"What is going on with George? This is the second week in a row he has come to group late, flopped down in a chair, crossed his arms, stared at the floor and is acting like he's daring us to get him to talk." I hate it when group turns into an arbitration session. What is so bad in his life that he can come in here and manipulate the rest of us? Can't he just get his stuff in order before he shows ...
Among small groups, it's essential to talk about group needs.
Keith Wright
Do you want your small group to remain healthy year after year? From the vantage point of overseeing 140 small groups, I observe one common denominator of vibrant, enduring groups: they recovenant.
Since people come into a small group with a wide range of experiences and expectations, I strongly advocate that new groups develop a covenant - a written statement outlining the group's purpose and ground ...
If small groups are more like organisms than organizations, why do we need a program?
Michael C. Mack
We say our groups are "family," that is, they are natural expressions of our love for one another. So why do we need a small groups "program" or "ministry" in the church? This is a question I am sometimes asked when I speak about small groups. Small groups are more of a living "organism" than a machinelike "organization, right? So why have a program?
Our families may not be "programs," but there are ...
The positives, and negatives, of covenants in small groups.
Michael C. Mack
Should you use a covenant in your small group? Yes and no.
Yes, I believe in having a covenant up front with a group. That is, I believe it is good to plan and set goals as you begin, and I think it's a good idea to agree on a number of disciplines and ground rules. Doing so can help group members have an idea of expectations and it puts everyone on the "same page."
We asked a small group of small group experts; here are their responses.
Michael C. Mack
Small GroupsWhat is the Value of Group Covenants?We asked a small group of small group experts; here are their responses.Michael C. MackRadical Renewal: The Problem of Wineskins Today By Howard Snyder Touch Publishing
Radical Renewal is an updated reprint of Howard Snyder's classic book of the mid-seventies, The Problem of Wineskins. The premise of the book is taken from Jesus' words in Matthew 11:17: "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
Snyder's theme is clearly that God's plan was and is today to use the church to impact the world for His kingdom purpose. But that will only happen as the church is willing to change its "wineskins" so that the wine can expand to new dimensions for God's glory. The problem, however, is that we tend to institutionalize the church—making sacred the means and methods of ministry. In short we have to again get our focus on the wine rather than the wineskin!
Chapter 4 deals with three areas where we need to change our thinking: sacrifice, priesthood and tabernacle. All three passed away with the birth of the church. They are wineskins, and yet it is our constant temptation to re-institute them - making the church building sacred as our tabernacle, the pastors our priests and the Eucharist our sacrifice.
The church is not the building! In contrast, the church had it's greatest impact in the first and second centuries before it had buildings. "It thought 'church' meant people, the community of disciples. In those days the church was mobile, flexible, friendly, humble, inclusive—and growing like mad!" Nor is the church the work of the pastor. "If the pastor is a superstar then the church is an audience, not a body." Rather, the church is a movement—God's people mobilized for action. When God's people get serious about worship, community and witness—functioning creatively in both large and small groups—then the world is effected! It is not through programs and techniques that the world will be drawn to Christ. It is when the church begins to act like the church that the nonbelieving world will sit up and take notice. It is "koinonia," not evangelism programs that is needed. Quoting Jess Moody, Snyder writes, "We will win the world when we realize that fellowship, not evangelism, must be our primary emphasis. When we demonstrate the Big Miracle of Love, it won't be necessary for us to go out—they will come in." This is where small groups come into play. It is through groups that Christians learn to truly love one another and there partner together to reach the world. The powerful message of Jesus is the wine. All the ways that we have become used to are the wineskin. God's plan is still the church, but for it to be the tool in God's hand that it was intended to be we must be willing to lay aside our comfort zones of how we've liked to see things done in the past. It is then that the church can be the force it was meant to be in our day.
Revisiting your group covenant can ensure that needs continue to be met.
Keith Wright
Do you want your small group to remain healthy year after year? From the vantage point of overseeing 140 small groups, I observe one common denominator of vibrant, enduring groups: they recovenant.
Since people come into a small group with a wide range of experiences and expectations, I strongly advocate that new groups develop a covenant—-a written statement outlining the group's purpose and ...
We have an idea of what a small group is, but sometimes we fall into patterns of what a small group shouldn't be.
Michael C. Mack
A club. Many groups are arranged around some affinity: young moms, retirees, newly married couples, people interested in crafts, bicycling, etc. But every small group has a purpose beyond its affinity. A Christian group exists to glorify God and make disciples. Different groups find varied ways of doing that.
A clique. We get close to one another — beyond the surface level stuff — but we always look outward to include others in our community. Our mission is to make disciples.
Your relational core values can encourage your small group to not just become disciples, but disciple makers.
Dan Lentz
As a small group leader, our most basic Biblical mandate is to make disciples (Matt. 28: 18-20). But, as we continue to look at scripture it becomes clear that not only are we to make disciples, but we are to make disciplemakers (2 Tim. 2:2). In other words, we are called to make disciples that are reproducing! The Biblical process of being transformed from disciple to disciplemaker always was done ...
Printer view of these results
