CATEGORIES
Conferences
08.24.10
Silverdale Baptist Church... Being the Church
Those of you who know me understand what I mean when I speak of a church doing church rather than being the church.
- Churches doing church are made up of people who attend worship services.
- Churches being the church are made up of passionate followers of Christ who gather together at weekend worship services anticipating God is going to do something outrageous.
- Churches doing church believe the ultimate goal is great programming.
- Churches being the church believe the ultimate goal is to see Christ bring "good news to the poor," "bind up the brokenhearted," "proclaim freedom for the captives," and "release from darkness for the prisoners." (Isaiah 61:1 – 2)
- Churches doing church are led by senior pastors and staff members who have chosen a career.
- Churches being the church are led by senior pastors and staff members who have an intense calling on their lives and sacrifice much to accomplish Kingdom purposes.
- Churches doing church make the scorecard bodies in seats which leads to bigger budgets which ultimately leads to more or bigger buildings.
- Churches being the church make the scorecard lives transformed, more growing disciples, and a realization that God is transforming them.
- Churches doing church pray passively during worship services to complete another requirement in the order of worship.
- Churches being the church cry out to God behalf of one another expecting God to be at work in one another's lives.
- Churches doing church decide who their target audience is and go after the young or the old, the rich or the poor, the blue collar or the white collar. Demographics play an important part in determining how the church functions.
- Churches being the church allow the Spirit of God to be the drawing card and all races and ages and the rich and the poor gather in one accord as equals to celebrate the God who brought them together.
- Churches doing church want a small group ministry for the purpose of keeping people from leaving the church.
- Churches being the church nurture a small group ministry realizing that they are responsible to present every congregant mature in Christ. (Col. 1:28)
Sunday I had the chance to be in a church that I believe is being the church… really. I had the opportunity to share a vision for small groups at Silverdale Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
All three services were nearly full. But it would have made no difference if the worship center had been nearly empty (although it would be hard for a church with the passion of Silverdale to remain small.). The enthusiasm of these people for Jesus and one another opened my tear ducts on more than one occasion. Yes, in all three services.
The choir sang the opening number. This choir, made up of young and old, white and black, svelte and folks like me, a bit more well-rounded (I love to use that term.), not only sang like angels they worshiped their heavenly Father with passion. Eyes were lifted to the heavens, hands were lifted in praise, freedom abounded and it overflowed onto all of us who were listening. They realized God was in the house, that they were humble servants in His presence, and so they sang to Him with all of their hearts.
During the service, not at the end of the service, Senior Pastor Tony Walliser invited the staff (I think some lay leaders joined them.) to come forward. He then welcomed anyone who needed or wanted to pray at the altar. I noticed some individuals coming forward were bypassing the staff members. In moments a staff member had left his/her perch, placed an arm around the lone beggar and called out to God on their behalf.
Between services I met an older gentleman who had been singing in the choir. I noticed him because he seemed to be so different than most men his age. As the choir sang both hands were lifted toward God in heaven. His countenance was beautiful as he seemed to be adoring His Heavenly Father. He told me he had had a stroke and that his entire left side had been paralyzed but that God had worked a miracle on his behalf. Obviously, Silverdale believes God is more than just a concept, that He is a Father who lovers His children and is still doing "immeasurably more than we ask or imagine."
Sunday was definitely not my strongest day. I had taken a fall and my left foot was causing extraordinary pain and was swollen. I had to go without one shoe (looked pretty weird I'm sure) because my foot wouldn't go into the shoe. So… I was distracted at times. At one point I hit my foot on a monitor and made the mistake of announcing, "I'm glad I didn't say the word that came to my mind." Some laughed, I in evaluation cringed. In the last service I showed a video testimony promising I'd tell the rest of the person's story when the video ended… I forgot.
Sunday wasn't my best day as a teacher, preacher, communicator, but it was one of my best Sundays ever. I was so very encouraged to see a church so intently focused on Christ, His power, His love, His willingness to transform and to be with a people who truly are being the church.
Pastor Tony, thank you for allowing me to be with you and your people who are being the church.
P.S. To Tony, Ken, David, and all of you who make up the staff at Silverdale… If I ever move to Chattanooga, I'm looking forward to you caring for and leading me and my family. Silverdale will be my church.
06.16.10
Bill Donahue Interview II... Leadership and Small Groups
Bill Donahue has been serving at one of the premiere churches in the country. Willow Creek Community Church has been passionate about equipping and empowering leaders for decades. It was for this reason that I was thrilled to discuss Bill's takeaways concerning leadership. His perspectives may change the way you think about leadership.
Rick: Bill, I'm gonna turn the conversation toward leadership now. I think for a lot of people you represent not only one of the best in the small group space, but because of Willow's focus on leadership and your being there with Bill Hybels and all that team and all you guys did in leadership you really are a great representative for a lot of us as a person who represents leadership as well as small groups. This series of questions heads down that path. Leadership is a major focus at Willow. What are the three most important things you learned about leadership every small group pastor needs to know, understand, and embrace?
Bill: Well, there's a number of things. One would be I think shared leadership is essential but challenging. I think the idea that you're at the top of the pyramid and it's just you, that doesn't work for community leadership. Team leading is the way to go because it models what you're asking others to do. I think the other thing is always speak current reality to people. The first job they say of a leader is to name reality. I think that's absolutely essential. I learned that over the years, and we had different people in different roles, sometimes not really acknowledging reality. They were in denial of the reality of where we were at the time. You just have to be honest and name that at all times. So, yeah, just name reality.
And clarity, I think being very clear about what it is you're trying to do. I've gotta go with Andy Stanley here. Clarity is more important than certainty. You may not be able to be certain, but you need to be clear what it is you're asking people to do, what roles are they playing, and that has to be communicated regularly, and it has to be communicated in a way that is winsome and invites people in. So it's clear vision, clear strategy, clear values of what we believe and why we do this and communicating that regularly. Those are some of the biggest things I learned at least.
Rick: Bill, what leadership call did you make that looking over your shoulder you realize slowed down the goals you had in mind?
Bill: It was never like I made a call. You know, it was such a team thing.
I think the move to, the move to geographic—more specifically the move to neighborhood strategy without a support structure of leaders and leader development was a huge mistake. I would say that very clearly. You cannot have a neighborhood ministry without a strong support system behind it so that the organic place-based community experiences you're looking for are supported by an infrastructure. You can't just create experiences for people to have. It needs leaders, it needs clear direction, it needs integration throughout the church, and I think we went ahead and embraced some values and some practices without the commensurate support structure and leader development that was required around it. So that's why that, that didn't bode well for us. So I would—if I could roll the tape back I would definitely have changed that.
Rick: Bill, how would you suggest a team process something that didn't work so that they get meaningful takeaways? How did your teams go about doing that?
Bill: Well, I think first you collect honest data. You talk to the people that led it, and you talk to the people who experienced it. You have to go to the grassroots and find out how did this really work? And again, you can't just rely on vision hype. This is one of the things I had in a blog I did recently about leadership that kills community. A leader shouldn't get all caught up in their vision, and miss seeing reality. You have to really peel the layers off the onion and look at reality. What is really happening? How are groups really working? How are leaders really feeling about their role, their impact in other's lives? Is coaching working, and if so, where; and if not, where and why not? You know, how are we really talking about this? So real, clear, honest data is the first thing. They go back and look at what happened, what really happened. Not what did we think happened. And then try to figure out why. Then… each leader needs to own their role in that. You know, where did I contribute to the problem or the oversight or the mistake? In some cases maybe there's no ownership. It's just, you know, it's a fallen world, you try something, and it fails. You've just got to name it. But it's—I have to take responsibility ultimately for it, and so I think each person needs to say, "Ok, here's where my responsibility is in that," and put that on the table.
And then I think you've gotta get past all that and say, "Ok, let's get on the solution side. In light of this reality, where do we wanna go, and how do we get there? What needs to change? Do we need to change players? Do we need to change philosophy? Do we need to change strategy? Do we need to change the process we're going about here? Maybe the way we're making decisions isn't working. Do we need buy-in from senior leaders? You know, what was broken, and then what needs attention, and go from there.
06.09.10
Saddle Creek Small Groups... Donahue and Gladen Together
For those of us who got into the small group space any time within the last 20 years, we learned much of what we know from Saddleback Church and Willow Creek Community Church. That is, we learned much about leading small group ministries from Steve Gladen at Saddleback and Bill Donahue at Willow Creek. For years we longed to see Steve and Bill together, to gain insights from the leading churches doing small groups. This is one of the reasons I invited both of them to join us for The Summit, A Convergence of Small Group Experts. Having them together with the other giants in this era of small group ministry was fantastic.
We now have the opportunity to hear from the two of them unobstructed by a host. On Wednesday, June 16 – 1 ET / 12 CT / 11 MT / 10 PT Bill and Steve will be sharing the spotlight leading a webinar that we can all be part of. Below you'll find a short description of the event.
Join Bill Donahue and Steve Gladen for a free small group training webinar. Bill and Steve will present a content-packed hour of training for small group leaders. They will discuss "Leveraging Mid-Sized Groups to Build Community". Medium-sized groups in churches of all sizes, often become an end point – a final destination for church attendees as opposed to a bridge to community. Learn from Bill Donahue and Steve Gladen's experience on staff at two mega churches and consulting with hundreds of churches around the world. Discover strategies and tactics that will help mid-size groups catalyze growth in your small group ministry and get answers to your current challenges. For more information and to register go to http://www.ccn.tv/grouplife/ We won't be disappointed.
03.12.10
Synergy, Friends who Mean Something, and Saddleback Small Group Conferences
A few weeks ago it was my opportunity to spend a couple of days in a room with Bill Search, Reid Smith, Eddie Mosley, Ben Reed, Tom Bougher, Lyman Coleman, Randall Neighbour, Greg Bowman, Carl George, Steve Gladen. You may know all of these names or they may all be new to you. Bottom line… This is a who’s who in the small group world.
We simply threw out a topic and discussed, debated, deliberated on it for a period of time. Each of us had opinions that we lunged into the conversation. And each of had had past experiences that guided us toward the opinion we had. But the most important part of the conversation wasn’t one person’s thought, the most important part of the conversation were the principles and practices that unveiled themselves due to collective reasoning.
Synergy is one of the most amazing experiences of small group life. Long for it, look for it, make it happen. It’s easy. Simply create an environment where everyone feels comfortable talking then after many have spoken say something like, “What is the bottom line?” or “What do you think we’re learning here?” or “If we could sum this up in a couple of sentences what would those sentences be?”
Know this… synergy flows best with friends who mean something to you. When this band of small group brothers got together many of us knew about each other, some of us knew one another somewhat, and a few were already close friends. In just a matter of hours I felt a substantial connection to each of these guys. Today I’d call them all friend, a term set aside in my world for people who my heart connects with and I trust. Hopefully your small group is made up of “friends.”
A very close friend in this space is Steve Gladen, small group guru at Saddleback Church. I have been honored to present at Steve’s small group conferences the last few years. He has taken the risk of welcoming me into his circle of acceptable thinkers and communicators. This is one of the greatest honors of all. His reputation is on the line with each session I lead. But trust is what makes a group a family. Steve’s welcoming me into his circle of acceptable thinkers and communicators and trusting me with his reputation is very empowering. Be sure you trust something to your small group members that lets them know how much you trust them, even when it puts your reputation on the line.
By the way, Steve’s “Community U” small group conferences are fantastic. If you’re anywhere near any of the following cities, you’ll want to make a way to show up and bring your small group leaders. They’ll leave inspired as well as educated.Get more info at www.bit.ly/Smallgroupconf
April 16-17 Nashville, TN
May 21-22 Milwaukee, WI
July 16-17 Los Angeles, CA
Aug 20-21 St. Louis, MO
Sept 24-25 Seattle, WA
Oct 15-16 Baltimore/Washington, D.C.
Nov 5-6 Miami, FL
01.13.10
The Small Group Summit
I'm really excited that we will be hosting The Summit: A Convergence of Small Group Experts. This an event that might be the first time in history these amazing small group leaders have been on the same stage!! To make it even better, it's online so you can participate no matter where you live and it's FREE. Our very own Rick Howerton will be moderating this Town Hall styled forum and discussing the history, trends, and future of small group ministry. We are taking questions so you will have a chance to present any issue you are dealing with to the architects of the modern small group movement and hear them respond and provide solutions they've seen work in churches all over the world.
The speakers are 9 of today’s most well-known leaders in small group ministry and the next generation’s rising stars - Lyman Coleman, Bill Donahue, Steve Gladen, Randall Neighbour, Carl George, Bill Search, Reid Smith, Greg Bowman, and Eddie Mosley
Be sure to register and plan on taking part in this amazing experience. If you are a ministry leader, forward the information to all your group members so they can get answers to some of their most pressing questions too!
07.27.09
A Month in the Life of a Small Group-ologist/Trainer Guy
I love the crazy ministry God is allowing me to do. I love my wife and dog too, I'm just don't see them much. August is going to be especially exciting as I'll be at Collegiate Week at Ridgecrest, North Carolina then on to Layton, Utah for EQUIP 2009 followed by a stop in Columbus, Ohio for the Connect3 conference, then will jump a plane to Texas for the 2009 Church Leadership Conference and then a few days later I'll be headed to Chattanooga, Tennessee to speak at Silverdale Baptist church and will hang out with the staff the next morning and then without even thinking about it (If I thought about it I'd probably wanna take a train back home just to see what the place looks like) I'm off to Gainesville, Georgia to lead small group sessions and just two days after that I'm on to Memphis, Tennessee and then two days after that will lead sessions at the Kentucky Baptist Convention's Super Saturday in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and on the 30th I'll land in Bowling Green, Kentucky where I'll preach on Sunday morning at Christ Fellowship Church then stick around to do a small group training session for the small group leaders in Bowling Green.
I know what you're thinking... That's one long run on sentence. Well, my life sometimes seems to be just one exciting run-on sentence and I love it!
I'd be honored to lead training or speak about small groups for you or your church. Just call me at 615-251-5862 if you're interested. We've gotta see the world transformed through groups that make Jesus the centerpiece of their experience and that allow the Holy Spirit to be their teacher.
07.20.09
Serendipity Small Groups Workshop
Last fall at the Catalyst Conference, I caught up with Stewart McWilliams from Fellowship of the Rockies in Colorado Springs where we talked about Catalyst, the book "Tribes" by Seth Godin, and Serendipity Small Group Workshops. Stewart had recently hosted a Serendipity Small Group Workshop with Rick Howerton for his small group leaders as well as other ministry and group leaders from area churches. It was a great success for everyone in attendance both as a learning event and as a small group networking opportunity.
If your church would be interested in developing your group leaders by hosting a Serendipity Small Group Workshop contact Rick (Rick.Howerton@lifeway.com or 615.251.5862). You can also view our calendar to see if a workshop will be in your area for your group leaders to attend
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more about "Serendipity Small Groups Workshop Tes...", posted with vodpod05.17.09
Lyman Coleman Receives Honorary Doctorate, Kinda
Just yesterday Lyman Coleman received an honorary doctorate, kinda. Lyman is the pioneer of small groups as we know them today. He has become a dear friend and co-dreamer. Lyman had agreed to lead sessions at NEXT, the Saddleback Small Group Conference Saturday, May 16th. One day while Lyman and I were talking he mentioned in passing that a prestigious Christian College wanted to give him an honorary doctorate but that he had passed on it because the degree was to be given him the same day he was scheduled to lead sessions in Cincinnati. I assured him we could get by without him and that receiving an honorary doctorate was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don’t remember Lyman’s exact words he responded with but they went something like this… “That’s only paper, there are people at the conference.” He was much more focused on other people being set free than receiving a doctorate for himself. A few of the leaders at the conference decided he would receive an honorary doctorate, not from an accredited institution though. The piece of paper Lyman received in front of an audience of small group pastors and leaders reads:
Lyman Coleman
having changed the world and having set tens of thousands of people free is hereby awarded this
Honorary Doctorate
Small Groups
Generations are indebted to you.
Most of us will never receive an honorary doctorate of any kind from anyone, even a "kinda" degree. But it is possible for us to lead groups that set people free. Thanks, Lyman for teaching so many of us what it means to care for people like Jesus does!03.11.09
NEXT Conference highlights
The NEXT Conference at Saddleback Church a few weekends ago was full of highlights - Lyman Coleman training small group leaders again, Bill Search teaching on recruiting techniques for ministries of different sizes, Steve Gladen explaining the Saddleback model, a personal discussion with Reid Smith and the amazing work Christ Fellowship is doing with small groups. One thing I can't shake out of my head is the session taught by Erwin McManus. He had one quote in particular that deeply connected with me."You can't dream for the future if you are stuck lamenting the past"[vodpod id=Groupvideo.2148698&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] more about "erwin mcmanus - destiny", posted with vodpod That phrase has been processing inside me for nearly a week and the implications are staggering. For the better part of 30 years, I've been busy not so much lamenting my past but trying to interpret my past. It's almost impossible to move forward when you don't know where you've come from! How can I dream and live the life God is calling me into when I've no idea of who I really am...when there is little to no self awareness? This isn't some psychological mumbo-jumbo, this is being present with yourself so that you might be present with God. Augustine says it well,
How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self? Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee.Thankfully, God is unyielding in His wild pursuit so that I may know Him deeply and intimately. I've been on a journey with the Serendipity team and through them along with the Holy Spirit and other mentors, I've learned to connect the dots of my past in order to embrace the dreams, the future, and the crucial role in the Larger Story that I've been invited to enter into. What does this have to do with small group leaders? As Ron Keck appropriately asserts, "You can only invite someone on a journey you've been on yourself." As small group leaders, it's vital for us to be on an expedition of the heart so that we are able to invite our group into this wonderfully redemptive journey. Many of our group members will be stuck lamenting their past and it is our calling to invite them into something more! Now I am NOT advocating we minimize a wound - it's so important to allow someone to lament the loss of a relationship, dream, job, etc., but we must not allow them to end their journey there. Calling them into a great adventure and inviting them to dream again is a heroic and noble responsibility and an offer than often can only come from a deep fellowship. My challenge for you, and me, is to make sure you are on a journey so that you can offer this invitation to others in your community. Here are some questions to ask yourself and God that might help you map out where you are and begin to call others into the adventure:
- When was the last time you were moved deeply by a song, piece of art, movie, or...moment?
- What are your deepest dreams and who have you shared these with?
- What are the messes in your life?
- Who is it that you are becoming?
- Honest love that laments wounds and hurts is different from a business-like love that makes happiness and mutual benefit its center. What false beliefs or forces have encouraged you to keep your honest thoughts away from God?
02.02.09
My Heroes… GREAT Small Group Leaders
Our church plant has seen her share of disasters. But no matter how big the church, small group leaders can "be the church" better than any people I know.
I was driving home after a day's work... My cell phone rang... I answered.., "Hello, Rick Howerton." She spoke... "Hi Pastor, I'm on my way home from work. I just got a call from my daughter, she came home from school and found her dad.... She thinks he's dead." Her broken tones evolved into uncontrollable wailing. "I'll be right there" I told her. I called her small group leader immediately. He and his wife beat me to the house. Husband's gone, no hope for resuscitation. Tragedy, but astoundingly effective small group leaders carried the day and are still doing so months later.
A quick follow-up story... When our church gathered yesterday I had a conversation with the small group leader, the one who "beat me to the house." He concreted in my heart of hearts that he is one of the thousands of heroes in the small group community, the small group leader. It seems that the young girl who found her dad lifeless on that disastrous afternoon was going to be forced to be without a father on "Dad's Day" at her elementary school. All the other kids would have a dad to eat lunch with them but she would be alone. When the small group leader heard about her situation he made a decision. He would take off work and be her dad for the day. He did just that. He told me that, as he turned the corner to go her room he saw her beautiful eyes. She was peeking around the door frame anticipating his arrival.
You know... We often talk about kids who can't understand or embrace the love of God the Father because they were without a loving father in the home they grew up in. While the small group leader will never be able to replace this young lady's dad, he is most certainly teaching her about the love of God her ultimate Father.
Small group leaders... You are my heroes!!!
If you've got a story about a small group leader that has made a difference in your life or someone else's I'd love to hear it. Please use the comment box to tell us about a small group leader who is your hero.
For more information on small groups and church planting join me at Exponential Conference in April.
