This is installment #14, and the last post (for now) in my series on Commitment and Small Groups. Andrew Mason, founder of SmallGroupChurches.com, and I recently discussed this question via video: “Why do you think we often do not see commitment from the people in our small groups?” I think it’s a pretty good summary … Continue reading “The Commitment Conundrum (Commitment and Small Groups Series #14)”
In yesterday’s post, I discussed what you as a leader can do when group members resist making a commitment to grow spiritually. How can you help them grow, and, even first, want to grow, without pushing them, judging them, or being legalistic about it? How can you shepherd them, leading them to the places where they can … Continue reading “7 Grace-Filled Principles for Building Commitment to Spiritual Practices (Commitment and Small Groups Series #13)”
Why don’t very many small groups in America reproduce themselves? I’ll mention three main reasons, and discuss the third in a bit more detail today. One reason I’ve mentioned often is that many groups simply are not healthy. Healthy things grow, produce fruit, and multiply. Unhealthy things don’t. In my ministry, I’ve prodded, rewarded, celebrated, shamed, … Continue reading “Why Many American Small Groups (and Churches) Fail to Reproduce (Commitment and Small Groups Series #11)”
I’m on a personal mission to communicate the vitality of Commitment in Small Groups. Commitment is the key to authentic community, real discipleship, the bearing of lasting fruit, carrying out Christ’s mission, and multiplication. One of the places I see this lack of commitment most obviously inflicting small groups is in the frequency of group meetings. … Continue reading “Commit to Meeting Weekly (Commitment and Small Groups Series #10)”
“If you make disciples, you will always get the church. But if you try to build the church, you will rarely get disciples.” -Mike Breen, “Why the Missional Movement Will Fail” Breen makes some great points in his post I reference above. Definitely worth a read. I can see church leaders all over the country … Continue reading “The Missing Ingredient in American Churches and Groups (Commitment and Small Groups Series #9)”
I received a question on another site to the first post in this Commitment and Small Groups series. QUESTION: Just was reading about the group that got tattoos, wow! I wish that symbolism transferred to the heart. Discipleship is a tough tackle. … That particular group probably has the right people in if they were … Continue reading “Does Commitment to a Group Depend on the Correct Chemistry? (Commitment and Small Groups Series #8)”
Your personal commitment to Christ has a tremendous effect on everyone else in your group. When you are not growing in your own faith, your fellow group members lose something: your influence on them. But when you are committed to Christ, when you put yourself into a position where he can pour his love and … Continue reading “The Personal Commitment that Makes the Group Commitment Stronger (Commitment and Small Groups Series #7)”
I’m writing currently about commitment in groups and I believe this is vital. Groups that are committed to one another, despite the costs involved, are the ones in which people grow and develop into disciplemaking disciples. They are also the groups that grow in numbers. bear fruit, and reproduce themselves. Commitment always comes with a … Continue reading “The Costs of Commitment in Groups (Commitment and Small Groups Series #6)”
If you could ask Jesus’ original disciples to describe discipleship, they would talk about someone who was totally committed to a particular rabbi. Usually, disciples literally lived with their rabbi and followed him everywhere he went. Communal living was absolutely necessary for living as a true disciple. Teaching happened more by example than by words … Continue reading “Committed to WHAT? 3 Commitments of a Healthy, Life-Changing Small Group (Commitment and Small Groups Series #5)”
1. Make your group all about you. When you first looked for a small group, you may have done so in the same way you shopped for a new car or a new refrigerator. You looked for features you wanted, features like the right people, the right location, the right day or time, and the … Continue reading “5 Surefire Ways to Screw Up a Small Group (Commitment and Small Groups Series #4)”
