CWoznicki Think Out Loud

Missiology Book Review: Churches, Cultures, and Leadership

Branson, Mark Lau and Martinez Juan F. Churches, Cultures, and Leadership. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2011.

In this book Branson and Martinez offer a practical theology of congregations and ethnicities. They do this by studying churches, mission, and ethnicity from a contextual and theological point of view. They go on to look at various intercultural communication subjects related to mission, churches, and ethnicity. They conclude by offering ways in which we can put what they have shown into practice.

One of the most helpful aspects of this book was the fact that they outlined the practical theology process. Going through the steps of practical theology made me realize that this is how I often do my own theological thinking. In fact the steps that they outline seem to be the steps that most Christians take when theologizing in their day to day life. Most Christians begin by being informed about scripture at some level. Then they make observations about the world. They go back and think through their knowledge of Scriptures, Christian tradition, and personal beliefs, then they rethink the observations they have made in light of these sources. Although for most Christians this hermeneutic circle is usually not expressed explicitly in these steps, it tends to follow this general pattern.

Another helpful aspect of this book was Branson’s explanation of the leadership triad. It makes me wonder what churches would look like if they had interpretative, relational, and implemental leaders. Many churches look to one type of leader, creating in imbalance in leadership. Churches would be greatly served if they somehow incorporated these three types of leadership. (On a side note JR Woodward has recently written an excellent book titled Creating a Missional Culture in which he advocates for a polycentric model of leadership based around the 5 “equippers” of Ephesians 4. It seems as though more and more church leadership experts are advocating for a communal form of leadership rather than and individualistic hierarchical understanding of leadership.)

The Essence of Coaching (pt. 4): Cultivating the Heart of a Shepherd

Today we wrap up our series “The Essence of Coaching” which was based off of Bill Donahue’s and Greg Bowman’s book Coaching Life Changing Small Group Leaders by talking about one of the most important aspect of small group leadership: shepherding.

_______________________________

The Essence of Coaching – Cultivating the Heart of A Shepherd

Today we are going to be turning to our Bibles (surprise!) Because in the Bible we get a picture of what the heart of a Shepherd looks like.

Think through who have been the most influential models for shepherding in your life… Has it been a Lifegroup leader you have had in the past? A parent? Maybe a particular pastor? Now I want you to order those in terms of the impact they have had on your shepherding style. Done? Great. Now where does God himself fall on that list? The point of that brief exercise is to show you that God should be our primary model for shepherding. In fact, God calls himself a shepherd MANY times throughout the Bible. So lets take a look at how God shepherds his people. Choose 1 of the following passages to study and meditate on:

Read Psalm 23

What Characteristics of God’s shepherd’s heart do you see here?
Here is what I see
- God guides to rest and refreshment
- God comforts in the face of difficulty
- God assures us of his presence

Read Ezekiel 34:11-16

What Characteristics of God’s shepherd’s heart do you see here?
Here is what I see
- God leads the sheep to places of rest
- God searches for the lost
- God binds up the weak

Read John 10:7-18

What Characteristics of God’s shepherd’s heart do you see here?
Here is what I see
- Jesus Provides protection
- Jesus is willing to make sacrifices for his sheep
- Jesus is committed to the wellbeing of the flock

All of these characteristics of a shepherd are not exhaustive. You could add many more characteristics to the list of how God shepherds and how we should shepherd. Regardless, our heart as shepherds for God’s people should reflect God’s heart as a shepherd for his people. After all we are called to be God’s under-shepherds. So as you gather to shepherd your Lifegroup Leaders, remember God’s heart as a shepherd for you! Then lead out of that same heart!

Some Questions to Reflect On:

Who are some shepherds that you look up to? Watch how they deal with people. How do they reflect God’s heart as a shepherd?
What are some other passages of scripture that reveal God’s heart as a shepherd? Read and mediate upon these passages.
Looking back at the passages that we read (Psalms, Ezekiel, or John). Which characteristics do you display as a shepherd? Which characteristics would you like to/need to grow in?

The Essence of Coaching (pt. 3): Cultivating A Passion for Developing Leaders

The Essence of Coaching – Cultivating a Passion for Developing Leaders

“Faithful leaders will make disciples, but great leaders focus on making other leaders.” -Tom Wood

Here is a simple truth, if leaders are going to grow they NEED someone to coach them. Some leaders will not have a coach so they will turn to books or podcasts to be there coaches. These can be great things but a coaching relationship with an actual human being is way better!

A lot of time leaders serving in churches find themselves overwhelmed by all the stuff that they have to do; as a result the leaders suffer and the ministry suffers as well. Since this is true it is the coach’s responsibility to encourage and support the leader. Sometimes encouragement will take the form of reminding them of who they are in Christ or walking with them along difficulties that they might be having in life. Other times it will take the form of supporting their ministry. You might need to guide them through the skills of leading a Life Group. You can do this by giving them advice, resourcing them, or asking questions to help them think through the issues themselves. Whatever might be the case, the coach’s heart will always have a passion for developing their leaders in whatever way is necessary in that season.

Consider the example of Paul and Timothy. Paul knew the value of coaching younger leaders. As you think through the coaching relationship between Paul and Timothy, a few things jump out. First Paul focused on developing Timothy personally (1 Tim 3:1-13, 2 Tim 2:1). Paul also focused on developing Timothy missionally (1 Tim 5:17, 2 Tim 4:2,5). Finally Paul focused on developing Timothy spiritually (2 Tim 3:14-17). As you can see Paul was deeply interested in developing Timothy’s whole life, and he sought to encourage, equip, and empower him.

The process of developing young leaders begins with knowing those leaders. And I don’t just mean you know what school they go to or where they work, I mean that you know what Jesus is currently doing in their lives. Paul practically lived with Timothy so he knew him well; because of that Paul was able to determine in what specific areas Timothy needed to grown in his leadership. Paul also knew in what specific ways Timothy needed to be encouraged in his spiritual walk. So today lets reflect on the following questions, hopefully they will help us develop our leaders better.

Some Questions to Reflect On:

What are some ways that your mentors helped develop you in the past?
What can you learn from your past mentors?
Did your mentor have an accurate pulse on what God was doing in your life?
Do you have an accurate pulse on what God is doing in the life of your leader?
- If so what is the lord currently doing in your leader’s life? Where are they growing? Where are they stagnant?
- Where does your leader need to grow in terms of Life Group leading skills?

The Essence of Coaching (pt. 2): Cultivating Community

The Essence of Coaching – Cultivating Community

So last time we looked at some steps we could take to help cultivate a culture of transformation among our leaders and their Life Groups. Today we will take a look at what it would look like to cultivate a love for community in them.

One of my favorite theologians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that community “is what we share in Christ” and is not something we create. In other words community is created by God; and we are called to participate in this reality. When talking about Life Groups we talk a lot about community (I talk a lot about community), to the point where it can just become a buzzword. So before we talk about the practical side of community I want to lay out a theological foundation….

Through Jesus’ atoning death on the cross for us we receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reminds us as individuals of our union with Christ. The entire Church experiences union with Christ, therefore as individuals our connection isn’t merely a natural connection. We are quite literally united with Christ on account of his work for us on the cross. The Holy Spirit reminds us of this. We must remind ourselves and each other of this if we are going to truly be a community that experiences union with Christ.

So as you do your part to help your Life Group leaders cultivate community remind them that community is rooted in what Jesus did for us on the cross. Now moving on the practical side of things. As coaches we need to help support our leaders in creating community in their Life Groups. This will likely include helping them come up with ideas how they can grow in community in their groups. Hang outs, serving together, eating together are all things that help build community. Also being authentic during our times of sharing can help solidify the foundations of that community. So as you help your leader cultivate community in their group look back upon your own experiences and draw upon those to see where you have experienced the deepest community. Share those experiences with them, maybe it will help spark ideas for your leaders. Also as you are coaching make sure that your leaders feel connected with their groups. Nothing will kill community faster than a leader who is outside of the community. Finally, help your leader find community. I have run into many leaders who feel as though they aren’t being poured into or that they don’t really have any relationships that are helping them grown in Christ. This is your opportunity to help them in those areas! As their coach God might be calling you to be their primary spiritual relationship. However if they don’t look to you to be that for them don’t feel bad, that just means that they are getting healthy community somewhere else.

Some Questions to Reflect On:

Do you remember when your first experienced true community? What did it look like and feel like?
What can you do to help those you shepherd understand the gift of community?

The Essence of Coaching (pt. 1): Cultivating Transformation

Hey Friends! This week we start a new series about Lifegroups, specficially coaching Lifegroups. In this series I am going to be working around what Bill Donahue and Greg Bowman call the “Essence” of Lifegroup Coaching.

__________________________________

The Essence of Coaching – Cultivating Transformation

So recently I have been reading some stuff about coaching, specifically a book by two pastors at Willow Creek: Bill Donahue and Greg Bowman. The book has been really helpful for me so I want to share some of the stuff that I have been learning with you. Hopefully it helps!

As we go into this next quarter and year of coaching its important to stop and ask ourselves, what does it take become an effective coach? Better yet we should ask ourselves what is the heart behind this whole coaching thing that we are trying to figure out? Over the next few days/weeks I want to highlight some core elements or fundamentals of coaching. The first fundamental is that coaches embrace a culture of transformation.

As small group leaders and coaches our desire is to see people grow in Christ, we want to see them “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of fullness in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13) If this isn’t your passion then you are in the wrong business. This is the vision that the apostles had for their followers, for instance Paul in Galatians 4:19 says that he suffers pains like those of childbirth until Christ is formed in them. Also in all of his epistles he is always talking about how he prays incessantly for these churches to know the height depth and width of Christ’s love for them so that they might become more like the Son. So you get the point… our desire is to see transformation. This is a super important fundamental to instill into the people that we are coaching because their Life Group will likely reflect the values we have emphasized in our coaching meetings.

Now as coaches we might run into some difficulties… some Life Group leaders will lose focus when it comes to moving people towards transformation in Christ. Some might approach Life Groups as merely a social gathering or merely a time to learn. These groups will not move into the direction we desire for them, namely personal growth that leads to greater faithfulness in whatever context God has placed them. So as a coach you will need to redirect them and help them focus at the task at hand: creating opportunities to encounter Christ so that transformation might occur.

Before we even approach the task of helping our leaders foster transformation we need to really believe that God is the one who changes lives, not us. We don’t make people grow and people can’t make themselves grow, that is Jesus’ job. Our responsibility (and the responsibility of LG leaders) is to pray, encourage, and challenge those we are shepherding. Point them to Jesus! Exalt him, make him bigger, more beautiful, and more glorious in their eyes and change will happen! Consider 1 Corinthians 3:6-7: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives growth.”

So once again the point is: God simply asks us to create environments that nurture growth.

So here is how we can do this in our coaching relationships:

Modeling: What you do and how you do things will likely be the way that those under you end up doing things as well. (1 Cor 11:1)
Words: Your words are so important. They have the power to build up or tear down. So use your words to encourage and build up. Have ICNU conversations! Always point them to God’s grace in Jesus!
Prayer: This is obvious. Pray for the people you coach. For some reason God has made it so that our prayers are effective. If we don’t pray we are missing out in what God wants us to partner up with him to do in the lives of these leaders.
Listening: This skill is easily overlooked. Listen to your leaders more than you talk at them. Listening to your leaders will show that you actually care for them as people, not just as leaders under you.

Some Questions to Reflect On:

Who has been your most influential model for leadership?
How do you see yourself leading like them? Unlike them?
Of the four tools mentioned above (modeling, words, prayer, listening) which ones do you lean towards? What steps could you take to grow in the other areas?

Missiology Book Review: Beyond Christendom

Hanciles, Jehu. Beyond Christendom. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2008.

In this book Hanciles looks at three different subjects: 1) globalization, 2) African migration, and 3) the transformation of the West by these immigrants. Hanciles’ main argument is that migration and mission are inextricably connected. He shows that migration and Christian expansion have always gone hand in hand, and that in the West migration will change the shape of Christianity.

One of the most insightful chapters in this book is his chapter on assimilation. His exposition of the straight-line model, or “Anglo-conformity” model, helps the reader understand the immigrant experience in a new way. Anglo-conformity assumes that Anglo-Saxon culture is the superior and normative culture, and that immigrants should conform to this culture. He shows that this has been the assimilation model that most Americans have bought in to. (Think for a moment… do you feel as though this is true? It has certainly been my own experience when talking to Americans about immigration issues.) His discussion of various models of “assimilation” especially the straight-line model makes me wonder if our churches have adopted this model, which is absolutely unbiblical.

Another insightful point that Hanciles makes in this book is that the growth of Christianity has always gone hand in hand with migratory movements. This debunks the myth that Christianity has grown because “professional” missionaries have carried the faith to foreign lands. Although to an extent this is true, most of the growth in the Church is due to Christians migrating and carrying their faith along with them to their new homes. (Consider the persecution that happens in Acts, this persecution is an example of a “push” migration resulting in the spreading of the faith.)

If you work with a population that deals with immigration issues, this is a must read book. I highly recommend it.

Communion and Commission Celebrating the Lord’s Supper

Below is a resource I use at the beginning of each quarter of Lifegroups, letting leaders know why we celebrate communion and how we celebrate communion at Soma. If this is helpful take it and pass it on, use it for your own community groups! Commission

_______________________________

Welcome to Life Group: Communion

For week one of life group we are going to be doing communion. In fact our entire life group this week will be centered on communion. Because communion is such an important part of our lives as Christians, I want to clear a few things up about why we do it and how we will be doing it this week. There are a few key passages that are often used during communion, for instance 1 Corinthians 11:17-33 and Mark 14:22-25. In going through these we learn that communion or The Lord’s Supper isn’t something that was “invented” by the Church. It was a practice instituted by Jesus himself. In fact Jesus commands us to have this meal in remembrance of him.

I’m sure that most of you have had different experiences with communion, perhaps you grew up in a church that used liturgy so you had communion every week. Maybe you grew up in a church like Rocky Peak where you had communion every four to six weeks. Regardless of how you grew up doing communion there are a couple of words that probably describe how it was done in your church: solitary and somber. Maybe that’s just my own experience, but as far as I can remember when we did communion I would go off in a corner by myself, feeling really bad because I am sinful, then I would ask for forgiveness and give God thanks for sending his son to die for my sins. This is all great stuff and it is Biblical, but if our life groups are going to be communities on mission we must begin to look at communion through the lens of God’s mission.

To do this I believe that it would be helpful to look at how the first missional community did communion: the early church.

The New Testament and other 1^st Century Christian documents tell us that the early church regularly practiced the taking of bread and wine (or in our case grape juice!). The first time we see this type of meal is in the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. However when Jesus does this it is part of a regular meal in the upper room of a regular house (note: they didn’t do it at the temple). This is the last meal that Jesus had with his closest friends, that is his community. You can imagine Jesus doing this with his life group (I imagine that this was the greatest life group in history!). As we go through the Gospels we see that Jesus constantly has meals with people. Jesus had meals with believers and non-believers. During these meals Jesus would often teach or tell parables. Basically what Jesus was doing during these meals was showing both believers and non-believers what God is like.

In Acts (the acts of the early “Missional” Church), we see believers gather in Jerusalem to break bread in their homes (Acts 2:46). In other words they were having communion. This in addition to the context of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 tells us that early Christians were having communion as a part of a larger regular shared meal.

If we put these three things together what do we learn? First we see that communion is where believers remember Christ and experience his presence. Second we notice that the Lord’s Supper is more than just eating a meal together, although it involved a real meal and not just a tiny cracker and a ½ shot of grape juice. However it is also not less than eating a meal together. Communion was a relational event it was meant to be an act of community, it was not meant to be an individualistic ritual. Third, communion is missional. When Jesus had meals with people believers and non-believers were present. It was during these meals that non-believers got to learn about who God is and got to see what a loving Christian community looks like.

So how do we take these three things (experiencing God, experiencing community, being missional) and do communion in light of them?

We do communion in our small groups in the context of a real meal. In having an actual meal we experience community and we get to be missional.
We take the bread and “wine” together and not as individuals. By doing this we strengthen our community, reinforce the idea that the Church is a body not just a bunch of individuals, and we combat the individualism that is so pervasive in our culture.
We publicly remember what Christ has done for us. We should take this time to briefly share why we are celebrating Christ’s death/resurrection and share what Christ has done for us in our own lives.

Take this time to celebrate not to mourn! We celebrate because Christ is risen! We can have hope and joy because we know that Christ is coming back to set all wrongs to right. He is coming back to establish his Kingdom! So this week while you celebrate communion be intentional about fostering a celebratory atmosphere. Encourage people to share what Christ has done for them/is doing for them now. Set the tone by being real with the group when you share.

I pray that God blesses your time together this week as we celebrate his resurrection! – Chris Woznicki

Simple Smallgroups (pt. 8): Pattern 2 – Steps for Changing in Your Own Group

Last time we evaluated where our groups are along the “Changing” pattern. Today we continue this mini-series on spiritual growth in Lifegroups. In this blog we will take a look at some of the things you could be doing for in your Lifegroups to help them move along the change continuum.

____________________________________________________

Pattern 2: Changing (Steps for Your Group)

So your group wants to change? Or maybe they don’t but you want them to change. Either way God wants them to change and grow, and that is what really matters. If God wants them to grow and become more Christ like then God will make sure it will get done. However this does not mean we sit back lazily and expect God to make us grow. God does the growing in our lives but he calls us to be faithful to that by opening ourselves up to being changed by him.

Lets Make it Grow!

Before we take a look at steps we can take to help our groups move along the various phases of the “change” pattern we need to get one thing VERY clear. There is nothing you can do to make yourself grow. Growth in Christ-likeness is an act (a miracle) of the Holy Spirit. A while ago I had a weird dream about Christian growth. I’m going to throw it out there and hopefully you catch point.

I was out on a huge grass covered field that stretched out as far as the eye could see. And there was a small sapling in the middle of the field. I had a pail and I was watering the tree. As I was watering the tree I was getting frustrated because the stupid sapling wasn’t becoming a tree. And then some guy walks up to me and says: “you can’t make it grow on your own.” And I replied “but this is how you make it grow.” Then I kept watering the tree but once again the guy said “you can’t make it grow on your own.” A little frustrated I told him, “no this is how you make it grow.” I knew in my mind that you make a tree grow by watering it. Thus if I was watering the tree it would grow. And for a third time the guy said “You can’t make it grow on your own.” By now I was pissed off and frustrated so I told the guy “No this is how you make it grow!” Then I woke up.

When I had this dream it was very personal to what I was experiencing in my life and in ministry, however we can extract a truth from it that applies to all Lifegroups and all Christians as they grow. We can know “how to make things grow.” We can know all the right spiritual disciplines or the complexities behind human psychology and human spiritual development, but ultimately its God who creates growth. Without God, growth does not happen. Reading all the right books, spending hours upon hours praying or fasting will not accomplish anything unless God works in you to grow. I’m not saying don’t do those things. After all, we water plants but the growth in the plant is not dependent on us. As Paul says to the Corinthians in his 1^st letter: “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

So having said that lets move on to how we can be faithful in “watering” and “planting” the seeds of change.

Phase 1 – Learn

Learn Together: Duh… Here is what I mean though. Pick something to learn about that will get everyone in the group excited. I know we have a set curriculum for our Lifegroups, but there are always things you can add on to help and to encourage your members to grow through learning. For example last quarter Stacey Sturznacker and I added weekly bible reading to our group. Each week we would all read one book of the bible (an epistle) and then we would get together and share what we learned. We chose to do this because it was on everybody’s heart to be in God’s word more consistently. So by choosing something that people were already excited about we were able to learn together.
Memorize Scripture: This is impossible for me…. But maybe its really easy for you. If any of you did Elevate (our summer discipleship program) you know how beneficial memorizing scripture can be. If you began to memorize scripture your together your group would become much better at speaking truth into one another. Have them memorize scripture and the watch how God will end up using those scriptures in the group!
Pray Together: At its most basic, prayer is conversation with God. Talking and listening. So what could be better for our growth in Christ than talking to God himself? Here are three quick tips to prayer in groups. Keep it small. You can break of into smaller groups or you can only have a few people pray during prayer times. Either way you don’t want a million people praying. That will take all night. (Unless of course the Spirit prompts your group to spend the night praying instead.) Give it Time. Make sure everyone has enough time to share prayer requests. This means that you will have to keep the clock in mind when leading the discussion but it also means that you will need to keep some loquacious people in check. Don’t let someone dominate this prayer time each week! Guide it well. Cast vision for this time of prayer. Emphasize that God loves to hear our prayers and he desires to answer them for his glory. Emphasize why we pray and how our prayers are effective.

Phase 2 – Growing

Discuss: Discussion is the crux of our Lifegroups. We center our Lifegroups around the Word because this is where we encounter Christ. Do what you can to keep the discussion flowing. If someone is dominating, help others chime in. If someone is intimidated to share then make sure the group encourages the fact that their opinions are important and valuable. In keeping the discussion flowing make sure you kill tangents. Kill them before they kill your Lifegroup. On another note, allow awkward silences. Silence is not necessarily bad. It might just mean that people are busy thinking. And who knows maybe someone who feels awkward jumping in during the middle of a heated conversation will feel a bit more comfortable sharing during these silences.
Accountability: A group should feel free to open up and share what is going on in their lives. But first you need to make sure that you stress the importance of confidentiality in Lifegroups. As you stress confidentiality, you will build trust. As you build trust, people in the group will have the confidence that people in the group have eachother’s best interest in mind and are not interested in gossiping. So once trust is build, and the “relational bridge” has a strong foundation. Incorporate a time into your group where people share with one or two individuals (usually of the same gender) the things that God is working on them to grow. We have build this time into our Lifegroups, but you can mix it up and do it in different ways each week. Or else it can easily become a sin pity party. We want to avoid sin pity parties! We want to avoid them because we know that our sins are covered and paid for by the blood of Jesus. Because they are covered we don’t need to live in fear, remorse, condemnation or guilt. We are free to confess sin and expect growth.

Phase 3 – Belong

Accountability Outside of the Group: One thing that we constantly repeat is that our Lifegroups aren’t meant to be accountability groups, nevertheless our Lifegroups can help us stay accountable. The primary way that we do this is through accountability outside of the group. One of the groups I coached last quarter instituted a system in which each member had another member that they kept accountable and that they prayed for throughout the week. By doing this the group freed up time to spend on discussion, prayer, and worship instead of accountability. So the situation was a win-win. The group had more time to devote to “Lifegroup” activities and everybody received more individualized accountability than would have been offered in the group alone.
Service:I am firmly believe that the best way to grow is by serving. When you serve you get stretched and put out of your comfort zone. When you serve you often have to learn to rely more on the Spirit and less on yourself. (Of course you could try to do things on your own… good luck with that.) So if you can get your Lifegroup to serve together you will end up seeing growth in the group itself and in the individuals doing the serving.

Concluding Thoughts

Hopefully these tips helped! After all it’s our heart that God would create growth in our Lifegroups. I am confident that as we grow deeper in community and as we continue to spur one another towards remembering our identity in Christ we will see growth! And hopefully as you grow closer together and growth happens then the non-Christians in your lives will see the power that God has to change people. As always I’m praying for you, your groups, and the non-Christians around you!

Simple Smallgroups (pt. 7): Pattern 2 – Changing in Your Own Group

Last time we started the “Changing” pattern. Today we continue this mini-series on spiritual growth in Lifegroups. In this blog we will take a look at some of the various phases that groups find themselves in during this phase.

____________________________________________________

Pattern 2: Changing (Your Group)

Change… we all aim to change. But stuff so often gets in our way! We might desire to change our health habits but end up getting a Venti Salted Caramel Mocha Latte from Starbucks every day (As I write I am drinking a Venti Salted Caramel Mocha Latte, don’t worry though its non-fat!) Or maybe we decide to change our workout habits, but instead of getting up early to work out before work we end up hitting the snooze button 1 or 2 or 6 times. So what is our problem? Our problem is that change is hard (that’s why I prefer bills to change! Haha I crack myself up!) Anyway change, especially spiritual change is hard, super hard. One of the major (actually it is the major) obstacle to lasting change is a lack of the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives. Another major obstacle to change is a lack of understanding our identity in Christ through the gospel. Lifegroups help us address both of these obstacles. In Lifegroups we give the Holy Spirit free range to help us grow more Christ-like. In Lifegroup we come alongside one another and remind ourselves about our identity in Christ. But there is another obstacle to change. A lack of true community…..

Change or Die

In his book Change or Die journalist Alan Deutschman did some research into how people change. One thing that he found consistently in all people and groups that changed was community. “When people connected with a community that helped them, change was possible. Without community people rarely changed, and when they did, it didn’t last.” By using this book, Bill Search points out that community, especially communities of believers are a major factor in our growth and change process. If its true that community helps us change and grow, how much more will a Christ centered and Spirit led community help us grow?!?!

The Change Continuum

Bill Search likes continuums and I do too. So I think that Bill is right in saying that “just like the relational pattern of connecting, the growth pattern of change is a continuum.” When thinking about the change continuum we must keep two things in mind. First, in defining change we must keep in mind that change does not equal becoming perfect. That is a standard that none of us can attain, nevertheless we remain hopeful that God will one day make us perfect. We remain hopeful that God wants to draw us closer and closer to his son and also that God will make us more and more Christ-like in our spiritual journey. Second, when talking about change we need to know that some people will grow slow and stead, while others will shoot up like weeds. Your Lifegroup will contain both types of people. So you need to be mindful of that. These phases along the change continuum is meant to address the group as a whole, not necessarily individuals.

Phase 1 – Learn

Last time we talked about the notion that growing in knowledge does not equal growing spiritually. However growing in knowledge is a huge part in our process of change. This is a very important stage, especially for people who are new. When you are new, everything you learn can be exciting and awe inspiring. This phase will have people learning new things all the time. They will read the bible and find cool things. They might point out how cool it is that The Lord’s Supper is so similar to Passover or that Jesus was prophesied about in the Old Testament. And as they learn these cool new things they will want to discuss them in Lifegroup. However your job as a Lifegroup leader is to help shift the focus to the question “why does this matter?” (not in a mean and demeaning way) but in a “what does this mean to you?” way. Ask them how this impacts their lives and their view of who God is. Use their eagerness to learn in order to foster spiritual transformation.

How can you tell that you are in this phase? Ask yourself the following questions:

Is most of your group time spent during the “Word” portion of the night?
Do most of your members enjoy the “Word” part of the night over the other parts?

Phase 2 – Grow

The growing phase is visible when the emphasis shifts from learning truths to applying them. This group will be more concerned about applying what God is showing them than merely learning more things. A group in this phase helps each person grow by challenging and encouraging one another to apply truth and they build that person up when they see that person living out the truths they are learning. For example someone in your group has been sharing that they are beginning to see the theme of patience running through the Bible. If you are in this stage you will ask the person: Who do you need to be patient with in your circle of influence? Is it your roommates? Your parents? Your girlfriend? When they come back and share the next week and they say that they failed at being patient, encourage them! If they say they were successful celebrate the fact that God is transforming them!

How can you tell that you are in this phase? Ask yourself the following questions:

Do your group members openly discuss areas in which they need to personally grow?
Do people in your group share testimonies of the things God is doing in their lives?
Do they ask to be held accountable for their actions?
Do they confess their sins to one another?

Phase 3 – Transform

We can hope for and expect transformation to happen now through the power of the Holy Spirit. Although there are some sins that we seem to be captive to, the truth is that Jesus has defeated sin and has set us free. We just need to allow his reign to take over these parts of our lives. I want you to stop for a minute and think… in the last few months where have you been transformed? How has Christ been growing you? Ask yourself the question: “Who am I becoming in Christ?” These are the same questions you need to be asking your group if they are in this stage. Always remember though that in this stage you want to build up, not tear down. Because it is love and kindness that lead to repentance and growth not condemnation.

How can you tell that you are in this phase? Ask yourself the following questions:

Do group members point to areas where they feel they have experienced victory?
Can the group affirm one another in the areas of change they are seeing?
Do group members discuss what they are doing in order to grow in a certain area?

Evaluating Your Group

Next time we will be taking a look at how we can move up on the continuum of changing phases. But for now I leave you with a couple of questions and some food for thought. First go ahead and Read Colossians 3:1-17. How does this passage image impact your understanding about growth for your Lifegroup? Then ask yourself the following questions:

What is the basis for our change?
What are we to put to death?
What are we supposed to put on?
How is your Lifegroup doing in these areas (v. 12-17)
Do the members of your Lifegroup understand the point or the goal of change?

I hope that these questions help you think through some key issues in our pattern of changing, and that you are led to pray for God to show up in your group to create the change He wants to see. I know I’m praying that for my own group and I’m praying that for yours as well.

Simple Smallgroups (pt. 6): Pattern 2 – Changing

Back to more Simple Smallgroups! Last time we finished the “Connecting” pattern. Today we start up our new pattern “Changing.” Changing is just the word Bill Search uses for spiritual growth/sanctification. So lets take a look at what this pattern is and how Lifegroups can help us change.

____________________________________________________

Pattern 2: Changing

So over the last few studies we have been taking an in depth look at the pattern Bill Search calls connecting and Soma calls community. Now we move on to the second pattern: Changing. Now we know that Changing (growing, becoming spiritually mature, etc.) is not the point. Encountering Christ is the point. As we encounter Christ and fall more in love with him we change, grow, become mature, etc. So lets take a look at the “Changing” pattern.

You Can Change! (But its not easy…)

All of you know how hard change can be. Whether its changing schools, changing jobs, moving, or getting married. Change is not easy. Sometimes we desperately avoid change but other times we really want to change. But that change doesn’t come about easily. Think back to your spiritual journey. Have there been things that you wanted to change? I’m sure there have been. There are certainly things in my own journey that I have wanted to change. In fact we are actually called to change. We are called to hear God and what he is calling us to change and join the journey with him as he changes us from the inside out…. But once again this is NOT easy.

Change…. It’s a process

We call change a lot of things…. Discipleship, transformation, spiritual formation. And if we want to get really technical and sound like a theology nerd we can call it sanctification. Whatever you want to call it though… there is one aim “to become more like Jesus.” Afterall this is what “Christian” means.

Since change is a core part of our Christian journey it seems natural that our Lifegroups will speak into this pattern in some way or another. For instance in a Lifegroup we might challenge one another to grow in knowledge and to put that knowledge into practice. We might point people to the Grace of God and speak truths into them. This too can lead to change. When we tell people that they are holy and dearly loved by God, that their sins are forgiven, that God is faithful, and that he hears their prayers internal change occurs. These are all steps and tools we have to help other Christians in our Lifegroups grow BUT change is a process. Usually it takes time. Sure there are times when people do a complete 180. I have seen this in groups! But the majority of the time it will be a slow gradual process that might not even be noticeable until you step back and take a bird’s eye view of the situation. So just as we talked about their being a continuum for connecting, its helpful to think of change along a continuum as well. With the ultimate goal being sanctification (which we know WILL NOT happen fully until the end of time where Jesus makes us perfect).

Knowledge ≠ Change

I don’t think that I really need to explain this too much but I will give it a shot. An increased level of knowledge does not equal change. You can know a ton and still not be spiritually mature. For instance there is this one guy, E.P. Sanders who is one of the most respected and influential biblical scholars today. He wrote a book several decades ago called Paul and Palestinian Judaism. This book revolutionized the field of biblical studies. It changed the way we looked at Judaism in Paul’s day. And ever since he wrote this book it has been impossible to write something scholarly about Paul without at least engaging with E.P. Sanders ideas. So hopefully you are getting the point. This guy has a lot of knowledge. However his spiritual walk is not so healthy…. In fact he refers to himself as a “secularized protestant.” (Sad.) On the other hand another thing we need to remember is that growing in knowledge also does not equal growing in spiritual maturity. So why does this matter? It matters because your Lifegroup is not primarily a place to come receive knowledge. Your Lifegroup should not digress into a discussion about predestination or the new perspective on Paul or the best interpretation of Revelation. That is not the point….

(Note: I am not saying that knowledge is unnecessary to spiritual growth. I firmly believe that God calls us to know more about him and his actions in the past through the Bible. God also calls us to know more about him and how he works in this world, through church history. God also calls us to know about him and what his people have said about him, through historical theology. All of these fields of study are extremely important because in studying them we have the potential of encountering the God that we worship. Personally I have had some of my greatest “God Times” reading theologians like N.T. Wright, Karl Barth, and Augustine.)

How can I help you change?

Or better yet, how can we help you change. A healthy group helps us grow spiritually. Bill Search in Simple Smallgroups list out three ways that Lifegroups help people change: 1-When we are honest, 2-when we apply Scriptures, and 3-when we listen to other believers.

Honesty: If we want to become more like Jesus you have to be honest about where you are at. If we want to change a particular sin in our life we need to be able to talk about that sin, and you won’t talk about that sin unless you are honest with your group. If you want to grow you have to open up and share. If we live in a community of people who hides and covers up their faults, we won’t be able to help one another. So we should invite our fellow group members to be honest about who they really are and what things they are struggling with. However in being honest we must remember that we are working along a continuum. You cannot expect people to be completely open and honest the first week of Lifegroup. (If they are then there likely is something wrong with them. Either that or you have an EGR on your hands.) Nevertheless you should see growth in honesty as your group progresses.
Applying Scriptures:A few weeks ago when I preached on Colossians 3:12-17 I said that “Out of our identity as God’s sons and daughters words of encouragement should flow to our fellow brothers and sisters.” We should be encouraging one another that in Christ we are holy and dearly loved. And we should be encouraging one another with the Word of Christ, which is the scriptures, the gospel, and the promised work of Jesus in our life. Sure it will involve exhorting one another to follow the commadments of Scripture, but above all we should “apply the scriptures” by reminding one another of the truths that scripture tells us about our position in Christ. I firmly believe that as we do this we will be more ready and willing to follow the commands of scripture. (Because doing flows from being!)
Listening: “Listening to one another is one of the greatest ways we can help each other change.” Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you weren’t being heard? Like your feelings and your opinions didn’t matter? Like you were underappreciated or not appreciated at all? If you have ever felt that way you know how exhausting it can be. However you probably know that the opposite of those things can be very life giving and energizing. So listening and listening attentively can foster an environment that gives life rather than drains it. As your group listens to one another you can encourage one another and affirm (or correct) them. I think that most importantly, listening shows that we care, and when we know people care about our spiritual growth we are more likely to want to change.

Change – It’s a Continuum

Bill Search gives a great metaphor for the change continuum. He uses the metaphor of a bridge and says that “You’ve got to build the relational bridge strong enough to hold the weight of truth.” I believe he is right. Have you ever received a challenging word or a rebuke from someone you barely knew? How did you take it? Probably not so well. Now what if someone you knew loved and cared for you said those same things? Would that be radically different? I think so. What this shows is that if we are going to have the authority to speak into people’s lives and help them become more Christ-like then we need to build the relational bridge strong enough to handle the tension of confrontation and challenge. This begins with building the bridge between the leader and the members then building the bridge between all of the members of the group to one another. So in order to embark upon this journey of becoming more Christ-like we need to build strong relational bridges. There are also some other things we can be doing, but we will take a look at those next time.