you group leaders here at the Summit as well as those of you leading groups at other churches and would love to hear your experiences in this area!

Small Group Christmas Party

Have one. Its that simple. The Holidays give you a perfect built in social time for the people in your group. Especially if you are a new group, dont miss out on this opportunity. So if you are thinking “well, we will just reconvene after the new year” THINK AGAIN! Party on small group leader, party on.