jeff gibson

Small Groups: Open or Closed? #smallgroups

I read a blog post by Mark Howell that made me think about our groups at Central.  His post made the case for open groups being his preference.  (Read his post to see why.) The discussion following helped clarify my thinking.  Here's my position:

Our groups should be closed.  And open.

A confession:  For years I believed that all groups should be open, that they all should physically have an open chair, and as soon as the group hit thirteen in number, that they should split the group (sorry, I mean birth a group) because that's how you made room for more people.

And we will put you on a list so that new people can see what groups we have and then call you or email you to see if they can come to your group.

In reality, I think that was the plot to make my ministry bigger.

In reality, I think that it still makes sense.  Groups should not be cliques.  Groups should not be inwardly focused to the point that they deny what they have (genuine community) to the people they should be concerned about also being able to have what they have. Gunga. Gunga-galunga.  Groups should want to invite new people in.

But I've also come to believe that they best way for new people to stick in a group, is if one of these are true:

1)  The new people have been personally invited by friends.  

2)  The whole group is new.

So here's my best case scenario.  Groups are closed to us assigning people to them or to people picking them, but they are open to inviting their friends and neighbors.

But that also means that we as small group pastors have to create groups and recruit new leaders so that new people will have place to go.

CCCEV's Third campus coming quickly!

Less than two weeks until Central's third campus opens at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert.  The initial service will be at 11:00 am on Sunday's.  It will be a Third Format service.

Ahhh, how sweet it is!

Do you miss the Parkway Drive?

Look what I found in the archives!!

Central Men's Challenge 09

Great times up in Williams this weekend at the Men's Challenge.  Highlights:

• I could see my breath.  Normally that's not a good thing.
• Nate Larkin brought a powerful message of failure, redemption and victory.
• Had a ton of guys sign up for small groups.
• Lots of guys songs and man, did the guys ever sing!  I rode up and back with the band guys and enjoyed hanging out with Mark, Perry and crew.
• Line of the weekend: Corey and Aaron were giving the sports report after the afternoon free time which featured some three on three basketball, ultimate frisbee and other things.  Some of us played golf.  Paul asked Corey to give the golf update, and Corey said, "I thought we were talking about sports."  Across the room I could see Danny stand up, at which Aaron said, "I think we just ticked off our boss!"
• And some baptisms:

We have a deck!

Well, after a little plumbing mishap, they are pouring the deck today!

 

The Church Should Be More Discriminating

Seth Godin writes in this post about how Wal-Mart sells hardcover books at a loss.  Why?  To get readers into their stores.  Readers, you see, tend to be smarter, better educated, and, oh yeah, make more money, and therefore have more disposable income.  And therefore, they buy more stuff.  

So if they get more readers into their store, they will sell more stuff.  

He says, “The challenge, then is to look for cues that people give you that they are better, and then cater to them. Every industry has people who are worth more, buzz more, care more and buy more than other people. Don't treat people the same, find the ones that matter more to you, and hug them.”  

Should the church cater to a certain type of people?  Or does it?

50 Years At Central Christian Church

 
Had a great time yesterday at Central’s 50^th Anniversary Celebration.  Thousands showed up to see the history of Central and pop culture through out the decades.  My favorites:

The 60’s:  Seeing a typewritten Central bulletin with the offering being something like $947.

The 70’s:  The Price is Right game.

The 80’s:  Danny Dodson walking around in a Ronald Reagan mask, while others of us passed out fans with his picture on it.  Moment of the day was the report of hearing a 13 year old say, “who’s this old guy”.

The 90’s:  Singing Kaoroke with Jodi Bray.  We killed the theme from Beauty and the Beast.  No, really, we killed it!

The 2000’s:  Had to be the human bowling or the big bungee jumping!

 

Most remarkable feat of the day:  In the 50 years that Central has existed, it has only had 4 senior pastors.  There's one of them in the picture.

 

Project Streetlight

Any runners out there?

Any of you running in the PF Changs 1/2 or full marathon?  You can benefit Project Streetlight at the same time.

What is Project Streetlight?

Phoenix is now the #1 city in the nation for Sex Trafficking, including Child Prostitution, more accurately described as Child Rape for Profit.  On any given night there are 300 children, average age 13, forced to prostitute themselves for the benefit of their “owners.”  When these children are liberated they have no safe place to go, and are kept in jail for their own safety.  Project Streetlight is currently raising funds to purchase and operate a rehabilitation facility that will provide these young victims with the education, counseling, life skills, and hope necessary to heal and to reclaim their lives.  If you haven’t yet, we encourage you to check out www.streetlightphx.com to get more information on the sex trafficking issues here in Phoenix.   So, how can running the PF Chang's Marathon or Half Marathon help?

Some friends of mine are organizing runners to secure sponsors to raise money.  By securing sponsors for your race, you can raise funds for Project Streetlight that are 100% tax deductible, and will help bring an end to Child Rape for Profit here in Phoenix.  You can have donors sponsor you at a set amount, or a per mile rate… there is complete flexibility in how you choose to ask for donations.  However, there are a few important details you should know:   All donations go directly to Streetlight – you are responsible to pay for your own registration fees for the race itself.

For more information, e-mail ReasonToRun@cox.net.   Choose to partner with my friends Jonathan and Heather Huston to raise funds for Project Streetlight, and help bring an end to Child Rape for Profit here in Phoenix.

San Francisco - The Golden Gate Bridge pt 2

I forgot this video we did on my phone: