November 6, 2009
Friday Flashback: The Wink and the Gun
An embarassing memory from my formative years...
I just read Reid Smith's post again on The Perfect Welcome, and I had a weird flashback. (If you haven't read Reid's post, you'll want to do that before continuing here).
Anyway, I was thinking about greeting people and I remembered that, back in high school, I went through a phrase where I constantly used "the wink and the gun" to say hello to people.
If you aren't familiar with "the wink and the gun," this guy does a pretty good demonstration:
I usually went with the "single hand" version, but you get the idea. Whenever I saw someone coming down the hall at school or church, or even at home, I always broke out the wink and the gun. It was some kind of weird, juvenile instinct. And now I look back and I think people must have busted out laughing as soon as I walked away. Oh well.
What about you? What are some other gestures or habits that might not work very well when it comes to greeting people in your small group?
posted by Sam O'Neal at 2:50 PM on November 6, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
November 5, 2009
Video of the Week: Sorie
This week's video looks at one group's efforts to make a difference in a young boy's life.
This week's video comes via the blog run by Alan Danielson, which is appropriately called AlanDanielson.TV. Alan is a regular contributor to SmallGroups.com, a social media guru, a Star Wars nut, and an all-around good guy.
I'll let the video speak for itself for the most part, but you should know that it focuses on one small group's effort to make a difference in the life of a boy living across the world in Sierra Leone.
Here you go. (Alan says that if you can watch this without crying, you don't have a heart...)
posted by Sam O'Neal at 10:54 AM on November 5, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
November 4, 2009
Question of the Week: Sickness
What should you do if a group member shows up sick?
It's time for our first Question of the Week!
If someone arrives to your group meeting who is obviously sick, what should you do?
I hope to have other people beside myself give the first answer to these questions more often than not, but I didn't have much time this week, so you're stuck with my opinion first. And that is: recommend politely that they head back home. Thank them for their dedication to your group and willingness to learn "no matter what," but be firm about sending them on their way.
This is true in the age of Swine Flu, but really, this is what should always happen when someone shows up at a group with more than the sniffles. Especially if there are children present in the home.
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Are there exceptions that need to be made? Is there a way to define when a person is "too sick to participate"?
I'd especially love to hear from some of you who have experienced this in recent months. What did you do?
posted by Sam O'Neal at 3:05 PM on November 4, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
October 29, 2009
Video of the Week
God's Pies: A funny and sobering look at how we divide our resources
Last week I promised that we would be rolling out some new features for the blog in the coming month, and here's the first one: I'm going to regularly troll through the Internet to find a Video of the Week.
Some of these videos will be professionally produced, others will be off the cuff from amateurs and churches. And they will run the gamut from funny to moving to encouraging to shaming. Whatever I can find that I think will have benefit for small-group leaders!
Here's the first one, from Worship House Media. It's supposed to be a look at financial resources, but I think it does just as well speaking about our time—or our total allocation of resources in general. Enjoy!
posted by Sam O'Neal at 4:25 PM on October 29, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
October 24, 2009
Participant Reaction from Group Life
Here's a quick video clip from Traci
posted by Sam O'Neal at 9:53 AM on October 24, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
October 19, 2009
Bad Apple Effect
Your group may be more susceptible to it than you think
You have heard it said, "One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel." There was an interesting study recently published by the University of Washington in the journal "Research in Organizational Behavior." Here’s a quote from the study: "One 'bad apple' can spread negative behavior like a virus to bring down officemates or destroy a good team. Negative behavior outweighs positive behavior, so a bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, but one or two good workers can't 'unspoil' it. Companies need to move quickly to deal with such problems because the negativity of just one individual is pervasive and destructive and can spread quickly." That comes from co-author Terence Mitchell, a professor of management and organization.
The study defines negative workers as those who do not do their fair share of the work, are chronically unhappy and emotionally unstable, or bully or attack others. The same "bad apple" effect can also have a significant impact a small group or church. Of course, the Lord knew about the dangers of the "bad apple" effect inside the church long before research confirmed it.
The New Testament gives strong guidelines on dealing with divisive believers. But before a divisive bad apple emerges, a trail of seemingly smaller sins and offenses typically precedes it.
Matthew 18:15-17 describes a process for dealing with sin and offense, first at the immediate relational level, and then involving an increasing scope of people and leadership as necessary. According to the progression of events, the first place bad apple behavior should be dealt with and resolved is in the personal relationships where the offense happened in the first place. This can stop the "bad apple effect" before it even gets started.
Continue reading Bad Apple Effect...
posted by Dan Lentz at 12:54 PM on October 19, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
Are Small Groups Just for White People?
An interview from Leadership Journal raises some interesting questions
I came across an interesting interview in the recent issue of Leadership Journal. The subjects of the interview were from River City Community Church—a multi-ethnic ministry located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. Leadership talked with Daniel Hill, who founded the ministry, along with several key leaders of the church.
Here's a brief excerpt of their conversation:
What kind of person is attracted to River City?
Hill: Most of our new people are white. But there's a revolving door with the white community here. They have a romantic notion of being part of a multi-ethnic church, so many of them get frustrated and leave when they realize how difficult it is to erase their assumptions about the way church is supposed to be.What assumptions do white people carry into the church?
Arloa Sutter (pastor of community life): When I came I said, "Let's just start small groups! Everyone wants to be in a group, right?" The fact is small groups aren't as important to other ethnicities as they are to white people.Small groups are a white church thing?
Hill: White people rely on small groups to connect. Other ethnicities form community more organically, more relationally. Immigrant communities find fellowship within extended families. In the city a lot of community happens on the front porch or sidewalk. So non-whites aren't as eager to set up structures and systems like small groups.Carlos Ruiz (coordinator of community groups): I think whites really value efficiency.
Antoine Taylor (director of Sunday morning ministries): And releasing that value is really hard for a lot of them. They perceive other ways of operating as inefficient or disorganized.
Jennifer Idoma-Motzko (elder): They say it's not the right way to do church. And I respond bluntly by saying, "You mean it's not the white way to do church."
Continue reading Are Small Groups Just for White People? ...
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:47 AM on October 19, 2009 | Comments (28) | Trackbacks (0)
October 14, 2009
Where Two or Three are Gathered...
Is Jesus' presence more significant in bigger gatherings than smaller gatherings?
While reading through some online newsletters, I happened across an article that really made me think. The article was by Chip Brogden, and was titled: “Gathering: But Not for the Better!” Here’s an excerpt from the article:
“Jesus made it clear that ‘where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20). Just two or three! I thank and praise God that Jesus did not say, ‘Where two or three THOUSAND are gathered together, there I am.’ He did not say, ‘Where two or three HUNDRED are gathered together, there I am.’ And He did not say, ‘Where two or three DOZEN are gathered together, there I am.’
Jesus also did not say where the two or three had to be gathered together. He did not specify a church building or a living room meeting. And He did not say how many times a week they had to be gathered, or if the gatherings had to be structured or unstructured, open or closed, inside or outside. By establishing His Presence in the midst of a group so small as two or three, Jesus repudiates our fascination with large numbers. Anyone can gather a crowd if you tell them what they want to hear.
May I say that a large group has no more of the presence of Jesus than a small group. The numbers are irrelevant. Either Jesus is in the midst, or He is not. If Jesus is not in the midst of us then having a large group of people will not compensate for Him not being there. I would rather sit on the living room floor with three people and have Jesus in the midst than sit in a service with three thousand people where Jesus is nowhere to be found. Of course, Jesus can sometimes be found in large groups of people, but as my wife says, He tends to get lost in the crowd.”
I think most of us would say Jesus presence in our midst in small gatherings is just as significant as in large gatherings. However, this is one of those truths that most of us accept intellectually, but struggle with in application. Why do I say that?
Continue reading Where Two or Three are Gathered......
posted by Dan Lentz at 12:44 PM on October 14, 2009 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)
September 25, 2009
Need a Getaway?
Your small group could win a weekend retreat courtesy of LifeWay Resources.
I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of a new contest from our friends over at LifeWay. It's a photo contest, and the idea is pretty simple—you take a picture of your small group "doing life together" and then post it on LifeWay's Facebook wall.
Winners of the contest will receive new small-group study guides, and the grand prize is a 3-day/2-night retreat for your entire small group to either Ridgecrest, North Carolina or Glorietta, New Mexico. (And the LifeWay folks aren't being cheap, either. The prize includes transportation, lodging, and meals.)
The contest is a promotional event around a new group of study guides that LifeWay is releasing called "Small Group Life." You can learn more about those guides and the contest by going to www.lifeway.com/sgl.
And here's the Facebook page.
I just received a copy of the first Small Group Life "episode." It looks interesting after a skim, so you may see a review over on SmallGroups.com in the next month or so.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:34 AM on September 25, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
September 1, 2009
A Picture of Authenticity
Why revealing our true selves is both necessary and terrifying
I feel a little bit like Jay Leno writing this blog post, but I think it still has a worthwhile lesson (aside from being hilarious).
So here's what happened. I am a raving fan of the Chicago Bears, and a couple months ago I was reading an article about a charity event that was being run by one of the Bears' defensive players, Charles "Peanut" Tillman. Peanut is a good guy, and every year he holds a celebrity flag football game to raise money for chronically ill children.
This year the event is being sponsored by Meijer, which is great. It's good to see pillars of the community come together like that—especially for such a great cause.
But then I came across an article from an internet news outlet describing the event. The article started out okay—detailing who Charles Tillman was and how his event has run in the past, then talking about Meijer as a sponsor. But I soon noticed that the author had forgot to delete his manuscript notes from the final copy. For example, when he mentioned the Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation, there was a note next to it that said "IS THIS THE RIGHT TITLE?"
Things still wouldn't have been so bad if the author hadn't included the following note after talking about why Tillman started the foundation: "QUOTE FROM A MEIJER PERSON WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT......OR I CAN MAKE IT UP."
Ouch. (If you want to see the actual web page, click on the image to the right.)
And that's a pretty good object lesson about why authenticity is necessary for small groups, but also extremely frightening. Nothing transformational will happen in your group unless people take off their masks—unless they reveal their manuscript notes, so to speak. But doing so takes tremendous courage, because we all know deep down inside that we are hypocrites and frauds in one area of life or another.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 4:27 PM on September 1, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
August 14, 2009
Caption Contest: The Winners!
These winning captions are mouthfuls of fun...
All right, folks, it's time to announce the winners of our first ever Small-Groups Caption Contest. But before I do, let me just say thanks to everyone who contributed. This was very, very fun!
Runner Ups
Now for the runner ups. Several entries demonstrated a lot of skill and knowledge of our website, and several were pretty funny, too. But I liked the following the best. We'll reward each entrant with a free download to SmallGroups.com in appreciate for their efforts.
Here they are:
- "Evereyone, I'd like you to meet my friend Goose. He's excited to get a taste of our small group so be sure to extend him the right hand of fellowship."
--Simon Tuin
(I'm a sucker for a good pun.) - "Wraslin' gaters... it's easy as pie!"
--Zach
(Several of you used the "easy as pie" phrase, which proves that at least a few people do read the newsletter. But Zach was the first.) - "Sam gets Jessica a purse, some assembly required."
--Marshall
Now for the winner!
Tom Benton is the winner of a one-year subscription to SmallGroups.com. Here's what he wrote: "Featured download: new method now available for making your small group smaller!"
That just tickled me for some reason. :) Congrats Tom, and thank you again to everyone who participated.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 9:07 AM on August 14, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
August 4, 2009
How Does Your Group's "Garden" Grow?
A reality check for small-group leaders
Now that summer is in full swing and I am spending a lot of time in our yard, I realized that I like my garden much more from inside the house than from the outside. Through the window, I can see the colorful flowers, green bushes, and lovely trees. But up close, it is another story altogether.
Our yard, which gets little attention during winter months, has serious weeds, overgrown plants, un-killable bamboo shoots, and crabgrass masquerading as real grass. So now I am faced with a choice: 1) go back inside, ignore, and pretend the ugly stuff doesn't exist; or 2) start pulling, pruning, and working hard toward the beautiful garden I know it can be.
I think our small groups present a similar challenge. Sometimes we prefer the illusion of having a nice, superficial, seemingly-smooth group more than the up-close reality of a messy, authentic, transformational community that God calls us to be. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial."
So, how will we know if we are living our false "dream" group or really experiencing God-breathed biblical community? Well, take a deep breath, spend some time with God, and be honest about what you see in the "garden" of your group.
To get started, ask yourself these questions:
Continue reading How Does Your Group's "Garden" Grow?...
posted by Sam O'Neal at 4:39 PM on August 4, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
July 23, 2009
Caption Contest!!!
Write a quick caption for this photo and you could win a free SmallGroups.com membership.
If you noticed that blog updates were a little light last week, that's because I was on vacation with my family in St. Augustine, Floriday. And as you can see, we paid a visit to the local Alligator Farm.
Yes, that's really me with a 14-foot gator named Goose—no Photoshop editing or dubious enhancements. And this photo presents you with an opportunity to win a free membership to SmallGroups.com.
All you have to do is think of a caption to go with the picture. It can be funny, sublime, snarky, deep, or pensive—whatever floats your particular boat. Just post the caption as a comment below, and in two weeks my crack team will vote to determine a winner.
Good luck!
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:45 AM on July 23, 2009 | Comments (75) | Trackbacks (0)
July 20, 2009
Small Group Topics
A plan for a whole year and beyond
Ever caught yourself in that dilemma where your group members are looking at each other and asking, "What is our group going to do next?" Truthfully, I get a little embarrassed when my group gets into that situation. I feel like, as a leader, I should have done a better job helping my group chart a course based on members' growth and our mission. But sometimes I have to admit that I just don't know what we should do next. For that reason, it's nice to have something to fall back on that I don't have to figure out ahead of time.
I recently looked at a resource that I think will be helpful. It's called Adult Edification Topics for Small Groups. Each notebook contains 52 relevant small-group agendas on a variety of topics, and material to conduct an entire small-group meeting. Also included with every session are: icebreakers, Scripture references, some leader teaching helps and discussion questions, as well as a tool to help review your group's unique vision, goals, and guidelines. The printed notebook also comes with a CD that contains a digital version of the printed notebook so you can get on your computer and tweak or modify each group session to fit your needs and then print it out.
The lesson/scripture topics vary, but are designed to give you a broad and balanced approach to spiritual growth over the course of a year. So, if your group meets every week, the notebook contains a year's worth of small group agendas that's part of an overall coordinated plan for your group's growth. And, if you get all the way through the first year's worth of topics, there are currently 9 volumes of notebooks available. That's 9 years worth of small group agendas already laid out and ready to go!
Continue reading Small Group Topics...
posted by Dan Lentz at 9:34 AM on July 20, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
July 10, 2009
Church to the People (part 2)
A church’s goal to get groups into the world
As I described in my last blog post, our local church is re-purposing our Sunday worship and small group gatherings over the summer and taking "church to the people" through a series of missional activities.
The process of turning an individual, small group, or entire church from being internally focused to externally focused is a matter of changing values, casting vision, and doing lots of training.
As far as resources we've used in developing values, vision casting and training, here are a variety of things we have found helpful:
New Hope Oahu – This church in Hawaii has been a great resource and inspiration for taking church to the people. See a clip from pastor Wayne Cordeiro recent conference below:
Shapevine - A gathering place of missional (church to the people) resources including online training, networking, and resources. We've cherry picked several different helpful resources from this site.
Continue reading Church to the People (part 2)...
posted by Dan Lentz at 9:24 AM on July 10, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
June 29, 2009
Church to the People (part 1)
A church’s goal to get groups into the world
My local community of Christ-followers, since starting over 8 years ago, has always had the decentralization of discipleship and evangelism through home groups at the center of our strategy. However, we are taking that to a new level this summer.
We have a weekend worship gathering as most churches do, but we have decided to make that gathering a training ground for reaching the world. Here's a quote from one of our recent weekend teachings: "There are a lot of churches out there that are really good at attracting people to Sunday morning service or to some program. Thank God for those churches, but we have to be honest and admit even those churches fall way short. There are still way more people who will never come close to a church building on Sunday morning. So our goal is not to attract people to our Sunday morning service. It's to attract people to Christ, by going to the people, going 'out there' and loving people."
The week after this talk, we took our entire Sunday morning crowd (kids and adults alike) and organized them into a "grocery sack" assembly line. We acquired a large quantity of fresh produce and filled grocery bags with the produce and a simple message of Christ's love. Once the sacks were filled, we sent our people out in groups to deliver these grocery bags to specific neighborhoods in our community. It was a great morning and there was some great chatter on the local news online discussion groups from our town.
Continue reading Church to the People (part 1)...
posted by Dan Lentz at 3:18 PM on June 29, 2009 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)
June 24, 2009
Update on "Uh Oh"
The rest of the story about the California pastor forced to shut down his small group.
A couple weeks ago I posted a small blurb about a California pastor who was being harrassed into shutting down his small group by a county official. The upshot was the pastor had to stop hosting the group meeting at his home, or else pay thousands of dollars to secure a permit.
Now, our friends at Your Church have produced a quick video on the topic featuring Rich Hammar. If you're not familiar with Rich, just know that he is "the man" when it comes to church law.
Rich gives us the rest of the story and explains whether the same thing could happen to your group. It's worth the four minutes.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 1:39 PM on June 24, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
June 22, 2009
Space Age Relationships (part 2)
The importance of intentional relational training
The importance of intentional relational training
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, being a space/astronomy nerd, I have paid some attention to how NASA does relational training among their astronaut corps, particularly as astronauts work in small groups in confined living spaces.
Regardless of whether we are talking about "church sponsored" small groups or small group teams in the marketplace, relationships always work best when biblical principles are followed. NASA seems to have confirmed this in their approach to astronaut training, as well.
I was struck by the amount of effort being put into relational training among astronaut teams, who have to work well together in order to complete their mission. It made me wonder how much relational training we are doing in the church where our team has the most important mission on earth. Here's a quote from a NASA aritcle:
Continue reading Space Age Relationships (part 2)...
posted by Dan Lentz at 1:11 PM on June 22, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
June 18, 2009
Space Age Relationships (part 1)
You can never get enough training
I'm sort of a space buff. I love looking and learning about God's creation, and have a couple of telescopes that help me do that (which I don't get out as often as I would like). I also keep up on a few astronomy websites and take note when Shuttles are being readied for launch, as one is right now.
As part of that passion, I have paid some attention to NASA's astronaut training program. Astronauts live and work in small groups to accomplish the objectives of the particular mission to which they are assigned. Astronauts also train to live in close "community" with one another in the living quarters of relatively small space vehicles. I have found there are some useful parallels with what NASA is doing and what the church can do regarding relational training. I've even borrowed some ideas from astronaut training to incorporate into small-group leadership training, and I wanted to highlight some of these concepts in a couple of blog posts.
First, no matter how well you think things are going in your small group community, ongoing training should never become secondary. You always need to work toward deeper unity and oneness. Check out an interesting quote from a NASA article about astronaut training:
Continue reading Space Age Relationships (part 1)...
posted by Dan Lentz at 1:03 PM on June 18, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
May 28, 2009
Uh Oh
This might get a little scary...
I found an interesting story while trolling online this morning. Interesting and scary, that is. It seems a San Diego pastor and his wife have been ordered by County officials to stop conducting a weekly small-group Bible study in their home.
According to the story, the couple has been regularly accosted by a county official asking questions like, "Do you have a regular meeting in your home?" "Do you pray?" and "Do you say Amen?" According to the official, the small group violates several county regulations and requires a permit to continue—a permit that costs tens of thousands of dollars.
Anyway, here's the link to the full story. Thankfully, the pastor and his wife are fighting back, and I haven't seen any evidence of this kind of thing elsewhere. But it does make the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up a little bit, you know?
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:14 AM on May 28, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
May 4, 2009
What Fires Your Jets About Leading a Small Group?
Reminding ourselves of what's great about leading a small group can give us new energy.
I love leading a small group. I really do! But let's face it - we all get a little weary of our responsibilities by this time of year. If we've been leading a group since September, there are days when we wish it would hurry up and end for the summer. It gets tiring to be in charge of a group of people.
So I like to remind myself of why I took on this responsibility in the first place. Some of the reasons I love to lead a group are:
- Getting to know a group of people beyond surface level
- Having the joy of seeing Christ change my life as I depend on him
- Being astounded when God gives me just the right thing to say at the right time
- Learning to really pray for others, since I feel responsible for them
- Seeing God increase my sensitivity to others
- Experiencing joy as I learn to put others' needs before my own for at least one night a week
Continue reading What Fires Your Jets About Leading a Small Group?...
posted by Sam O'Neal at 10:43 AM on May 4, 2009 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)
April 28, 2009
Free Membership Time
We want to hear your story, and we want to reward you for telling us.
Okay, if you have been paying attention to this blog for any amount of time, you have heard me talk about our YouTube channel. This was designed to be a way for people to share their stories about small-group life with others in a new and interesting way. This was also supposed to be a way for us to give away a few free memberships to SmallGroups.com.
Well, there has not been much sharing so far. In fact, there has been none outside of my co-workers. And there have been no free memberships given away—not yet.
But we are not giving up! Below you will see the video that introduces our "question of the month" for April. The original idea was to select five people at random who participated and give them free memberships to SmallGroups.com. But since no-one has participated, and the deadline of May 2 is drawing close, I'll change things up a bit.
The first five people to upload a video and send us a link will get a free membership to SmallGroups.com. Here's the question you'll be answering:
To be one of the first five, all you have to do is record yourself answering that question. You can use an expensive video camera or your cell phone—it doesn't matter. Then, you just need to upload that video to YouTube. Once it's there, click the "send video" button and send it to us at "inspiringcommunity." Or you can just e-mail the link to me at "smallgroups at christianitytoday.com".
It's easy, and the first five videos will receive a free membership. Let's see what you can do!
posted by Sam O'Neal at 10:03 AM on April 28, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
April 27, 2009
Commitment as a Small Group Health Factor
Small group attendance can be measured and used to identify groups that are in trouble
While at the NEXT 2009 Saddleback Small Groups Conference in Atlanta, I had the chance to talk to Boyd Pelley of ChurchTeams.com about measurements that help predict small group health. If you would like to hear my conversation with Boyd, click below:
According to Boyd, the "Aha" in all of this is the simple but often overlooked fact that group attendance, and the consistency of group attendance, is a big deal as it relates to group health. Groups that experience sporadic attendance, particularly when most of your group members attend 50% of the time or less, are groups that may be in trouble when it comes to spiritual health.
Continue reading Commitment as a Small Group Health Factor...
posted by Dan Lentz at 12:53 PM on April 27, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
April 24, 2009
On site at the NEXT 2009 Saddleback Small Groups Conference
Reporting LIVE from Victory Church in Norcross, GA
Here are some images from the NEXT 2009 Conference (Atlanta). I just took these pictures of the main session, workshop, and even the SmallGroups.com booth that I skipped out of for a few minutes to give you an update.
While I'm no where to be found in these shots, there are a several hundred folks here taking in a variety of training and round table discussion opportunities. Last hour I sat around a table with fellow small group ministry practitioners as we discussed what was working and what was not working well in the area of small group outreach and small group coaching, among other things.
Continue reading On site at the NEXT 2009 Saddleback Small Groups Conference...
posted by Dan Lentz at 12:58 PM on April 24, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
April 18, 2009
The Wink and the Gun
An embarassing memory from my formative years...
I just read Reid Smith's post again on The Perfect Welcome, and I had a weird flashback. (If you haven't read Reid's post, you'll want to do that before continuing here).
Anyway, I was thinking about greeting people and I remembered that, back in high school, I went through a phrase where I constantly used "the wink and the gun" to say hello to people.
If you aren't familiar with "the wink and the gun," this guy does a pretty good demonstration:
I usually went with the "single hand" version, but you get the idea. Whenever I saw someone coming down the hall at school or church, or even at home, I always broke out the wink and the gun. It was some kind of weird, juvenile instinct. And now I look back and I think people must have busted out laughing as soon as I walked away. Oh well.
What about you? What are some other gestures or habits that might not work very well when it comes to greeting people in your small group?
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:05 AM on April 18, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
March 20, 2009
Pictures of Multiplication
Which of these images best describes your experience with producing new small groups?
I've been working this week on a downloadable training resources that will (Lord willing) help churches successfully multiply their small groups. As I've been reading and reviewing a lot of material on the subject, I've come up with two interesting observations. (They are interesting to me, at least.)
First, there are plenty of churches, coaches, and group leaders who do not want to multiply their small groups. This is usually due to a bad experience, or multiple bad experiences, and they would prefer their groups to stay together for long periods of time and grow deep, deep roots.
Second, there are three images that keep popping up whenever people write about multiplying small groups, and I've tried to visualize them above. One is the idea of "birthing." Another is "dividing," and this is usually accompanied by an explanation of cellular mitosis and meiosis (my 6th grade science teacher would be proud that I still remember those terms). And the final image is the idea of "splitting," which usually comes to mind for those who have had negative experiences.
Now, there's no way that we can come up with a consensus on which image is best or most appropriate for actual ministry. But I'm curious how you respond to these images. Have you had an experience in the past that is well represented by one of these pictures? Is there a different image you would use to describe small-group multiplication?
If something comes to mind, don't be shy! We want to hear your thoughts, so please take a moment and type them out.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 10:59 AM on March 20, 2009 | Comments (7) | Trackbacks (0)
March 9, 2009
The Man Who Would Not Talk
How do you draw out the people in your group who prefer to remain silent?
One of my goals for this blog is that it become a connecting point to other ministries and conversations out in the ether that are focused on small groups. To help with that, we will be expanding the "Blogs we're watching" sidebar in the coming weeks (it's located on the left navigation bar if you don't already see it).
Our newest addition is The Gypsy Road, a blog run by the good people at Serendipity (now a ministry of Lifeway Publishers). I've developed a bit of a relationship with Rick Howerton and Phil Davis over at Lifeway, and they are good people who genuinely care about the ministry of small groups. Of course, one of the benefits of reading other people's blogs is that there is plenty of opportunity to steal borrow creative ideas. You've probably heard of Joaquin Phoenix's bizarre interview on the David Letterman show several weeks ago. If not, here's a recap:
Continue reading The Man Who Would Not Talk...
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:24 AM on March 9, 2009 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)
February 25, 2009
What Could Have Been...
Here's a belated look at what was happening at the Saddleback Small Groups Conference.
As I mentioned before, I filmed a small "video introduction" to the Saddleback Campus while I was attending the small groups conference. Due to technical difficulties, I wasn't able to post the video to this blog last week when the conference was happening. But now that I'm back in my cozy cube at the SmallGroups.com headquarters, those technical troubles have been solved.
So here you go:
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:04 AM on February 25, 2009 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)
February 20, 2009
Lunch with a Legend
A very cool story from one of the pioneers of today's small-group ministry
I just got back from a story-telling lunch with Lyman Coleman. I think the best word to describe it would be inspirational. If you're not familiar with Lyman's story, it is worth doing a little research to find out. (And I'll see if I can get a chat with him on video sometime this afternoon--no promises.)
But Lyman told one story that I think everyone involved with small groups needs to hear.
Continue reading Lunch with a Legend...
posted by Sam O'Neal at 3:33 PM on February 20, 2009 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)
Hello from Saddleback!
A first look at the Saddleback Small Groups conference
When I left the SmallGroups.com headquarters in Chicago, IL, it was 20 degrees outside and snowing. Now look at me! I'm at the Saddleback Small Groups Conference in San Diego, California, and as you can see from the photo, we've got palm trees and waterfalls. I like it.
Continue reading Hello from Saddleback!...
posted by Sam O'Neal at 11:51 AM on February 20, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
January 26, 2009
Introducing Sam O'Neal
Say hello to one of our Small-Group Dynamics Editorial Advisors.
Sam O'Neal is the Managing Editor of SmallGroups.com and SmallGroupDynamics.com. Sam oversees the planning and coordination of all content featured on the site and this blog.
Sam has a passion for seeing discipleship and full-bodied Christian education done right in the local church - especially in the context of small-group communities. He has been married to a wonderful woman named Jessica for over five years, and he thoroughly enjoys their young son, Daniel.
Sam is also a rabid fan of the Chicago Bears.
You can contact Sam by clicking here.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 2:04 PM on January 26, 2009 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
Introducing JoHannah Reardon
Say hello to one of our Small-Group Dynamics Editorial Advisors.
JoHannah Reardon is the associate editor for ChristianBibleStudies.com, an online Bible study site where over 125,000 leaders, students, and teachers come to learn and apply God's Word. JoHannah says, "I receive hundreds of e-mails from Bible students from around the world, giving me a good idea of the global spiritual climate. Christians everywhere feel a need to connect over God's Word, and our site helps their spiritual formation."
Besides writing, editing, and assigning Bible studies, JoHannah has ghostwritten two books, written content for the Couples' Devotional Bible, and has been published in several magazines. She also speaks at writer's conferences across the nation.
JoHannah is a pastor's wife, the mother of three, and a grandmother of two.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 1:56 PM on January 26, 2009 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
December 23, 2008
Introducing Dan Lentz
Say hello to one of our Small-Group Dynamics Editorial Advisors
Dan Lentz is Director of the Small-Group Network -- a network of small-group leaders, churches, small-group resource providers, and other Christian organizations originally brought together at SmallGroups.com to provide an online place for training and support for group leaders and directors.
Over the years, Dan been has been a church planter, small-groups pastor, and has served in a variety of roles within small-groups ministries. He is also author of Let's Get Started: How to Begin Your Small-Groups Ministry.
Dan's family small group consists of his wife, Kim, and their three children: Sam, Katie, and Grace.
You can contact Dan by clicking here.
posted by Sam O'Neal at 10:55 AM on December 23, 2008 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)
