There is an old Celtic saying: "Anyone without a soul friend is a body without a head." There are not many Celtic sayings about what people without success are—the Celts didn't seem to be terribly interested in success. But they were pretty big on friendship.
I've been thinking about this because I just got back from a once-a-year weekend with four of my oldest friends. We've been friends for ...
Who do you consider your real friends? What factors do you look for to know that someone is your "real" friend? Real friendship is something we all long for. Some of us have really great friends and some of us have felt like we have been "alone" most of our life. Yet, we have been hard-wired by our creator to experience deep meaningful relationships. Share this Bible Study with your group and encourage ...
The role of a Small-Group Leader can be summed up by one word: friend.
Randall Neighbour
Question: I've done some reading, been through my church's leadership training, and I still don't think I could sum up my role as a small group leader with one word. Can you?
Answer: Sure! That's easy. FRIEND would be the single word I'd choose. Why? Everyone wants deep friendships. Here's what I think being a great small group leader/friend would look like:
After laying the foundation, we saw the need to develop a platform to encourage our people to continue to live a life of purpose.
Maymie Lau
Why ABC?
Our church went through the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign in November 2002. We laid the foundation of the five purposes of life- Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Evangelism. We knew that it was only the beginning—it takes a lifetime to learn to cultivate these purposes in full. In 2003, we saw the need to develop the platform to encourage our people to continue to live ...
It may take guts, but Authentic Biblical Community is something to strive for.
Michael C. Mack
ABC. It's the building blocks of God's church, not a song by the Jackson 5 or Already Been Chewed gum. ABC is Authentic Biblical Community.
Community is a buzzword often heard these days in the church. The problem is that we can use it so much that it loses its meaning. Let's look at what the Bible says about it and then examine how to develop it in your small group.
ABC. It's Easy As 1-2-3.
The apostle Paul described the church as the body of Christ in which all the members work together, belong to each other, and need one another. That's Authentic Biblical Community!
People are watching to see if our words mean anything.
Rick Baldwin
One of God's purposes for a small group is that it be a place where care is mutually given. Our response to friends in need is a loud and clear statement to those in the group, the rest of the body of Christ, and to unbelievers who are watching us to see if our love "has feet and hands." Solomon wrote, "A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need" (Proverbs 17:17). For ...
A commonsense look at a highly debated principle of small-group life
Larry Osborne
Dividing small groups is a dumb idea.
I know. Dumb is a strong word. But now that I've got your attention, let's see if you don't come to the same conclusion after we've looked more closely at this strategy's underlying rationale and unintended consequences.
For decades it's been an unquestioned canon within the small-group movement that healthy groups multiply by continually growing and splitting ...
Author Donald Clifton said, "Relationships help us to define who we are and what we can become. Most of us can trace our successes to pivotal relationships."
My original idea for this article was to focus on accountability. As small-group leaders, we certainly need accountability in our ...
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