The conversation had been brisk and lively. We'd laughed, puzzled and provoked each other in our discussion. The leader glances at his watch, and bursts out:
"Oh Goodness, look at the time – just before we pray, how are we going to apply all this?"
I've already posted about my hatred of "The Big Bang" at the end of Home groups - when we disconnect what we have heard God say from how we pray to him. But the scene above is just as common in many groups and is just as damaging. (And yes - I was guilty of this for years, and am only just learning to repent of it!)
The problem is that we get so involved in understanding and pinning down the big ideas in the passage, or the theology or the doctrine that's contained in it, that we leave very little time to the application, so that it all happens in a rush at the end. Or to put it another way - it doesn't happen at all!... continue reading
Found something that you think should make it on to the On to a Good Thing weekly round-up? Send it to: ontoagoodthing@thegoodbook.co.uk
What kind of home group leader are you? A hippy, an engineer, a gardener or a schoolmaster?
Giving some thought to your style of leadership, and how you relate to others and just "be" with a group of people, can be very instructive to working out your blind spots in making your home group go with a zing.
I asked the same question in a parenting seminar I ran with a friend a couple of years ago, and it opened my eyes to some stark truths about myself, and how I influence others.
Let me be up front. I pretty much default to Hippy mode when I'm with groups of people. I just love the journey so much, that I'm tempted to forget the destination. I think people in my homegroup have a great and memorable time, but I need to make sure that I have planned, prepared and have firmly fixed in my mind where we need to get to as we open God's word together.... continue reading
I'm not talking about the dawn of time and all that bewildering Cosmology stuff that lots of clever people like to think about with their calculators at hand.
I'm talking about what so often happens at the end of home groups:
We've finished reading and thinking about the Bible together. We've been amazed at how brilliant / surprising / strange / terrifying God is. We've been challenged deep down to think about how we can serve Christ better. And then the leaders says: "Right, what shall we pray for?" And then comes the Big Bang! The sound of Bibles closing around the room.... continue reading
There are few things more exciting than home groups. The privilege of opening the Scriptures with friends. The wonder of God speaking. The transformation that occurs in people's lives. The encouragements offered. The burdens shared. It's one of the highlights of the week ... Though in fairness it doesn't always seem like it. Sometimes it feels more like a pain - another night out, another responsibility, another struggle with little fruit resulting. Maybe especially if you're a leader.
So this week on the blog we're going to be running another short series to help us all think through how we can change what we do, in order to help us all focus on what God is saying as we meet together in small groups.
Check back later this afternoon for our first top tip. In the mean time, here's a thought-provoking article from The Briefing...
We hope you've enjoyed the different blog pieces we've done this week on how to best use the Christianity Explored website. We hope it's encouraged you to think about how you can use it, and other resources like it, to spread the gospel.
If you'd like to run the Christianity Explored course, for our blog viewers only, we're offering 20% off all the course materials. That includes:
To make the most of this offer simply use the code ce20 at the checkout. The code works on both the UK and US websites. Offer expires on 23/03/2012.
We live in an age of information with news at the click of a button. But sometimes stories about Christians and Christianity can get buried under the mountain of articles that flash across our screens each day. So here are a few stories that we thought might be interesting to share. We don't necessarily agree with what the authors are suggesting but we do wonder if their words might help fuel our thinking, our praying and maybe even some letter-writing...
Rowan Williams to step down as Archbishop
Church powerless to stop same-sex marriage even if hundreds of thousands object
One rule for Jesus, another for Muhammed?
Films with faith basis make more money
Church of England condemned as "the last refuge of prejudice"
Bus driver faces disciplinary action over marriage petition
Red Bull drops Jesus advert after South African bishops complain
For many, the path to knowing Jesus is a series of steps. They get to know a Christian… they meet some of that Christian's friends… they go to a church-run event… they begin to be interested in what lies at the heart of the church… they come to an evangelistic talk… they start going to church meetings regularly, or go on a course… they put their faith in Christ.
Of course, that journey is different for all of us. Some stages get jumped over, swapped around, or taken a long time over.
But it's easy, having been Christians for a while, to forget that each of those steps doesn't seem very small when it's the next one. And so it's worth thinking: what's an easy, short next step for my tentatively-enquiring friend—and how can I help them make that step?... continue reading
ChristianityExplored.org exists to tell people about Christ—who He is, why He came, and what it means for us today. It's not an advert for the Christianity Explored course—and your church doesn't need to run the course to use the website as an evangelistic resource.
But that said, there is an area of the site which tells people what a CE course is, and what it's like, and what "type" of people go (ie: all types!).
And if your church does run CE, it's well worth pointing people who might be interested to "The CE course" area on the site. Turning up for CE can be a pretty intimidating prospect—What will happen? Who'll be there? Will they be asked to pray or sing? Will they be put under pressure, or brainwashed?
There's a great short video at www.christianityexplored.org/course which aims to help people feel comfortable and confident about signing up. It's voiced by a real CE group leader, and features a wide range of CE courses from big church halls through living rooms to coffee shops.
If you're advertising a CE course at your church over Easter, why not show this two-minute video at evangelistic services and events? It's what it's made for, (literally!). Let people see that CE really is relaxed, informal and friendly, and they'll be far more likely to show up!
