Ask “Why?” 5 times

It’s always frustrating to be attempting to lead a discussion, and nobody’s discussing.  This is when the snack table looks the most appealing.  Or maybe the answers you are hearing are to cliché.  We used to tell our kids that

Friends and buddies

Okay men, If you would like to read a concise article on the the difference between a friend and a buddy, check out The Path of Friendship written by Matt Teel and featured in Rebel magazine’s winter 2011 issue, page 26. Teel teaches college level ethics, and in a nutshell references Aristotle in saying

Water wings and cannonballs

What would you think if you watched a parent push four children into a swimming pool because she knew that eventually all the children would have fun in the water?  Good motive, bad method. I watched a scenario today that

A pastor’s view of small groups

Thanks to Pastor Jerry Mitchell for the following thoughts.

Twenty years ago, as a friend and I were meeting weekly for discipleship, we caught wind of a new church modality called “small groups”. Like rebels with a cause, we were determined to become the resident experts and convince everyone in our 1200 member congregation that they needed to be in a small group.

Having been discipled in a small group in college, the management and leadership of this bad boy was not unfamiliar to me. But

Spread the wealth

If you were to gather the members of your church together and ask them, “What is the responsibility of the pastor?” almost certainly someone would reference Ephesians 4:12 where Paul states, “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.”  Certainly pastors like the potential of this verse. It gives them

Group discipleship

When you think of the word discipleship, you may not immediately think of small groups.  I think the common tendency, and reasonably so, is to picture a one-on-one approach to discipleship.  A mentoring situation where a novice learns from a master.  A student from a teacher.  A rookie from a pro.  A member from the pastor.  Notice how

I would say this Christian Standard article is hasty

Why Churches Should Euthanize Small Groups | Christian Standard.

I couldn’t agree and disagree more.  In stating your case against small groups you also provide a glowing testimony to their power. You recount a small group of disciples that grew together early in your life. It sounds as though this group had a positive impact on your life. Enough so that you recount details 25 years later. The  group’s purity of beginning and power to disciple

Flexible and fruitful

Starting a small group for married couples with kids can seem like the impossible dream in today’s fast paced world.  Between work schedules, music lessons, sports practices, school events, staying physically fit, PTA meetings, church council meetings, and maybe some time for sleep, it just doesn’t seem possible to find time to participate in a small group.

Maybe your idea of a small group needs to morph. 

Please face this way

I was at a conference yesterday.  Everything was pretty normal and was what one would expect. Tables facing forward toward a presentation screen. Chairs evenly arranged behind tables. Nothing out of the ordinary.  A host introduced the main speaker for the day and then

One size fits some

One size does not fit all. We live in a country where options are expected. How could we cope if we did not have an entire grocery store aisle devoted to breakfast cereal? We could, of course, but we don’t want to. And we’ve grown to expect this variety in nearly every aspect of our lives. So what about small groups? It’s unfortunate