I read Acts 2 again today in my quiet time. Of course, this is a very familiar passage, one to which people like me give our lives. Today, this passage struck me a little differently than it has before. “And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had” (Acts 2:44, NLT).  I’m struck by how devoted these …

Here are my favorite 20 posts by some of my favorite bloggers last year. Tattoo Man, Brian Jones Enchi-fricken-ladas, Alan Danielson Burritos, John Eldridge Thou Shalt Offend Pharisees, Mark Batterson Form Without Presence, Scott Boren Potential = Purity, Mark Batterson Great Leaders Challenge “The King,” Scott Williams Christian Schwarz Got It Right, Randall Neighbour The Most Overrated Church Comment, Alan …

Tomorrow our family will gather, like most of yours, to celebrate Thanksgiving. I’ll be giving thanks for many things this year, but one of the tops is for my kids. I’m particularly thankful that not one of my kids will ask me to cut up their turkey for them or feed them their cranberry sauce tomorrow. In fact, the girls …

“Why is it so important that solitude come before community? If we do not know we are the beloved sons and daughters of God, we’re going to expect someone in the community to make us feel that way. They cannot.” –Henri Nouwen  I’ve been blogging a short series about our inner life, discipleship, community, and ministry, inspired by Nouwen’s Spring …

In Alan Danielson’s blog post today, he discusses “the most overrated church comment.” What is that comment? “I want to go deeper.” I totally agree, and I’d add a second, related comment: “I need to be fed.” I’ve heard both comments quite a bit. (People have even left our church and other churches, making these comments as they left.) Both comments …

I write and talk a lot about healthy small groups. (To see my blogs on the topic, click here.) To review, the seven hallmarks of a healthy group are: Christ-Centered Healthy, Growing Leader Core Team Goals & Plans Authentic Biblical Community Serving Others Disciple-Making The result or “fruit” of a healthy group is a group that is: Growing, Reaching Out, and …

In my last post I discussed “Rethinking Our Small Group Model.” A couple small group architects, Alan Danielson and Ben Reed posted some intriguing comments, which inspired another blog post. Basically, Alan said that if Jesus’ group met in America today, they’d meet in a variety of places outside church buildings and homes. Ben responded that homes would be a …

What is “authentic biblical community”? It’s within the environment of authentic biblical community that disciples are made and we live out our faith. But what does that look like for us today? Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about what a model for discipleship should look like today, and truthfully, I have more questions than answers. I began writing about …

Subgroup into smaller groups of 2-4 for deeper sharing during application or prayer. Divide the sexes. Split up the men and women for portions of the study of for prayer and accountability. Meet between meetings. Guys or gals go out to breakfast or lunch together during the week. Get accountable. Ask some tough questions and expect people to share what’s …

I received the following question from a fellow small groups director. It’s a great question and one most small group leaders have dealt with or will deal with. How do you handle special needs or even just very socially awkward (haven’t necessarily been diagnosed) adults in groups?  Our young adults group is doing great, but recently they’ve had many requests …