Common habits and practices that can dull our conversations with God
by Wayne Jacobsen
Though the exercise of prayer offers comfort for the moment, many prayer requests treat God like a genie in a bottle. Here are some prayer requests that reflect our human desires more than the desires of God. Do these sound familiar?
The Trivial Prayer
"I pray I can get over this cold," or "Give us a rain-free day for the church picnic."
Our comfort and our plans are important to us, but could God have ...
Whether your small group is open or closed, or whether or not you always leave an empty chair, there's one uninvited guest hovering around the meeting place ready to barge into the proceedings. The longer your group lasts, the more likely this intruder is to make an appearance. The ...
How environmental distractions can ruin your small-group time.
Robert Damon
After literally hundreds of small group meetings and while serving as a consultant of small groups ministry, last week I led what I would classify as the absolutely worst small group meeting ever (but the best example for teaching here).
Seven of us met in the house of our newest member, who was so excited to have the group in her home. Half the group was absent sick or traveling, and two new people ...
Ways to spend more time praying and less time giving requests.
Esther M. Bailey
In small groups, members may need to be encouraged to share prayer requests. As people get to know each other, they will likely become more open to expressing their needs.
At that point another problem may occur. If your group grows and members like to relate every detail of their concerns, you could spend ten to fifteen minutes sharing prayer requests and only a minute or two actually praying. Sometimes ...
Is there a way to minister to your group, and still help a difficult person move deeper in their spiritual journey?
Bryan Parris
The words he was greeted with on Sunday morning hit him like a brick, "You've got to do something about Kathy, She's driving us all crazy!" Tony had been leading a small group for about a year, but recently, because of the growth of their church, they have gained a few new members. Kathy was one of those people.
At first, the group was really glad Kathy had joined the group, but now it was becoming ...
Here are some quick-hitting tips for small-group leaders on maintaining the peace in your small group—at least, as much as is reasonable.
Observe Reactions vs. Responses
It is a good thing when a person responds to another with words of empathy and appropriate counsel. It is a different matter when they react to what the other person is saying because it does not harmonize with their own understanding ...
Let's face it, prayer time can be the most intimate, bonding experience of a group—or it can be the most superficial, dull time for the group. We've all been in the room when someone shared something so personal that everyone grew intensely silent. A moral failure that might wreck a marriage. A job that might not be there in two weeks. A cancer test that came back positive. It's at those moments ...
Help Darryl handle a misbehaving child in his intergenerational small group.
Darryl is the leader of an intergenerational small group that has 11 members—8 adults and three children. Among the adults, there are three married couples (including Darryl and his wife), one senior citizen, and one single woman in her thirties. All of the children are between 6 and 10 years old.
Darryl has really enjoyed the diversity of experiences the group provides each week, but there is ...
Successfully leading a small group is a difficult task all by itself. But that task can become nearly impossible when your group contains one or more challenging personalities—people who talk too little or too much, people with emotional problems, people who promote false theology, and so on. ...
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