How To Effectively Lead Small Groups 1.

My time with the great people at Cuyahoga Valley Church was encouraging. They are, I believe, on the right track to build their people up in small groups. Small groups in churches can be very positive places for the members. When I began to consult with the Cell Movement in Asia they had a slogan that went something like this:

Small Groups are Powerful

I agree wholeheartedly with that assumption and slogan. After meeting with the leaders and getting better acquainted with them I made a suggestion that they alter that slogan just a small bit to say:

Small Groups are Powerfully Good or Powerfully Bad! 

One of my majors in college was "Small Group Dynamics". I had many hours of both theory and practice. In both I discovered that group life is like family life in that both have a more powerful impact than one person. As scripture says, "Death or life are in the power of the tongue". Group dynamics expand and magnify the power of the tongue. So, group relationships are destructive when dysfunctional. This is why training in great relationships is essential.

If you have not been trained in the most basic Life Giving Skills,  get trained soon or you will do more harm than good. Making Disciples is more complicated than making Friends on Facebook!

You can start by getting a PDF of Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty.

Great Time Near Cleveland

                                                   
                                              The Meeting Model of Pastoral Care? Impossible

Despite a snow storm with about six inches of fluffy, white stuff, about 100 hardy believers came out to learn about the best ways to care for small group members. The time was warm, interactive, dynamic and fun. No wonder the church, The Cuyahoga Valley Church, is growing and helping individuals and families grow in body, soul and spirit.

The group ranged in age from 6 Decades to 1.5 Decades. Almost 30 of them were teens who jumped into the learning and discussions with both feet! What a joy it was to see these young Believers interact, ask questions and challenge to group! It left me optimistic about the future of the churches in America.  

The Pastoral staff, with the leadership of the new Pastor Chad Allen are transitioning from a system of hiring Counselors and Pastoral Staff to "Equipping the people" to care for one another" as stated in Ephesians 4. It is a radical step and they asked me to focus on teaching the Life Group Leaders some basic things about care.  

I quoted extensively from Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty. Download a copy for yourselves from Sweeten Life. You will be blessed, surprised, challenged and enlightened. It has many tools for you to choose from.

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Great Satire of Gross Hypocricy

Froma Harrop is one of the most famous left wing editorial writers. But she is also head of a group to promote what the Left calls, "Civil Discourse".

Take a look at this satirical interview on the Jon Stewart Show.

If you want some less satirical but still entertaining videos, go here.

Does Being A Christian Bring More or Less Health?

We are pretty sure that smoking cigarettes is bad for our health. We are also pretty sure that walking, jogging and swimming are positive for better health and wellness but sitting on the couch is bad.

What about being a Christian? When God got through with Moses he came down from the mountain with good news. He said, "Listen up, you all! We have been living among pagans with the worst health practices known to humanity. Now that I dragged you out of Egypt I am going to give you some additional good news. If you do what I say, you can prevent the terrible diseases your old slave owners had."

Can any of my readers tell me how God managed to heal all those rebellious Hebrews?  Did God indeed bring them health, wealth and wisdom?

Was that also on of God's goals when He set up the churches? Does God promise better health for Christians? If so, how?

Get my book, Healing Souls, Touching Hearts to learn more.

This is Our Health Care Today

Politicians are shrewd. They talked a lot about making sure everyone in America gets "Health Care". However, they really did not mean it was "Health Care" but "Health Insurance". The 85 page summary of the ACA has a lot of good things in it. The emphasis is supposed to be on wellness and prevention. If it works that will be very good.

The ACA is a complex piece of legislation. One goal is, "The Patient Centered Medical Home". That is a series of services that will completely surround patients with expert medical care. Look at this Info-graphic for a better understanding how it is designed to work.

In my last post I marveled at the ability of Christian leaders to "Gag at a gnat and swallow a camel". 
Health care as described in the above Info-graphic will impact 100% of the American people for ever!! My great grand kids will have to deal with the new laws.

I never saw one good article in a Christian publication about its application for every church, every Pastor, every member, every boy, every girl, in every state. The national news talks about Obamacare every day and every hour. Christians must be immune sickness and the need for treatment because no Christian leaders are facing it.

The churches have an opportunity to really help its members and staff. Will they?

Read our materials on health, healing, prayer and wellness.

Health Care of the Future

Do rants, arguments and attacks on sinners work to draw people to faith in Christ?


I am rarely shocked and overcome with sadness about the state of Christian leadership but I am getting close to it now. Here is why.

Most of my time is spent now as a health care innovator and consultant as well as a writer of materials on those topics.  As a Christian Counselor I have been very interested in the relationship between faith and wellness.

Jesus was called The Great Physician and about 1/3 of his earthly ministry focused on healing of body, mind and spirit. There is a very rich history of ways faith in God leads to better health and lower rates of negative behavior. Despite the biblical record and the power of faith to heal few modern churches or Christian leaders talk about it or teach it or write about it. 

I read various blogs, newsletters and mission releases. I read research by Lifeway and Barna as well as Gallup and so on. The top stories of 2013 and the stories getting the most reactions from readers seemed so banal. It seems that many focused not on the triumph of Jesus over sin and guilt and shame and sickness but the sins, sicknesses and sadness of the church and its fallible leaders.

Two of the stories garnering the greatest interest and reactions were mundane, pedestrian and petty. Phil Robertson's comments about  sinning Christians and the fight between Baptists who attacked a Pastor that invited a member of the Duck Dynasty family to speak at his church. The reason so many Baptists are upset with the decision? Because the Robertson's belong to a Church of Christ that holds to the notion that people must be dunked to be saved.

So, not only is the TV Channel A&E obsessed with Ducks, so are Christian magazines and blogs and papers. Are there any issues facing us more worthy of a discussion than these two? Can you offer me your comments about issues of greater importance than Phil Robertson's rant and the Duck boys appearing with Baptists?

Did people hate Jesus because he was:

Hateful?
Healer?
Loving?
Generous?
Honest?
Challenging?
A threat to the politicians?

The Engle Scale of Evangelism

Have you ever thought about how to best evangelize those outside your church? Missiologists have given it a lot of thought. One of them named Engle came up with a scale to help Missionaries think about how close or far away from accepting Christ any group or individual was. The original scale has about 14 points but I wanted to simplify it. The five point scale is shown above.

The Engle Scale has two aspects:

1.Does the group and or individual like, respect and willingly interact with the one carrying the message. If the evangelist/missionary is hated, disliked or feared it is less likely that they will accept the message.
2. How open is the group and or person to accepting the message of the Good News. Does he hate the message or like it? 

To my knowledge, Jesus only gave his followers specific evangelistic advice one time. That advice was to be aware of each of these factors on the Engle Scale and do what they could to make themselves and their message winsome to their target audience. (Luke 10:1-42)

The part that is hidden, of course, is the role of the Holy Spirit in redemption. Saul was actually riding up from Jerusalem to Damascus to kill the messengers and the message of the Good News. He hated and despised both but God broke in and redeemed him. 

Do the ways we relate to family, friends, neighbors and strangers makes us and our message more likable. Our book Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty has some ideas on ways to present ourselves to others as people of positive influence.

After reading Humpty Dumpty ask the Holy Spirit reveal all areas where you have failed to show others  the traits of a wonderful ambassador for Christ. Can you list the people you know who are Scoffers?
Skeptics?
Satisfied?
Seeking?

What can we do at each stage to build confidence in God and us?