Today marks 2 years for my blog!
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I’ve just recently finished going through a new small group study called Convergence, published by Creative Trust.
This series of 7 studies is DVD-driven, with each study standing alone. Here are the DVD studies available now:
Breaking the Ice: Learning to Share our Stories
Parenting: Helping Your Kids to Become Adults
Frustrations and False Gods: Living in a Fallen World
Heaven: Understanding God’s Plan and Our Hope
Personal Growth: Learning to Meet Life’s Demands
Each DVD features Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) facilitating a conversation with well-known, respected Christian authors or speakers about the challenges that Christians face while trying to integrate faith with real life. Each DVD is a 3-4 week study.
There are some real strengths in these studies.
1. The videos are only 20 minutes long. When DVD-based curriculum gets longer than that, it begins to infringe on discussion time. 20 minutes works. It gives enough information to communicate an idea, but not so much that the group leader feels the need to squeeze discussion time.
2. There’s no cost to the group member. The only cost incurred is the DVD itself (which is a mere $15).
3. Both the leader’s guide and the participant’s discussion guide can be found online for each study (by clicking HERE). All you have to do is print it off, and you’re good to go.
3. There’s no real homework to be done from week to week. Instead of needing to spend hours pouring over the specific material (which can, by some, be seen as busy work), group members can show up and immediately jump into the conversation. Don’t take this to mean that the studies aren’t challenging, or don’t require any work. It just means that you won’t feel like an outsider in the discussion if you haven’t “done your homework.” And though a homework-heavy study may be the right call for your group in some seasons, a homework-light study can be incredibly refreshing.
4. The questions are short, and elicit discussion. Some curriculum writers feel the need to control the answers of group members. Their goal is not necessarily group discussion. Rather, they want group members to parrot back a certain answer, which makes group discussion much cleaner and simpler. But not necessarily more helpful. Phrasing questions in a way that spurs discussion is incredibly difficult, and often leads to messier discussions, but I’ve had much greater fruit in those types of discussions than in the ones in which, realistically, there was only one “right” answer.
5. Don Miller is really good at interviewing/conversing. I picked up a copy of Free Market Jesus a while back, hoping that Don Miller’s sermons would be as impactful as his books. [insert long, awkward pause] Don’s gotten much better in front of a camera. He represents the “everyday Christian” really well, and seems to ask the “right” questions to spur the dialog with the person(s) he’s interviewing.
6. There’s a specific Scripture connected with each lesson. I’ll expand more in the following section.
Though there are great things about this curriculum, I’ve got a couple of cautions/suggestions.
1. They’re quite academic, which may keep some people on the outside. Though I’m a fan of Tremper Longman, I found the DVD’s that he’s a part of to be “heady.” The content was solid, but if I wasn’t 100% engaged in every word, I was quickly lost. In the future, making sure these discussions don’t spiral into a seminary-level conversation is something to look out for.
2. Scripture seems to be a secondary thought. Though I’m glad that there is a specific Scripture (sometimes 2) passage connected with each week’s study, I feel like there could be more. If there’s a place for expansion, it’s here. The videos each week don’t necessarily revolve around Scripture. And I’m fine with that. I’m not always looking for a sermon for my small group each week. But when there’s not a passage targeted by the conversation that Don’s having, I would like (as a small group leader) to be able to draw from a deeper well of passages related to the topic at hand.
3. With a couple of the DVDs, I’m not sure how they would fit with my small group. They may be helpful for a group leader to go through on their own (e.g., “Breaking the Ice: Learning to Share our Stories). Or they may be good for a side-discussion (e.g., “Frustrations and False Gods: Living in a Fallen World”). I’m just not sure how well it would integrate into our small group.
Overall, I think these studies will be a great resource for small group leaders, and I’m going to recommend them to the small group leaders I shepherd.
Have you used these before? What do you think?
Here’s a sample from one of the studies:
Convergence Promo – NEW from All Things Converge on Vimeo.
More and more, Bible apps are dominating the landscape of churches and small groups over physical Bibles. At least in the circles that I run. And you’re welcome, as a church or small group, to fight against that. Maybe it’s a battle worth waging. For me…I’m happy that people are interacting with the Scriptures, whether it’s on tablets carved from stone or on a mobile device they carry with them all of the time.
I’ve been using my computer and phone to read and search the Scriptures for some time now, and thought I’d highlight for you the two options I believe are the strongest.
YouVersion (developed by Life Church in Oklahoma) has quickly become the industry standard for Bible apps. It’s interactivity, combined with the depth of translations and resources available, leave nobody questioning why over 350,000 people subscribe to one of their reading plans. The unofficial poll that I conducted via Twitter was overwhelmingly dominated by YouVersion.
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I’ve used Crossway’s (publishers of the English Standard Version Bible) app for less time, and though it only contains one translation, I have found great value in it.
* Available whether you’re connected online or not
* Free
* Quickly and easily find a specific passage/verse
* Record personal notes/highlights and save for future use
* Share verses easily via Facebook and Twitter
What Crossway’s app lacks in power (as compared to YouVersion), it easily makes up for with its ease of use and beauty. It’s incredibly simple to jump to various passages, and the user interface improves readability (as compared with YouVersion and other apps). The font and style of the app matches the font and style of the ESV Bible (my translation of choice), so when I’m reading this app on my phone, I almost forget that I’m looking at an electronic device.
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The difficult part for me about putting out a reading list is that these are books I haven’t read before. So…don’t look at these books necessarily as the best books out there. They may be way off base with certain things. But I expect to be stretched.
Have you put your summer reading list together yet?
by Fried and Hansson
, Chan
, Hawkins, Parkinson, Arnson
, Bonhoeffer
, Yaconelli
, Driscoll & Breshears
, Morgan & Stevens
, George
, Lewis
, Maxwell
, Manning
, Payne
, Stevenson
I just finished going through Jared Wilson’s latest release, Abide. It’s been published by Threads (a 20-somethings division of their big daddy, LifeWay Christian Resources).
I read Jared’s other release, Your Jesus is Too Safe, and reviewed it HERE.
This is a 5-week study focusing (with 3 sharp, well-done, short, and helpful videos to go along with it) on the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, fasting, and service. The study concludes with a time to drive home the importance of practicing the disciplines in the context of community.
This is a typical Threads study, except for the fact that Jared’s dry wit makes an otherwise dry topic (I mean, who really thinks it’s thrilling to read a book about spiritual disciplines?) more enjoyable. And Jared gives a unique (ok, it’s probably not unique…I’m sure others have written stuff like this, so I’ll say that it’s, at the very least, refreshingly different than most) take on the disciplines, presenting them not as a “law” that we have to make sure we check off of our spiritual to-do lists every week, but rather as developing a rhythm that, over time, begins to feel natural…all in the midst of a culture that constantly pushes away from anything that slows us down.
The difference between this study and other works on spiritual disciplines is a sense of relief. Many of us grew up in church environments that stressed things like quiet times, service projects, and worship services – which are all good things – in such a way as to create holy homework for the Christian life. – p. 11
The key component, Wilson asserts, in creating Kingdom rhythms, is “abiding” in Christ. And I think he’s absolutely hit the nail on the head.
By “it’s a typical Threads study,” I mean that the book is loaded with extra information in the sidebars (which, in the chapter on prayer, because as I’m reading, I’m constantly distracted by the extra info on the side…which is quite funny since Jared is talking about removing distractions from your life). Which, for some people, is great. It gives access to additional resources, quotes, books, etc. But for others, it becomes a distraction. Sometimes, more is not better.
Which brings me to my second critique. And this is for all of the Threads studies I’ve gone through. There’s too much information to process in a normal small group meeting time. Sure, questions and sections can be skipped if the leader so decides. But the problem is that the lesson builds on itself. It’s structured so that, if you don’t read the opening couple of pages of the lesson, you won’t really understand the last couple of questions. So the reader is forced to read every section and answer every question. And that really squeezes discussion out of group time. Threads studies seem to be built around a small group time that will last close to 2 hours.
So my question to the Threads team: Are you really aiming for discussion? Or are you aiming for short, directed answers?
Because if you want more discussion, lighten up on the question load. And work to make them more open-ended.
Leaving the questions more open-ended leaves more room for heresy. I get that. But it also leaves more room for creativity. And discussion. And room for those people who don’t feel like they have “all the answers” to speak up (because when the questions are looking for that exact right answer, if you’re not certain you’ve got that answer in the bag, you’d better be quiet, else risk embarrassment).
That said, this study is solid. And compelling.
I think that Jared has laid out a system that can really help people develop rhythms when it comes to the spiritual disciplines. So this is a study that I’ll be recommending to the small group leaders at Grace. And I’ll recommend it much, much quicker than any other study on spiritual disciplines.
But here’s the caveat I’ll give each of them: Instead of spending the recommended 5 weeks, plan on spending 10.
I played with an iPad just the other day. And let me tell you…that little device is amazing.
But later on that day, I bought a Kindle. Besides the fact that it’s much cheaper, and I have an iPhone and a laptop, I bought the Kindle primarily because I was just looking for an e-reader. Nothing more, nothing less.
And I’ve been so happy with it. I took it on my recent trip. And in ~14 days, I covered more than 11 books. So here are my thoughts after using it for a couple of weeks.
1. I feel like I’m actually holding a book. Even though it’s an electronic device, it almost doesn’t feel like I’ve got a device in my hands. It felt like I was holding a book. In fact, quite a number of times, I tried to “turn the page” manually.
2. Built-in bookmarks. I never have to worry about losing my place.
3. Reading more than one book at a time. I sometimes get worn out with many of the books I read. They’re heavy (theologically/philosophically/physically), and I need to switch to some lighter reads sometimes. The Kindle allows me to effortlessly do that without carrying around multiple books in my bag.
4. Easy highlighting and note-taking, with downloading to my computer. When I’m reading non-fiction, I have to take notes. It’s how I process information. If I don’t take notes, I quickly forget what I read and hear. But notes help me to process, both in the moment and in the future as I continue to wrestle through the ideas.
5. Crazy long battery life.
6. Inexpensive books. Most are ~$10.
1. Sharing. I love to share books and give them away. But I can’t with the Kindle. And I get the whole copyright deal…I do. Authors work incredibly hard, and should be rewarded for their work. But here’s how sharing could work: if I share a book with you on the Kindle, I lose privileges with viewing the book on my Kindle…until you “give” it back to me. If you choose to keep it, I would never be able to view the book again, unless I purchased the book again.
2. Lower cost for the device. Even though I got a used version, the Kindle is still expensive. Lowering the price point would get more people in the game. Which would then boost Amazon’s sale of their e-books.
Do you have a Kindle? What do you love so much about it?
I’m reading through The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Halter and Smay. Thought this quote might challenge some folks:
Advertisements by their very nature are intended to coerce thinking and behavior. They are neded when there is no personal relationship between the seller and the potential buyer. This type of coercion is expected when you’re trying to decide what beer to drink or car to buy, but it’s highly offensive when people try to tell you important truths without any tangible relationship.
[…] Paul shares his insights on posture [the nonverbal forms of communication that accompany what we say] with those who were coming to faith in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, “But we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We love you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” An expanded paraphrase might be, “Because we found ourselves emotionally attached to you all, we couldn’t just preach at you. We knew you needed time to process your faith, and the only way to help you understand the big picture was to stay with you longer. We knew the message would make more sense if you saw it lived out in our lives.” –pp. 40-41
When you think of “sharing your faith,” does your mind immediately go towards speaking? Or do you think about doing life together with people?
I met Randall Neighbour (you can follow him on Twitter HERE) a few weeks ago, and I would already consider him a friend. I love the way that he thinks about small groups, and the value of getting people connected in authentic, biblical, God-honoring community.
Randall’s recently released a book, The Naked Truth About Small Group Ministry.
To be entered into the drawing, please do one (or all) of the following. Each is worth one entry, so feel free to “enter” as many times as you’d like…the more you enter, the more chances you have to win!
1. Tweet this (or share on Facebook): RT @benreed He could’ve done better w the title but I’ll snag a FREE copy of @rgneighbour ‘s book on small groups here: http://ow.ly/1dpRv!
2. Subscribe to Life and Theology by email HERE or RSS reader HERE
3. Leave a comment below with your suggestion of a better title for his book.
This is the front cover of Randall’s book, and the printed copy says, “The Naked Truth About Small Group Ministry.” For the record, Randall’s very happy with the title, and isn’t looking to change it…but hey, I had to come up with a good reason to give these books away, right? So leave your new title as a comment below…be creative!
I will randomly pick 5 winners on March 8th and will let you know via email if you’ve won.
I’ll start us off:
My new title:
I’m a small group leader…how did this happen?
I was able to see Rob Bell at TPAC’s War Memorial on December 9th. I like Rob. I think he’s innovative, pushing the Church to think outside of the proverbial box. I thoroughly enjoyed his lecture. It was a fascinating look at suffering, seeking to not answer the question of “Why, God?!?” but “What now?” It was a compelling lecture/sermon, and if Rob Bell happens to come to your town, I highly suggest picking up a few tickets, and taking a few key leaders along with you. You won’t be disappointed.
But can I nitpick for a minute (and that’s all it is…nitpicking. If Rob could further explain himself on this point, it might have made more sense. But, nonetheless…)? In talking about the “art of solidarity, and the ways that suffering helps to bond us as we build community through shared suffering,” Bell mentioned “the cross, the ultimate act of peace and reconciliation. God didn’t avoid suffering.” Instead, God is with us through it. Then he shared this:
The point of the incarnation is that there’s someone else screaming alongside us.
I get what he’s saying. There’s comfort in the midst of suffering when we know we’re not alone. And I believe that. Suffering is eased when we live life in relationship with others who can share that burden with us. That’s part of the goal of the Church (and the means of achieving that goal, too). And knowing that God doesn’t leave me to my own devices when I suffer is a source of comfort. However, it is not the point of the incarnation.
The main point of the incarnation is not that we have someone to walk through painful situations with us.
The point of the incarnation is that we weren’t good enough to save ourselves. Because of our sin, we needed God himself to come and die the death that we deserved.
A sidebar (and I think it’s important to make that subtle distinction) of the incarnation is that God is with us through suffering. But it’s only a sidebar, at best. The much better news is not that God is present with us through suffering, but that the suffering Christ endured is ONCE FOR ALL! I don’t want to serve a God who merely weeps with me. I want to serve a God who redeems me, who is more powerful than suffering, and who is willing and able to create a world where there is no suffering (Revelation 21:4), no crying, no pain, no death.
Don’t point people to the incarnation as God’s identifying suffering and weeping along with us. Point people to the incarnation as hope that suffering will one day be complete.
Do you want a God who weeps with you? Or One who will redeem you from the curse of pain?
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
I’m reading through a book that will soon be released. Written by Ryan Chappalear (founder of Africa For Jesus), it is being published right now. In the book, Ryan is comparing the spread of Coca Cola with the spread of the Gospel. I’ll put a full review together for my blog later, but wanted to share this extended quote with you. I hope that it begins to change the way you think about effectively spreading the Gospel to the ends of the world.
When Coca-Cola expands, they understand that in order for their brand to be embraced, it must be looked upon as a local product. That is why most bottling plants are operated by local businessmen and jobs are filled by locals. One or two Coke reps from the USA may visit now and again, but in order for Coca-Cola to have the greatest impact in the local market, it must appear indigenous.
I first realized this when I was in Bible school. My plans were to live in an African village, learn the language, learn the culture, and then preach the Gospel. I thought that in my lifetime, I could reach five villages with the Gospel. But God showed me a new way. A better idea. I learned that for 100 years, God had sent Western missionaries to Africa to train them. There are now literally thousands of Bible training schools across Africa, effectively preparing their own people to spread the Gospel.
After discovering this, it no longer made sense for me to go myself. I could only reach five villages. But if I helped locals become missionaries, I could literally help reach thousands of villages with the Gospel. Almost immediately, I knew my purpose in life: To empower the African Church to reach their own people. (chapter 2, pages 1-2)
Like to read the whole book? It’s coming out soon. Check HERE for updates. In the meantime, why not sponsor a native missionary?
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