jeff gibson

Why Life Groups? #smallgroups

"It is not good for the man to be alone."

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

"They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts"

"Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them."

Throughout the Bible we have the scriptures tell us the wisdom of being with other people. Whether it's God commenting on Adam's unhealthy solitude or the account of four friends lowering a paralyzed man through a roof to see Jesus, we continually see the wisdom of being in community with others.

When we talk about community, we're not talking about a TV show starring Chevy Chase, we're talking about surrounding ourselves with people who would have life experience we can draw from, and who we can support and encourage. We're talking about being in a Life Group.

But right now you are saying to yourself, "sometimes I like to be alone, I rarely get attacked, I haven't broken any bread in years and I've never been lowered through a roof! What do I need a Life Group for?" Well, here are four reasons you need a Life Group:

1. Life Groups make you fat. Unless you have lived in the same town for your entire life, or have immediate and extended family within spittin' distance, chances are you don't have the support system that a Life Group can provide. A Life Group consists of people who will bring a meal when you or a family member is sick or in the hospital. Plus the regular snacks at any Life Group meeting would feed a small town in Nebraska.
2. A Life Group has people in it who are smarter than you are. Honestly, do you know everything there is to know about the Bible or about life? Discussing the weekend message and life issues with people who have knowledge and a perspective that you are lacking can bring clarity and focus to life's difficult situations.
3. Life Groups take you outside yourself. It's too easy to be inwardly focused on what you need or want, and forget that other people have needs as well, and a Life Group is a great place to become involved in serving others.
4. Life Groups will make you rich. Ok, that was a lie, pal. But the Bible does tell us in Proverbs 28:13 that "those who conceal their sins will not prosper." Who wouldn't want to reveal a list of transgressions, especially if it can make you a buck? All right, prospering in this example may not be monetarily, but the way to an abundantly full life can be found through biblical relationships with other people.

Here is the overriding thing that I know about Life Groups: God wants us to know and to be known.

He designed us to be in community. Visit www.CentralAZ.com/LifeGroups or stop by Starting Point in the lobby to get connected.

Life. There's a group for that.

What To Look For In A Small Group Leader - Part One #smallgroups

WANTED:  Outgoing, caring, knowledgeable and brilliant person or couple who will take a group of non-connected people and meld them into a genuine community that will live life together.

Clichés aside, if you post that job description on your small group page, chances are you will kill every chance of recruiting the very people you are looking for.

Many times when you are looking for recruit a small group leader, you have a certain profile in mind.  So you start there, thinking that you couldn’t possibly trust people looking for community with less, that you would somehow be endangering the people who want a small group.

But let’s face it.

Good group leaders are grown, not found.   It’s good to have an end in mind, but you need to have a place to start.  And the place to start is with outgoing people who love God and want to help others.  If you can get those two bases covered, then the rest can come later.  They need to be outgoing, or if it’s a couple, at least one of them needs to be, because people want to be with people they want to be with.  Groups that don’t last are ones in which people don’t want to hang out together.  There’s no perceived benefit from it.

What then?  A leadership development plan needs to be in place that contains lots of relational time, face to face interaction that gives you opportunity to pour into the leader.  Some of it just hang out time and some intentional training time, either one on one or in small groups (imagine that!)

Men of Central! Get registered for the Men's Challenge at Lost Canyon! @cccev

 

Men's Challenge from Central Christian on Vimeo.

Get registered on the CentralAZ.com!!!!

Ten Questions Every Game Changer Must Answer

There's a great article written by Fast Company magazine cofounder William C. Taylor that outlines the Ten Questions Every Game Changer Must Answer:

1. Do you see opportunities the competition doesn't see?

2. Do you have new ideas about where to look for new ideas?

3. Are you the most of anything?

4. If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would miss you and why?

5. Have you figured out how your organization's history can help to shape its future?

6. Do you have customers who can't live without you?

7. Do your people care more than the competition?

8. Are you getting the best contributions from the most people?

9. Are you consistent in your commitment to change?

10. Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?

Find the answers in the article here.