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Community Over the Summer

June 10, 2011 in Community Life, Culture, Ministry with 2 Comments

One thing we know for sure is that the wonderful summer months do not take away our need for community. In fact, with the long Edmonton winters, summer is THE thing many of us look forward to. Instead of doing things just by yourself, or with your family, what do you think about the idea of scheduling opportunities to have fun, eat a meal, and just fellowship together with those in your group?

Groups are not about meetings, they are about relationships – it’s about doing life together and living life together. As a result, even though you may suspend your regular group studies for the summer months, make an effort to do life together.

Here are a list of things to do together with your group to get your creative juices flowing:

Continue Reading…

Shallow Small Groups

June 10, 2011 in Community Life, Ministry with 0 Comments

Check out this hilarious video on shallow small groups.

How to Increase the Level of Participation in Your Group

April 13, 2011 in Community Life, Ministry with 0 Comments

Do you ever have those one or two people who just don’t seem to participate in your group discussion time? Does it ever feel like pulling teeth when you try to get them to talk? Okay, maybe it’s not that bad, but in this video I suggest a few different ideas as to how to up the level of participation in your group. I also talk a bit about adult learning methodology.

For more information about groups, check out the website of the church I’m the Groups Pastor at: http://groups.beulah.tv

Book Review: Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach by Jane Vella

January 27, 2011 in Books, Community Life, Leadership, Ministry with 0 Comments

Jane Vella’s, Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach, is written for both adult learners and teachers of adults. It has the primary assumption that dialogue is better than monologue for adult education. After all, with all the life experience that every adult brings to the classroom, both teacher and fellow student will benefit significantly by dialoguing with one another. This book is basically a presentation of Vella’s Twelve Principles for Effective Adult Learning scattered with case studies and anecdotes: (1) Needs assessment; (2) Safety; (3) Sound Relationships; (4) Sequence and Reinforcement; (5) Praxis; (6) Respect for Learners as Decision Makers; (7) Ideas, Feelings, and Actions; (8) Immediacy; (9) Clear Roles; (10) Teamwork; (11) Engagement; and (12) Accountability. Using these 12 principles, Vella teaches the reader how to teach less and make more room for learning.

Instead of viewing the teacher as the one with all the knowledge, and the student as the empty vessel ready to be filled, dialogue education presupposes that both teacher and student come with knowledge and information beneficial for one another. As a result, the teacher may not actually do much formal lecturing in a class. Instead, the teacher will design the course material in a way that allows him/her to present the learning activities and then get out of the way. In and throughout the learning activities, the teacher’s role is more of a resource, facilitator, and guide.

This book has been so influential to me that I cannot imagine resorting back to more of a monologue type of education. As a pastor, I am going to be applying the principles of this book to small groups, discipleship courses, and my preaching in every way possible.

I give this book 5 stars out of 5.

Book Review: Together in Prayer – Coming to God in Community by Andrew Wheeler

January 3, 2011 in Books, Community Life, Ministry with 0 Comments

Together in Prayer: Coming to God in Community by Andrew Wheeler is a great primer that explains what praying in community looks like. The book could probably be summed up in one sentence – pray to God, not to each other. If you want a good overview of everything this book has to offer, read the last chapter of the book. The appendix also has a neat assessment to determine how “prayer-friendly” your group is.

Wheeler is very systematic in unpacking what it looks like to pray in community – explaining both tips that will enhance group prayer as well as prayer practices that will actually hinder it. For example, he explains how we oftentimes direct our prayers at each other, instead of God by instructing, exhorting, sermonizing, counseling, and informing each other through our prayers. Here’s an example, “Father, may people who are far from you come to our church today. They need to hear your Word and realize their need for you, rather than pursuing their own selfish desires. They need to repent and receive Jesus as their Savior, to save them from a Christless eternity. Their lives need your touch; may they stop making excuses and come to meet you today.” Compare that prayer, which is directed more towards people than to God, with the following prayer. Continue Reading…

A Paradox? Are you going to rest during the Christmas Season?

December 14, 2010 in Community Life, Faith with 0 Comments

Work, work, work, eat, eat, eat, shop, shop, shop, work, work work.

If you have no idea what I’m referring to above then you probably aren’t that familiar with the typical North American holiday season…especially Thanksgiving in the States and Christmas in Canada.

Let me flesh it out for some of you:

  • Christmas in Canada: We work, then eat turkey (or some other big feast), then we shop on Boxing Day, and then we go back to work.
  • Thanksgiving in the States: We work, then eat turkey (or some other big feast), then we shop on Black Friday, and then we go back to work.

So many of us look forward to the holiday season, yet squander the time off with so many “things” to do, that we go back to work only slightly refreshed…if even.

When we look at the creation story, we learn the idea of rhythms. Continue Reading…

Germs, UV Sanitizers, Spirituality, and Small Groups

October 4, 2010 in Community Life, Concepts, Faith with 0 Comments

I bought a UV sanitizer in Korea, and here’s a picture of the box.
They’ve effectively advertised that germs are from the Devil. Interesting, isn’t it?

When’s the last time you’ve seen a product in North America advertised in a spiritual manner?

We’re talking about worldviews here and during my time in Korea I noticed that spirituality was a lot more on the forefront of people’s mind than it is here in North America.

Now what does a UV sanitizer, with a picture of the devil on it, have to do with groups?
…everything.

When’s the last time you’ve read Ephesians 6?

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
(Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

The fact is, the biggest obstacle to successful group life isn’t schedules, meeting places, and curriculum…it’s Satan.

In C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, he mentions that one of Satan’s strategies is to try to make it look like he actually doesn’t exist. Now we can go to either extreme here (either attribute every bad circumstance to Satan, or ignore him completely), but that’s not what I’m talking about.

What I am talking about is awareness.

Are you aware that a spiritual realm exists and that you have weapons in that spiritual realm? (see Ephesians 6:10-20)

When’s the last time you’ve prayed for those in your group? Now I’m not just talking about brief 5 second prayers, or praying within your allotted group time. I’m talking about setting aside specific times to really pray for your individual group members.

Why not schedule a time this week to do that? You may not see immediate physical results, but there will be immediate spiritual results.

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