How to Answer Tough Questions about the Bible

“Why should I trust what the Bible says?”

How would you respond if someone in your group asked that question? The Bible is the core curriculum of Community Groups. Not everyone believes it’s inspired, without error, or even that it’s true. How do we know that the Bible isn’t just another religious book, and are you equipped to answer hard questions about the Bible? This month, group leaders will learn essential skills for answering tough questions about the Bible:

• Is the Bible God’s Word?
• Can we trust the Bible?
• Is the Bible without error?

Mike Hipsley will be facilitating this important discussion.

November 20, 2008/7:15 pm/Room 200

Please contact Lois Schraf at loisschraf@lifepointchurch.us to RSVP.

Group Life 2008 Highlights

Session 1

John Burke
Lead Pastor, Gateway Church Austin TX
Why Community Is Essential

John Burke says what's essential is staying connected to God. "Stay connected and fruit happens."

See the highlights of John's talk here.


Session 2

Mark Batterson and Heather Zempel
Lead Pastor, Discipleship Pastor, National Community Church Washington DC Where Community Grows Best

Mark and Heather address those things that are catalytic to community. Finding the perfect small group model doesn't guarantee perfect results. "Everything is an experiment."

See the highlights of Mark and Heather's session here.


Session 3

Will Miller
Speaker, Author, Therapist, Comedian
What Stunts Community Growth

Will answers the question: What's the biggest obstacle to community?

See the highlights of Will's session here.

10 Keys to a Healthy Group (part 2)

6. Get together often, not just once a week.
If it is true that life change is accelerated in relationships (and I believe the biblical model demonstrates that it is), then at least one of our goals should be to build genuine relationships with those in our community group. Connecting once a week is not enough. Someone said that the quality of a group meeting is determined by contacts between meetings. Get together for coffee, to play games, contact each other through emails, phone calls, etc. If you want to go to a deeper level, you’ve got to invest relationally with those in your group.


7. Model transparency, don’t fake it.
I love the saying, “If you want to know the temperature of a small group, put the thermometer in the leader’s mouth.” As a leader, you need to go first. If you’re not modeling authenticity and transparency, don’t expect others to be all that open either. Model healthy transparency and honesty for your group. Be sure that people know that this is a safe place where they can share and be real. Set the ground rule, and make sure all agree: what people share in confidence stays in the group. Also, don’t allow people to turn your time into a “gossip” or “bashing” session. Nip unhealthy patterns in the bud—and deal with the person’s issue.


8. Prepare, don’t wing it.
Expect God to do great things in your group and be sure to do your part by investing in preparation. Don’t allow yourself to get into the bad habit of waiting until the last minute to prepare for your community group. Revise, enhance, and change questions if you think it is needed. Be creative and think of ways that you can capture people’s hearts and minds as you prepare for your group.


9. Cast vision, don’t drift.
Bill Hybels has said, “Vision leaks.” Perhaps one of the most strategic things you can do as a leader is to continually cast vision for your community group. Without regular vision casting the average community group will lose its sense of purpose and direction. Be passionate about the vision of your group; your passion will be contagious. Be creative and cast vision regularly.


10. Make a covenant, don’t neglect ground rules
Many problems that small groups face can be headed off by putting down on paper what the expectations for the group are and revisiting them often, as well as clearly defining the purpose/wins of the group through a covenant. It is important to state what is expected of members and to let them have input into what that should be and look like. At LifePoint, our groups share a common purpose: Deepening our walk with God, Developing Biblical community with one another, and Deploying our gifts to serve the world and the church. It is through our common purpose that we accomplish the mission of influencing people to find and follow Jesus. For more on the covenants and ground rules, see the resource “Clarifying the Win in CG’s.”

Sharing Your Stories

Here is a great idea on sharing stories together in your Community Group. Sharing your stories leads to deeper community.

10 Keys to a Healthy Small Group

Some challenges that small group leaders face are unavoidable. Even the most prepared and seasoned leader will face difficulties and obstacles. The beauty of challenge is that it presents opportunity for growth and learning. I know for me, some of my best learning has come from the trials and obstacles I've faced.

Some challenges are unavoidable, others are not. The kind of challenges small group leaders face that are avoidable often come about through a lack of preparation, knowledge, or a lack of implementation. Here are five of ten quick hitting keys to leading a healthy small group. They don't guarantee a trouble free small group, but they will increase your effectiveness as a group leader and help to create a group environment of enjoyment and growth.


1. Be a facilitator, not a teacher.
The difference between facilitating and teaching is like the difference between the dorm room and the classroom. In the classroom, the teacher has all of the answers and does 99% of the talking. In the dorm room, discussion is valued and talking is a shared experience. Guided discussion is key to a great small group. Our desire is to guide people into self-discovery. As people see for themselves how God’s Word applies to their life, it will have lasting meaning. Guide the discussion, but don’t dominate it.


2. Share responsibility, don’t hoard it.
Another key component to leading an effective group is the sharing of ministry. Allow others in the group to lead the worship time, lead the study, bring refreshments, host the group, etc. Cultivating group ownership is important if members are going to feel needed and appreciated. This makes for a great way to begin surfacing an apprentice leader. It also helps to keep you from burning out or from thinking that you have to do it all. Share ministry, don't hoard it.(Ephesians 4:12)


3. Be a community, not a clique.
One thing that stood out in the early church was the love that believers had for one another. But the oneness they experienced was not an end in itself. The early church was passionate, and compassionate about inviting others into this new community that God was creating. Verses such as Acts 2:47, 5:42, John 13:34-35, John 17:21, Mark 3:14, bear out that what Jesus and the early church were developing was Community with a Cause. Be open, and invite people who are on the outside looking in into the powerful realm of True Biblical Community.


4. Depend on God, not on yourself.
If you don’t think you can be a good community group leader, you’re the perfect person for the job. God wants people who abandon themselves and trust completely in Him to work through them. As a leader, you have launched out in faith and are trusting God to do something great in your life and in the lives of those you’re investing in. He’s responsible for transforming the lives of people; prayerfully depend upon Him to do just that.


5. Capture moments, don’t miss them.
Remember, this is not about getting you through the curriculum; it is about getting the curriculum (more specifically the Word) through you. I have had the experience of being in small groups in the past where someone will share a specific need, or struggle, and the leader says, “We’ll be praying about that for you.” Prayer is one of the right answers, but so is compassion which leads to action. If you, or someone in your group is capable of meeting a need, meet it. If someone shares a real struggle, or issue, address it. Don’t simply gloss over that because you feel compelled to get through the study, or because you don’t know how to respond. Respond. When the Spirit of God is moving, and people are sharing, mark those moments. Don’t let them slip by.

Those are the first five keys. Keep an eye out for the remaining five.

What to Do When Bad Stuff Happens

When one suffers - all suffer.

When one member of a small group is in crisis, the entire group will experience pain and discomfort: pain for their brother or sister in Christ, pain that is reawakened in their own lives, and the painful effect that the crisis has upon the group.

Everyone has good intentions, but many times, neither the group nor their leader is equipped to respond in helpful or healing ways.

What does it take to provide safe harbor in this kind of storm?

This month at our Community Group Leader's Meeting, Community Group leaders will receive the practical and necessary skills to help individuals - and the group as a whole - manage crisis.

"We all have needs. But what do groups do when one or more persons has extreme pain or crisis?" says Bill Donahue.

In this practical training, group leaders will find useful answers to tough challenges:

1. What are helpful vs. unhelpful responses?
2. How can a leader provide direction?
3. What kind of boundaries are needed?

Help your group become a place of God's strength, healing and sheltering love.

Join us on Thursday, September 25 in Room 200 of the Ministry Center. Feel free to bring a couple members from your group to hear this important topic addressed.

Group Life 2008

Join us for Willow's Group Life Conference.

Contact Lois Schraf at loisschraf@lifpointchurch.us

Group Life Conference

"Water and oxygen are essential for human life. Community is Essential for the human heart."

Here is a phenomenal opportunity for LifePoint Community Group Leaders. You're invited to Willow Creek's 2008 Group Life Conference. Speakers include: John Burke, Bill Donahue, Mark Batterson, Russ Robinson, and more. Some of the talks will include: "Why Community is Essential," "Where Community Grows Best," "What Stunts Community Growth," and "How Community Transforms." You'll be a part of all the conference's main sessions and popular breakouts.

The conference will be live via satellite and tape delay.

When:Friday, October 17, 6:30pm-10:00pm and Saturday, October 18, 9:30am-4:00pm.
Where:Grace Fellowship Chapel, Westminster MD

Best of all, LifePoint's Small Group Ministry is providing tickets to our Community Group leader's at no cost to you. We have a limited number of spaces available, so watch your email for instructions on how to register for this first come first serve event.

It's going to be great!

Clarifying the Win

Once a year, every year, the Lombardi trophy is awarded to the NFL team that wins football’s biggest game: The Super Bowl. The event is a big deal to say the least. So much so, that CBS was looking to get 2.6 million dollars for a 30 second commercial spot in 2007. If my math is correct, that’s over $80,000 dollars per second...per second! Many companies are willing to lay out that kind of cash because they know people will be tuning in. They tune in to see who wins the game. It’s easy to find out who the winner is in football, just look to see which team has the higher score at the end of the game. Simple.

Have you ever thought about what it means for a Community Group to win? In other words, what is the definition of success for a Community Group? What does it look like for a group to “put the ball in the net?” Okay, enough with the clichés. Without knowing what a win is, a group experience can get frustrating for the leader and its members. What started as a good idea, over time, can become purposeless, routine, and boring. Answering the questions, “Why do we exist?” and “What is my purpose as a Community Group leader?” are vitally important to the health of a Community Group. Reggie Joyner says, “When you clarify the win, it is like marking a specific destination on a map – it's easy to know when you win because you arrive at your desired destination.” Clarity regarding the “win” gives a group a real sense of purpose, although by no means does it imply that every group will look exactly the same—every group has a unique fingerprint.

It’s imperative that every Community Group has a destination mark on the map. Take a minute to think through the following two questions...(click here for more)

Welcome

Welcome to the LifePoint small group blog.