This is meant to be a connecting point for those who wish to become better followers of Jesus Christ and to help others to do the same.
Monday, October 27, 2008
How You Say What You Say
Monday, October 20, 2008
A Sense of Urgency
Monday, October 13, 2008
What Does your Room set-up communicate?
Some small-group directors will call me and say, "We've got four or five small groups in our church, and all they do is socialize." And I say, "Good. Let them just socialize. That's an important part of Christianity. It's an important part of their life." Now, I would guess that if I attended those groups, the homes themselves would be set up in a social way. There would be a lot of food. There would be a lot of room for just standing and talking. There would be couches and chairs set up in little pockets. That's an environment that is conducive to natural connection. But in most small groups, we switch that off and move everyone to a round circle so that eight or ten of us can see each others' faces. But when that happens, you've just changed the environment. Let's be real—none of us sit around in a circle with eight or ten people in the normal course of our lives (unless we're at a business meeting). It's just not a natural way to connect in our culture. So when we gather everyone in a circle after they've been connecting, we're communicating that something is changing. We're doing something different. And after a few times, the group members begin to understand that we're moving into a learning mode—that someone is going to teach us something. That's not a bad thing. We just need to realize that we change the intimacy level when we change the environment.View source
Monday, October 06, 2008
Life Transformation or Christian Education?
What makes the difference between a class/study that is a “data transfer” and one that facilitates spiritual transformation?
If asked to describe “spiritual disciplines” most people will give things done in privacy like prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, Scripture memory, etc. and they are often things that are viewed as burdens. A couple of years ago I was introduced to the phrase “spiritual practices.” That are the behaviors that we choose to practice that yield the results we desire?
Below are some practices that may alter your class/study/small group.
“When we are alone, it's easy to think, incorrectly, that we are spiritually advanced. I can watch a Hallmark commercial alone and find myself moved to tears. I tell myself that I am a very compassionate person. But when I spend time in community with a person who annoys me, it's amazing how quickly I experience "compassion fatigue."
In community we discover who we really are and how much transformation we still require. This is why I am irrevocably committed to small groups. Through them we can accomplish our God-entrusted work to transform human beings.
However, experience tells us that simply meeting with a small group does not automatically result in spiritual growth. There are certain practices that must be present, spiritual disciplines that must occur, to facilitate the transforming work of Christ in us. The presence of these things is what makes the difference between all-too-typical small groups, and life-transforming communities of spiritual formation.
What are these practices? I don't think I have the definitive answer, but I have observed five essential practices:”
Confession: remove the masks
Application: look in the mirror
Accountability: stand on the scale
Guidance: follow the map
Encouragement: embrace each other
To read more from the author of the above quote and list (including explanations and illustrations of each one) click here.