5 Ideas to Help Small Group Members “Be Present”
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1 Simple Way to Improve Conversations
We have all been there. You are sitting in your small group; a member shares a vulnerable story of what is happening in his/her life. The room falls quiet as people try to figure out what to say. In desperation, another person replies with a story of his/her own, which typically begins in this manner, […]
What Do Small Groups and Hot Chocolate Have in Common?
The day after Christmas, my wife and I, along with our two girls (ages 2 ½ and 6 months), hopped on a plane and flew to southern California to visit my parents and some other friends and family. My parents, being amazing grandparents, had the food items that they knew our toddler loved, like chicken […]
12 Book Recommendations for 2019
As leaders, one of our tasks is to continue to learn. I have heard it said that great leaders never stop learning. And in 2018, a number of your colleagues read some great books that they would recommend to you. So here are 11 books recommended by other small group point people in the Small […]
Preparando El Suelo Para Tu Ministerio De Grupos Pequeños
La casa que mi esposa y yo compramos hace poco más de un año ahora tiene una pequeña parcela de jardín a un lado de la casa. Los propietarios anteriores habían hecho un gran trabajo para convertirlo en un lugar ideal para sembrar verduras. Sin embargo, nuestro primer verano allí nos aclimatarnos a ser dueños […]
Community Formation and Stone Soup
A little while ago, I wrote on the power of food as it relates to being formed into community. Because of our technological age, which is premised on easy everywhere, we have somehow become less connected. Authentic, transformative relationships seem harder. One of the most beautiful aspects of eating together is in the mutual recognition […]
Lead from Authoritative Vulnerability
I continue to reflect on Priya Parker’s excellent book, The Art of Gathering. In my last post, I talked about her principle that gathering is about people not just a checklist of logistics. But once we have the people in our midst, how do we lead? Parker suggests that the best hosts lead from a […]
Why Every Small Group Point Person Should Attend “Accelerate!”
We all enter into ministry for a variety of reasons. For me, I love seeing people grow spiritually through a rich experience of biblical community. I have been blessed with incredible community, experiencing firsthand how transformative small group Christian community can and should be. I want to shepherd people into that experience. That last sentence […]
5 Themes for Developing a Church-Wide Small Group Culture
At the 2018 SoCal “Lobby Gathering” a few weeks ago (Register for 2019), I had the privilege of leading a conversation on developing a church-wide small group culture. It was great to sit with other small group point people, and listen to where they are in the process, but more specifically, what was working and […]
4 Ways to Avoid Burnout in 2018
As small group point people, we hit the ground running in January—getting new groups started, getting old groups started again, getting people signed up, and all the administrative tasks that go along with this. We think we will get to breathe once this is done, only to find that our to-do list is longer than […]
