Discipleship. Small groups. Thoughts and book notes.

Reading a book about small groups (Activate, by Nelson Search and Kerrick Thomas), and comparing it with Real Life Discipleship by Jim Putnam.

Key question: what is the aim of the church's small groups?  Friendship? or Discipleship?

1. Think from the inside OUT, not from the outside in.
2. Think larger, not smaller.  12 - 15 people, with a 20 person group membership.
3. Think friends, not intimacy. Share deep things with only one or two closer friends.
4. Think short term, not long term. 10 - 12 weeks only. What happens if/when people try to sign up for the same group (same leader) again?
5. Think promotion months, not ongoing signups. Creates expectation/promotes commitment.
6. Think church OF small groups, not with  small groups.
7. Think easy, one-step sign-up, not hard.
8. Think ahead, not behind. Start planning/preparing 3 - 4 months in advance.
9. Think FULL STAFF PARTICIPATION, including the pastor. Every staff member should be in a small group (not together), either as group leaders or participants.
10. Think apprentice, not expert. Have a 'deputy leader'. I do, you watch. I do, you help. You do, I help.. You do, I applaud. Let your potential leaders know that your small groups are discussion, not lecture, based. They are not teachers. (BSF model: the leader identifies potential future leaders who are invited to lead. )
11. Think decentralisation, not staff control. Different types of groups eg sports, mums, etc Is there a key element of Bible study in all groups?
12. Think leader multiplication, not group multiplication.

So: Focus, Form, Fill and Facilitate

Facilitating groups:

1. Leaders are to be facilitators, not experts. Receive half a day Group Leaders' Training at the beginning of each term. Not necessary? Only for new leaders?
2. Structure the first group meeting carefully
3. Conducting week-to-week facilitation
4. Conducting monthly/semester facilitation

What does it mean for us as a church?

People need to feel excited about belonging to a small group to help them in their spiritual growth.

People need to feel that belonging to a small group is KEY to developing their spirituality.

There needs to be momentum in the groups.

Groups need a life, but 10 - 12 weeks may be too short. Perhaps 'allow' signups in the same group for 1 - 2 years?

A 'covenant' seems too directive, but commitment is key.

Women's Ministry!

I have always craved women's ministry that is beyond the women bit. Ministry that connects me, through others, to Jesus and His fellowship. So I was thrilled to read this article from Sarah Bessey about just this...and the comments afterwards are priceless. She also wrote a follow-up article here: much to reflect on. One of her key points is that she'd like to see "churches stop with all of the programs and be a bit more simple and small by intention. Let relationships develop organically. Be open to new people. And love well."

I agree with her... but the advantage of programs is that they do give folk a safe structure within which to develop relationships, especially for us reserved Brits...

My daughter Cat now goes to a church in New Zealand (where she is working for Christians Against Poverty) which DOES NOT HAVE SMALL GROUPS!  Excuse me? How can a vibrant church meet the needs of members without small groups? With something which is, possibly better...SERVING GROUPS.  In a nutshell, it works like this: new members go through an introductory program and are then, based on their gifts and calling, allocated to a serving group - whether this is hospitality, worship, welcome...etc etc - which then becomes their 'small  group'.  

Programs and people...finding the balance within women's ministry and without...

Real-life Discipleship

I have just read a book which has made me so excited that I have underlined scores of sentences, jotted notes in the margins and bookmarked numerous pages with tiny post-it notes. Real-life Discipleship, by Jim Putman. Having said that, the ideas the book offers of living out the Christian faith are nothing new. Biblically based ideas of developing the Christian life have not changed much over the ages. Yet this book is one of the most encouraging I have read for some time. Becoming and making disciples is essential to the Christian life and so Jim shows, and reminds, us of how we should do this.

The book summarises the key features of the discipleship process: this is not only intentional and relational but also strategic: we can all learn how to make disciples. While being familiar with the idea that spiritual growth leads us from being like children in the faith to becoming adults, Jim shows these in a spiritual growth wheel, elaborating on the typical characteristics, beliefs, behaviour, attitudes and actions of each stage in the discipleship process. This was extremely helpful: not only was I able to identify where others are in their spiritual journey, I was also challenged as I recognised immature characteristics in myself, which I had thought were long gone.

One idea, new to me, is that of Bible storytelling: a highly interactive method of studying the Bible which, along with learning Biblical truth, helps develop disciples into leaders.

This is an intensely practical handbook. It has encouraged me to continue seeking to help others grow through the context of small groups and, were I a church leader, I would want to adopt the ideas suggested. Being part of a small group which seeks to grow disciples into mature believers is not necessarily the only way to maturity – witness the lives of some of the great saints – but, for many, it is an essential part of the Christian life. Real-life Discipleship is a superb resource.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Confirmation

For the last 6 months, on and off - in fact, more off than on, to be truthful - we have been wondering about a particular decision. A decision to - perhaps temporarily, perhaps not (we don't know) - leave our wonderful home group to help out with small groups at another church.

Of course, we didn't want to do it. We meet with six other friends every week to study the Bible together, pray, share our lives...we very rarely miss a meeting, feeling a gap when we do so. It's comfortable and comforting, challenging and cheering. Hugely important.

Every so often, we wondered: should we, shouldn't we? There were huge numbers of unanswerable questions: would we have to leave our church? We couldn't do two groups at once, so how would we manage without the support of our own group, because leading a new one wouldn't be easy.

Nothing seemed to happen to propel us forward into change, so we put it all back in the cupboard again.

Until last week. during dinner with the friends who lead this other small church,both of us spent the evening separately wondering whether or not we should broach the subject. After all, perhaps they wouldn't want any help from outside. So we kept quiet.

It felt wrong.

So we decided to talk to our home group - would they release us? Reluctantly, they would. They prayed that God would confirm our decision in three ways.

We talked to our friends - did they want help? Yes, they would. Confirmation no.1.

Decision made, I received an aggressive email, out of the blue, which completely threw me. The stress made me feel as if I wasn't worthy to do anything, let alone 'lead' anything. Kind friends supported me and convinced me that this was just an attempt to make me doubt myself. Confirmation no. 2.

Last night, I told the vicar. A huge smile spread across his face. 'Thank you,' he said, 'that's great. I suggested your names to do just this.'

When did he do that? Just hours before our dinner. I realised why they didn't seem at all surprised when we actually offered help. Confirmation no. 3.

I feel absolutely euphoric to know that, although our decision doesn't 'feel' good or even 'right' and we definitely don't want to make this change, God DOES want us to. Wonderful.