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Browse the E-zine Archives 
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The Presence and the Presents
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When the conversation related to the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, the Apostle Paul never seemed to lack for words. He wanted people to be informed about how God worked in and through his people. He showed no reticence in addressing this topic, as it seems that he experienced the presence of God’s Spirit in ways that we might label today as unusual. It is somewhat remarkable to me how comfortable we have become with doing church without an expectation that God might show up.
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Small Groups … Just as God Wants Them
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Have you ever wondered what Jesus was doing during those 40 days in the dessert? Unfortunately, the Bible does not provide lots of details, perhaps because Jesus was alone. We know that he was fasting, and one thing that is always connected with fasting is prayer. Jesus was a man of prayer, and he never did anything or taught anything without first consulting his Father. I think we can assume that Jesus was spending at least some of this time (if not most) talking and listening to the Father about the start of his impending ministry, a large part of which was the selection and discipleship of His small group of followers—the 12 apostles.
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Group Graces
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Now, a key thing to remember about “little graces” is that they have no meaning outside the context of community. Without community, there is no need for spiritual gifts. God gave them to you as an expression of love for the sake of investing in the lives of people around you. That is why in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about how ridiculous it is for a person with one gift to look at someone else with another gift and say “mine is better than yours” or “I don’t really need you”. It makes no sense. There is no “I” in spiritual gifts outside the context of “we”. You see, God himself is present in places where each person uses his or her spiritual gifts as part of the team to bless others.
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Building Bridges with Small Group Community
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The Best Small Group Leader Ever once asked a philosophical question: “Who needs a doctor, the healthy or the sick?” The answer seems obvious, but the implication to your small group is more profound. Jesus then revealed his life mission: “I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out” (Luke 5:31, 32, The Message). Matthew’s gospel says it slightly differently: “I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders” (Matthew 9:13).
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Targets, Targets, Targets
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Years ago, our cell church began to target segments of the unreached Houston community. Six week small groups were used to establish relationships between group members and strangers by targeting their shared common needs or interests. We sponsored HOPE (Helping Others Practice English) for Japanese immigrants. This was so successful that we formed a congregation with over 100 of them. FLOC (For the Love Of Children) drew dozens of couples who had autistic children. A “Wild Game Night” drew hunters and fishers. “Biking Together” targeted still another group.
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Holy Smokers! How Tongs, Motorcycles, and Horseshoes are Connecting People into Groups
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Dan was very frustrated with his men’s group. He had an accountability group that met every Tuesday night around the conference table in the church library. Attendance was sketchy. He started with about a dozen guys. That number quickly dropped to a handful and then just a couple of guys. After Promise Keepers, or some other large men’s event, his group would grow, only to diminish once again.
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Bringing Christian Community into Subcultures
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In my mind’s eye I can see it. I can see a life that is seamlessly filled with the love of Christ. I can see myself living out my hobbies, mowing my yard, and enjoying the relationships around me. It is a vision I have had for my life and for others for a very long time. It is what I call a life-integrated ministry that engages popular culture while sharing the Gospel. What and where are these communities for us to engage? They are all around us: bicycle clubs, LAN parties, Texas Hold’em parties, sports leagues, work-out gyms, book reading clubs - subculture after subculture after subculture.
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One Filmmaker’s Perspective on Using Video in Small Groups
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My first memory of watching a video in church was in youth group. It was the early 1980’s when VHS was still new, so I must have been in 5th or 6th grade. The video was a movie about the rapture, and I remember two particular things about it.
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Sensational Community: Building Community that Connects with Emerging Generations
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The Emerging Church movement is a new expression of the ancient roots of our Christian faith, and community is the master key to its desire to sense and share the Lord in ‘non-traditional’ ways. It consists of believers who are endeavoring to understand the postmodern worldview, critique it through a biblical lens, and harness it in order to articulate the story of Jesus Christ in ways that can touch the soul of emerging generations.
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Make Your Group a Winning Team!
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I have a confession. I like Mike. I like Mike so much that I named my first son after him—well, kind of. His name is Jordan Michael. I like Mike so much that I was selected as the biggest Michael Jordan fan in Anderson, Indiana, in 1993, the year of M.J.’s first retirement. I like Michael Jordan for a reason: I like basketball, and he is the greatest basketball player of all time. Yet his first NBA team, the Chicago Bulls, did not win the NBA championship until his seventh season. That is when they assembled a great team around the greatest player.
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