How do you get small group members to invite people to their groups? I spoke at +Greenwood Christian Church this past Saturday, particularly on the topic of moving small groups from good (comfortable, focused mostly internally) to great (costly, missional). We spent time talking about the importance of members inviting people into their groups as part of carrying out Christ’s …

Maybe you’ve never considered this, but Rock n’ Roll has provided small group leaders with quite a bit of wisdom. Over the last week, I’ve been posting #rocknrollwisdom as my Small Group Leadership TIPS of the week on Twitter, my Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and LinkedIn. The genesis of all real wisdom comes from the Creator, who uses all …

Yesterday, we began a three-part series by guest blogger, Dr. +Ralph Neighbour.  Please see that post before reading this one.  __________   FACT 2: OVERSEAS BODIES OF CHRIST HAVE HARVEST FIELDS “As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and …

I know so many people who deal with the debilitating effects of depression. Family members. Friends. I also have gone through several seasons of depression in my life. Now, I don’t want to oversimplify depression and its effects. I’ve seen the necessity and benefits of helpful medicines for my immediate family members, but I believe they are not the end …

The Lord is on our side.  I came across these six little words as I read Psalm 124 this morning. These words are so vital to our lives that the writer, David, asked the people to repeat them. I took some time to simply meditate on these small yet profoundly impacting words. Here are a few of my thoughts. Let’s …

In my previous post, I shared the first 4 characteristics of a life-changing leader. Read that post first. While those are the most fundamental, the next 4 are no less vital: 5. Healthy small group leaders are friends with non-Christ-followers Small group leaders may or may not have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but they do intentionally seek out friendships …

You may be familiar with this graphic that shows how to live a Christ-directed life. How could you apply this to your small group? Over more than 20 years of doing small group ministry, I’ve learned this: There are many skills and techniques you can learn to help you lead a good group. But nothing else even comes close to …

As Christ-following leaders–of small groups, ministries, churches, families, businesses, ourselves–we know that our relationship with God must come first. If we spend time with him, committed to walking with him, seeking him, and putting his kingdom first, he will take care of everything else and will overflow through us into the lives of those we lead. We know that, don’t …

Our world is in desperate need for leaders with integrity.  A healthy leader whom God will use to carry out his mission, bearing lasting fruit, is a person of high integrity. But you already knew that, didn’t you? Yet here’s the thing. Integrity is pretty easy to believe in and talk about; but it’s incredibly hard to live out. Integrity …

I was sitting in a small groups seminar in 1993, mesmerized by Lyman Coleman as he stood by his overhead projector, training leaders as nobody else could. This is good stuff, I thought, but what will these folks do when they get back to their churches? What will they do two or three years from now when they run into …