Geoff Surratt, director of Exponential, wrote a book titled Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing. Great title, so I, ummm, borrowed it. Here are what I believe are the top 10 stupid things that prevent groups from growing...
Tag: spiritual growth
Small Group Leaders
The Fool’s Gold of Group Discipleship: 6 Small Group Elements Easily Mistaken for the Real Thing
All that glitters is not discipleship. Christ-Centered, Holy-Spirit Empowered, Authentic, Missional Small Groups that Share Leadership are the environment where discipleship happens best, but I've witnessed far too often that many groups focus on the wrong wins. These are all...
Small Group Leaders
7 Grace-Filled Principles for Building Commitment to Spiritual Practices (Commitment and Small Groups Series #13)
In yesterday's post, I discussed what you as a leader can do when group members resist making a commitment to grow spiritually. How can you help them grow, and, even first, want to grow, without pushing them, judging them, or being...
Small Group Leaders
What Do You Do When a Group Member Resists Spiritual Growth? (Commitment and Small Group Series #12)
What do you do as a leader when you want to see your group members grow and yet they seem reluctant, resistant, or even rancorous toward making a commitment to grow spiritually? I remember a conversation I had with Bob,...
Small Group Leaders
The Personal Commitment that Makes the Group Commitment Stronger (Commitment and Small Groups Series #7)
Your personal commitment to Christ has a tremendous effect on everyone else in your group. When you are not growing in your own faith, your fellow group members lose something: your influence on them. But when you are committed to...
Small Group Leaders
The Costs of Commitment in Groups (Commitment and Small Groups Series #6)
I'm writing currently about commitment in groups and I believe this is vital. Groups that are committed to one another, despite the costs involved, are the ones in which people grow and develop into disciplemaking disciples. They are also the...
Small Group Leaders
Committed to WHAT? 3 Commitments of a Healthy, Life-Changing Small Group (Commitment and Small Groups Series #5)
If you could ask Jesus’ original disciples to describe discipleship, they would talk about someone who was totally committed to a particular rabbi. Usually, disciples literally lived with their rabbi and followed him everywhere he went. Communal living was absolutely...
Small Group Leaders
5 Surefire Ways to Screw Up a Small Group (Commitment and Small Groups Series #4)
1. Make your group all about you. When you first looked for a small group, you may have done so in the same way you shopped for a new car or a new refrigerator. You looked for features you wanted,...
Curriculum
REVIEW: Running with God, by Liz Linssen
Every once in a while as I edit a book, it takes longer than expected, not because the writing is bad but because the content is so good that I get distracted from my job. Running with God was such a...
Small Group Leaders
Seven Ways Your Small Group Can Celebrate the Incarnation This Holiday Season
What is your small group doing over the holidays? "Many groups struggle with meeting and studying over the holidays, and this can be detrimental to the health of your group," I wrote in my November column in The Christian Standard...