The video below really shows how a group of friends can have an impact on their community in a practical way. Try to think of a way that your small group can have an impact on your neighborhood!
Have you ever thought about starting a small group at work? If your employer is open to the idea of letting you use a meeting room, or even if you have to go offsite for your study, it can be a life changing experience. Literally. While I was working security for a local retailer I would have some pretty intense spiritual discussions with a few of my co-workers. Our jobs allowed us to talk and work at the same time and there were numerous occasions where I would pull out my bible to answer a question or clarify a point. On one occasion it brought my co-worker to tears and we prayed about the challenges they faced.
Sometimes we forget that ministry isn't limited to the walls of our homes and our churches. The topic reminds me of a recent post by Dave Treat. Read it and consider starting a different kind of group!
I was catching up on emails and enjoying my coffee (Intelligentsia... recommended by Scot McKnight) at a coffee house up the street from Willow when I heard it. There were two guys sitting behind me, one middle aged, one younger, both clearly on the staff of a local church. I couldn't make out everything they said... nor was I trying... until I heard this from the younger one:
"... but this guy feels like God is calling him to make a lot of money so he can help the poor. Jesus never did that! Jesus never made any money!"
His implication, bolstered by further comments, was that "this guy" is a jerk, mistaken, misguided, missing the boat. If "this guy" really wanted to help the poor, he would renounce his worldly capitalism and do "real" ministry (presumably by volunteering to do something "significant" to assist a church-sponsored program.)
I nearly choked. I nearly blew Dark Roast out my nose. I nearly turned around and asked him who he thought paid for the Last Supper. I wondered, briefly, if Jesus was out of God's will for the first 30 years of his life. After all, he was a carpenter at "Joseph and Sons."
It is this kind of comment and the poor reasoning that supported it that confuses the thousands of missionaries already laboring in the marketplace. I've led a number of workplace small groups for men and women whose influence on behalf of the kingdom surpasses that of the pastors telling them to "give it up for God" and to get out of the marketplace and get into ministry.
Chris Salzman at Think Christian recently wrote about a small group experience he had at his group prayer time:
I attended a small group session in high school. It was about twenty teenage boys and a leader. During prayer time we went around and offered our requests,which the leader concisely wrote down. He then assigned each person a prayer request and literally told us to keep it short and to the point.
He, after all, had an agenda to get to.
And to turn it around on myself: I often pray in quick lists. It's a great way to order my thoughts. I also recognize how stifling it is to spiritual growth, but seriously, it's a lot easier coming to God with a list of "fix this, fix that" things than to sit and listen.
And to play dissenting voice for a bit: is praying in such a way necessarily a bad thing?
How does your small handle prayer. What do you do to change it up at times?
My buddy Jon Stolpe loves doing an activity in his small group called "the hot seat." Here is his latest post:
If you've been reading along for a while, you'll know that one of my favorite "small group" activities is the Hot Seat where you put someone on the spot by asking them any question(s). Here's one of the questions from my "library" of questions along with my answer. I'd love to hear how you would answer this same question. Question: If you could have lunch with any three "famous" people living or dead (not a relative and not Jesus) who would they be?
My Answer: First, I'd probably go with Mother Theresa. I'm kind of guessing that we wouldn't do a whole lot of talking. I would probably be following her around trying to grab some of her wisdom as she continued her non-stop service to others.
Second (I'm kind of cheating on this one), John McCain and Barack Obama at the same time would be an interesting lunch. I would like to listen to what they are going to do to make this country and this world a better place for me, my kids, their kids, etc. I would put them on the hot seat also.
Third (or fourth depending on how you look at it), I have to imagine that eating lunch with Bono from U2 would be amazing. From what I understand, this guy is full of ideas. I'd love to hear some about his experience with his band (one of my favorites). I'd love to know what makes him tick. I'd like to see him in action as he describes his goals for the next ten years of his life. So, there you have it. Who would you choose? I'd love to hear who and why. Until the next post...
Some churches that are working on being churches of groups instead of a church with groups classify their ministry teams as small groups as well. These type of groups would include ushers, security, parking, tech teams, and the band.
Our CCV band also uses a website to enhance their productivity as a ministry of our church. Here is how they use the website:
To schedule and manage auditions for the student (teen) and adult band
To schedule the student and adult band
To schedule the student and adult tech teams
To access the song list for each Sunday service
To access the song library to download sheet music (password protected)
For task oriented groups technology has everything to do with productivity and very little with social purposes. These groups spend significant time practicing, and serving together so the need to enhance the social experience just isn’t there because their social experience is in the act of serving together as a group. When trying to deterimne how technology can enhance our groups we must always start with answering the question, "What does our group need?" Then look to technology to help meet that need.
Next Post - using tech to track your group ministry
Have you ever thought about starting a small group at work? If your employer is open to the idea of letting you use a meeting room, or even if you have to go offsite for your study, it can be a life changing experience. Literally. While I was working security for a local retailer I would have some pretty intense spiritual discussions with a few of my co-workers. Our jobs allowed us to talk and work at the same time and there were numerous occasions where I would pull out my bible to answer a question or clarify a point. On one occasion it brought my co-worker to tears and we prayed about the challenges they faced.
