Now here's a question that anyone can answer by observation alone. How is your church growing? Are people coming to the weekend services and then visiting a small group and "sticking" because of the relationships they form there?
Or, is your church growing by small group members reaching out to friends, family and co-workers and into the small groups first?
This seems to be what separates the churches with a small group ministry from the true small group-driven churches out there.
Spontaneous leadership
This week, I've gone back a few chapters to re-write the 2nd chapter in my book, which addresses the attitude, motivation, and lifestyle of the senior pastor or lead pastor in a church comprised of small groups. While reading through the first book Peter wrote, I came across this powerful verse, taken from The Message translation:
I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here's my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way. (I Peter 5:1-3)
I love how this is worded. It seems to quickly annihilate strategic thinking for the sake of church growth to focus on a very relational style of leadership. There's a lot to unlearn, huh?
I challenge you to print out this blog entry and slip it in your Bible. When you open your Bible for the next week or so, ask yourself, "Am I leading spontaneously and tenderly showing others the way?"
I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here's my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way. (I Peter 5:1-3)
I love how this is worded. It seems to quickly annihilate strategic thinking for the sake of church growth to focus on a very relational style of leadership. There's a lot to unlearn, huh?
I challenge you to print out this blog entry and slip it in your Bible. When you open your Bible for the next week or so, ask yourself, "Am I leading spontaneously and tenderly showing others the way?"
Cell or Small?
On Thursday and Friday of last week, I read through an excellent book by Joel Comiskey entitled, Leadership Explosion.
This is a book that my organization publishes, and we're revising it with new wording on the inside of the book and a fresh new cover design (which should be released in a few weeks).
One of the decisions the author and I made for this book was to change his use of the word "cell," changing it to "small group." It seems that many people associate "cell group" with an antiquated church growth gimmick from the 90's and others associate it with terrorism.
How do you feel about the term "cell group?" Do you avoid books who use this term instead of "small group?" How about using a book in your church to train your leaders? Do you prefer the generic "small group" label when you consider what you'll use to train others?
I'd really appreciate your comments on this blog post... let me know what you call your groups and what you think about the term "cell group," positive, neutral, or negative.
This is a book that my organization publishes, and we're revising it with new wording on the inside of the book and a fresh new cover design (which should be released in a few weeks).
One of the decisions the author and I made for this book was to change his use of the word "cell," changing it to "small group." It seems that many people associate "cell group" with an antiquated church growth gimmick from the 90's and others associate it with terrorism.
How do you feel about the term "cell group?" Do you avoid books who use this term instead of "small group?" How about using a book in your church to train your leaders? Do you prefer the generic "small group" label when you consider what you'll use to train others?
I'd really appreciate your comments on this blog post... let me know what you call your groups and what you think about the term "cell group," positive, neutral, or negative.
Swapping Hard Drives
A few weeks back, the hard drive in my Macbook started making random beeping sounds when the drive mechanism was idle. Knowing that laptop drives don't last nearly as long as desktops due to the abuse they receive from constant movement, the occasional bump and intense heat, I called Apple and asked them to ship me a replacement drive under my extended warranty.
The package arrived Friday containing the new hard disk. With five minutes' work, I had the new drive snapped into place and the case re-assembled. I knew that would be the easiest part though... restoring all my files and programs was going to be the real time-killer. I had a great backup of everything, but putting it back in place so it actually works the same and looks the same is impossible.
This got me thinking about the overhaul many churches need to do with their small groups. They're still limping along, but all the signs of catastrophic failure are there if one takes the time to look carefully. Leader burnout, a lack of apprentice leaders, weak or non-existent coaching combined with an incredibly high staff pastor-to-group ratio, the absence of one-on-one discipleship among group members, little to no relational evangelism taking place naturally, spotty to non-existent connection time between leaders and the church (in other words, too few Vision-Huddle-Skills events) just to name a few.
When my hard drive starting making read-write noises, I considered buying one of those new Macbook Air laptops that's wafer thin as a replacement. However, Apple always makes everything they release much better with version 2 at the same price, so I decided to wait and upgrade next year. My current Macbook is zippy in performance and in great shape with a new hard disk in it now. I made the right choice to repair and not replace this time around.
Think about your small group ministry. Sometimes its easier to start over and upgrade than to attempt to restore something that's old and worn out. Would forming a new prototype group that lives out your churches mission as a pattern group for the future be easier and more effective than repairing your existing small groups?
The package arrived Friday containing the new hard disk. With five minutes' work, I had the new drive snapped into place and the case re-assembled. I knew that would be the easiest part though... restoring all my files and programs was going to be the real time-killer. I had a great backup of everything, but putting it back in place so it actually works the same and looks the same is impossible.
This got me thinking about the overhaul many churches need to do with their small groups. They're still limping along, but all the signs of catastrophic failure are there if one takes the time to look carefully. Leader burnout, a lack of apprentice leaders, weak or non-existent coaching combined with an incredibly high staff pastor-to-group ratio, the absence of one-on-one discipleship among group members, little to no relational evangelism taking place naturally, spotty to non-existent connection time between leaders and the church (in other words, too few Vision-Huddle-Skills events) just to name a few.
When my hard drive starting making read-write noises, I considered buying one of those new Macbook Air laptops that's wafer thin as a replacement. However, Apple always makes everything they release much better with version 2 at the same price, so I decided to wait and upgrade next year. My current Macbook is zippy in performance and in great shape with a new hard disk in it now. I made the right choice to repair and not replace this time around.
Think about your small group ministry. Sometimes its easier to start over and upgrade than to attempt to restore something that's old and worn out. Would forming a new prototype group that lives out your churches mission as a pattern group for the future be easier and more effective than repairing your existing small groups?
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