Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Deciding When to Multiply Your Small Group


Inward Depth or Outward Growth?
When a small group cultivates relationships with the same individuals over a span of multiple years, it can become an excellent example of the close-knit community that Jesus prays for us to have in John 17:22. Such a small group can be a safe haven where great friends can come together and be themselves after a stressful week. The laughs are many and the absences are few. There’s no pressure to impress anyone and each member of the group knows what to expect. For groups that have a rich history, the suggestion of opening up the group to new members can be unnerving. Such an introduction of new individuals can risk disrupting a state of equilibrium that is highly valued among its current members.

The Great Commission AND The Great Commandment
Small group intimacy is a great indicator for positive vulnerability within a group. Individuals feel safe to be themselves and they feel comfortable to trust their fellow group members with privileged information. Should the intimacy of a small group be disrupted by the introduction of a new individual, it can create two possible concerns among its group members: that the group’s cherished atmosphere of vulnerability may become compromised, or that the new member(s) may not be able to acclimate easily into the seasoned group if everyone else is already well-acquainted. While these concerns are valid, they unfortunately aren’t biblical.

When we look to the Scriptures, we are challenged by Jesus to embody both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, where we make disciples of all nations and love our neighbors as ourselves. Although we are tempted to consider these two as separate callings, they are not mutually exclusive. Small group intimacy is wonderful to have, but if we value it too heavily, it can cause us to shy away from anything that may jeopardize its stability. In this scenario, we reach out less often, and the small group eventually enters into a stage of evangelistic stagnation. In other words, the group is great at exhibiting the call to relationships that is seen in John 17:22, but it neglects to consider the very next verse, 17:23, where we are called to engage the world.

Why Should We Multiply?
In Acts 11, we read that persecution caused a number of the earliest believers to disperse. Of those that fled, some found themselves in Antioch and begin to share the Gospel there. When word was received that the number of believers was growing, Barnabas was sent to help give structure to the expanding church (Acts 11:22). Barnabas could have remained in Jerusalem where the early church was steadily growing at home. But he didn’t. Instead, he made himself available for the Lord to use him in an area of the church where the soil was fertile. Because of his obedience to the Lord, Antioch eventually grew to be a central point from where missionaries to the Gentiles were commonly sent.

There are areas of growth in our church that are fertile ground for a new small group to be created, and there are Barnabas’s within our established small groups. When we open ourselves up to having a balanced viewpoint of both inward depth and outward growth, then the church will grow through our small group ministry. Within your group may be a new small group leader that has the potential to reach an area of your community that your church may have previously thought to be unreachable. After identifying potential leaders in your group, raising up an apprentice and sharing the leadership of your group’s responsibilities may help prepare them for the time when the Lord calls them to begin leading a small group of their own.



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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Navigating the Minefield of Social Media as a Lay Leader (Part 2)



As a quick review, last week we discussed the impact of social media and how the content that we post can be viewed by the unchurched. As a news junkie myself, I understand this all too well. Years ago, I continuously posted content that was viewed as offensive to my friends and family on social media. How do I know? They were quite vocal in letting me know, and the resulting dialogue was often heated and stress-inducing. It impacted my work and my time with family as I would be more focused on drafting up my next rebuttal in my feed’s latest argument.  After years of this behavior, many unfollowed me, unfriended me, and wrote me off as an individual not worth listening to. As the Lord began to get a hold of my heart, I began to realize the damage that I had been doing, and I repented. To wrap up this series, let’s unpack the other two of the three principles to consider when navigating the minefield of social media use as a lay leader within the church.

Who Do You Follow?
Who you follow is more common knowledge than you think. Sure, someone can look at who you follow, but social media platforms like Twitter have a way of bringing this knowledge to the forefront. For example, tweets may appear on your feed of individuals who you don’t follow, and the reason for this is because someone who you follow, follows them. Social platforms do this to innocently connect you with more individuals who you may want to follow, but the unintended consequence of this is that others will know who you follow, whether you’d like them to know or not.
 
What Do You “Like?”
Similar to the previous section, the posts and content that you “like” or mark as “favorite” may show up on other individuals’ feeds as well (even if they do not follow the individuals that posted the content that you “liked”). Before clicking that heart underneath the post, ask if your followers would be interested in that content as well. Treat it like a retweet or a share, because it is possible that your actions will show up on others’ feeds, whether you intended it to or not.

Which is More Important?
Since that season when the Lord got a hold of my heart, I committed to filter my content through the lens of Scripture and post only life-giving content. Yet, even though I am now more cognizant of my social media presence, I still wonder to this day how many people in my social media network I lost connection with. I wonder how many I could have retained and how many would have been able to hear of the good news that I am sharing now, had I just simply given more prayerful consideration to the articles and comments that I was publishing. Over time, my heart was pierced and I came to the point where I needed to decide which was more important: being right, or giving God the glory He deserves.

Romans 14:13-19
“13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. 19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” (NIV).


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Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Navigating the Minefield of Social Media as a Lay Leader (Part 1)



When we became lay leaders in the church, we each took the plunge and placed ourselves in the public spotlight. While all Christians are naturally called to pursue a lifestyle that exhibits Christ-like behavior, becoming a lay leader within the church amplifies such a calling. For anyone serving in ministry for a season or more, we quickly discover how impactful our actions may be on the spiritual journeys of others (See below for Romans 14:13-19). As a result, it becomes vital to fully embrace the practice of Lifestyle Evangelism, where our actions become a form of evangelism toward those we interact with on a daily basis. While Lifestyle Evangelism is generally understood within the context of the community or inside the walls of the church, we sometimes forget how this calling also extends to our use of social media as well. Although the early years of social media was established on rather basic privacy settings, today’s age of social media has implemented settings that are at times challenging to navigate. This week and next week, we will unpack three key principles to consider when navigating the minefield of social media use as a lay leader within the church.

What Do You Post?
Beginning with the most easily understood principle to consider, Christians are called to filter their posts through the lens of Scripture. What is the content that you are sharing? Does it breathe life into others? Do the posts that you create or share include content that could be considered controversial by some of the individuals that follow you? Today’s social feeds are a raging battleground of warring political views and politically correct culture. While a lay minister does not lose their freedom to share their personal views on a platform like social media, the fact remains that we are all ambassadors of Christ, regardless of our political affiliations. As secular-minded individuals read the content that we post and share, we are subconsciously associated with Jesus and our posts are viewed as a representation of Christianity and the church. Paul says in Romans 14:14-15, “But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.” He may be referring to the eating of clean and unclean foods in his passage, but the principle is relevant: Those that perceive our posts as offensive will find it difficult to reconcile the principles of Christianity with an “ambassador of Christ” who is perceived as an offensive person.

Next Week
Stay Tuned for next week’s email to unpack two more principles of social media use that we are called to consider as lay leaders!

Romans 14:13-19
“13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. 19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” (NIV).



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Wednesday, October 9, 2019

3 Steps to Identify Future Leaders in Your Small Group


When I first became a Christian, I wasn’t sure if I was qualified or gifted enough to serve within the church. Even after getting acquainted with the community, I continued to believe this for months until a leader in the church invited me one evening to help facilitate a breakout conversation during a small group. From there, another opportunity arose for me to become involved. And then another. Somewhere along the way, I began to realize where God was calling me to serve, but it all started with that first invitation.

Small groups offer an incredible environment to help build relationships within the church, but did you know that they also can be used to identify future leaders and equip its members to serve the community? According to Scripture, 1 Corinthians 12:7 informs us that everyone has at least one spiritual gift. In other words, each person is able to help bless the Kingdom of God in at least one way. While not everyone may be ready to become a lay minister today, the Holy Spirit is constantly working in each of your group members’ hearts. What if one of your group members is ready to start serving at your church, but they are not sure where to begin?

Step 1: Finding the Opportunity
The first step is to draft a list of activities that are available to do within your group meetings. Depending on the comfort level of your group members, this could range from something as small as leading a devotional, to something as large as being the point contact for an upcoming service project that the group is planning. When considering potential opportunities, resist the temptation to offload a task just for the sake of lightening your workload. Instead, draft a list of all potential opportunities that can be shared (except those that can only be completed by the small group leader).  

Step 2: Identifying the Individual
When identifying and calling upon the first apostles, Jesus did not make a public announcement at the temple. Instead, He approached each of them directly and personally invited them. He affirmed that He saw something in them and noticed their willingness to be led by the Lord. While we aren’t selecting apostles here within our groups, the principle is similar: mass invites aren’t typically effective. Instead, take the time to prayerfully consider which individual you’d like to propose a potential opportunity to (From the list of activities you previously generated). If the Spirit is impressing a certain individual upon your heart, it is possible that the Spirit is also working in their heart at the same time to get them more involved. Your invitation to the person not only affirms and validates the presence of their spiritual gifts, but you also can become an agent of the Holy Spirit when sharing with the person that God may have something planned for them. The goal would not be to force anyone into a ministry opportunity, but rather to locate where God is already moving within the group and then to become the bridge that connects the individual to the opportunity.

Step 3: Coaching the Group Member
Once the opportunity is identified and the individual has volunteered, then you will be able to begin coaching that individual. Does this take time to guide someone through the completion of their task? Yes, but if the right person is identified with the best-matched spiritual gifts, it should take less time to coach the individual than the time you would have spent preparing (and doing) the task on your own. Through its small group ministry, the church can help promote a safe environment through which its group members feel comfortable enough to take risks and baby step into ministry endeavors that challenge them appropriately (according to the level of spiritual readiness that they find themselves in).

The Ripple Effect
The ripple effect can be powerful. By inviting a group member to do something as simple as leading a devotion, you could possibly be sowing a seed that inspires the person to grow into a disciple of Christ who then eventually mentors and impacts the lives of tens, or hundreds, or even thousands. After all, we must not underestimate the power of an invitation, for we only need to briefly reflect on the fact that the incredible size of the Christian church started with one person who extended personal invitations to only twelve.



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Tuesday, October 1, 2019

3 Ways God Transforms Pain Into Blessing


As we dive into conversations with our small groups, we often hear of challenging or painful experiences that our group members are going through (or had gone through before). Although pain and suffering did not come into the world until after the Fall, God still uses pain for His glory by turning our situation around and blessing us in ways that sometimes can only be understood in hindsight.

Pain teaches us
We may be familiar with the statement that Jesus makes when He says “I am the vine” (John 15:5), but do we willingly grant permission for God to prune our branches when it is necessary? Whether it is outright sin or whether it might be subtle activities that distract us from pursuing a relationship with Christ, it is possible that pain is occurring in our lives as a way for God to teach us. While it may be challenging to consider this as a form of love, Scripture reminds us that it is because of God’s love that we are disciplined: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” (Hebrews 12:5-7, NIV).

Pain equips us
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4, NIV).
While a season of pain certainly isn’t ideal for anyone to experience, it is possible that our circumstances could in fact be a training ground for the very ministry that the Lord is calling us to. While it is difficult to objectively see such a possibility in the middle of the pain, James 1:2-4 reminds us that we eventually begin to see how such an event can shape and form our character (and maybe even our spiritual outlook on life). By going through the circumstances ourselves, we are able to look another person in the eye and say to them “I know exactly what you are going through, and here’s how I saw the Lord move in my life during that same season...”

Pain draws us closer to Him
In his well-known Bible Study “Experiencing God,” Henry Blackaby says that one of the ways that God communicates with us is through our circumstances (the others being Scripture, Prayer, and the church). There may be seasons in our lives where we are on auto-pilot or wrapped up in the busyness of our day-to-day. While God always is trying to communicate to us through His still, small voice, it is possible that we may not be tuned into the correct frequency in order to properly hear Him. When we encounter challenging events in our lives, God uses them as opportunities to stand beside us, comfort us, and help us recover. Indeed, many have said that only a painful event could have ever grabbed their attention and could have helped them realize how lost they were without the active influence of the Lord in their lives.

These three items are oftentimes more clearly understood after the pain passes. When ministering to someone who is in the middle of a challenging season of life, we look to Jesus to show us how. Let us have the heart of Christ who experienced sorrow alongside His friends and even wept with them. He showed compassion for those who were in pain, and He ministered to them without hesitance. May the Lord abundantly bless your time with your small groups, and may the power of the Holy Spirit reveal God’s will through the seasons of pain that we may experience through our lives.



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