Category: Small Groups

Why We Avoid Small Groups

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Before you read this short list, know that it is not my goal to create internal tension or to be judgmental. Do know this… a believer who is unwilling to spend time with other believers in a small group will not…

  1. Experience a meaningful relationship with Christ: Christianity is lived out in community.
  2. Become a mature follower of Christ: without other believers holding you accountable, you will drift.
  3. Have the knowledge or passion necessary to lead their children toward Christ and His church: since the example is set, the children will follow a poor example.
  4. Be unable to speak wisdom to other believers: wisdom is gained through knowledge and experience, so if there is no experience of community, one cannot speak to the needs to others apart from the small group.
  5. Be a witnesses for Christ on an ongoing basis: one’s walk speaks louder than one’s talk, believing at a distance tells others that you are not “all in” to this Christianity stuff.

And so… I share the following five reasons that believers don’t join a small group:

  1. They don’t want to have an intimate relationship with Christ: most will prefer just enough of Jesus to get by rather than be totally committed.
  2. They don’t want to become a mature disciple: they prefer to just believe the right stuff and pay their dues by showing up to church, but don’t want to be a fanatic disciple of Jesus… that might be uncomfortable.
  3. They don’t care if their children become Christians: or attend church when they’re adults, or if their grandchildren are separated from them and Christ for eternity: if you are not excited about your relationship with Jesus, I guarantee that your kids have less of a chance to experience him in any real way. What we hand down to the next generation is caught more than taught.
  4. They don’t care about the other group members: it’s more than just going to a group in order to get something out of it, it’s about being there to help others be all they can be in the Lord. The group is designed to encourage, lift up and bear the burdens of ONE ANOTHER.
  5. They don’t care if Christianity in the west dies with their generation: Christianity is always just one generation from extinction, so what are we passing on to the next group of believers? The American church is stunted if we pass on a comfortable, me-centered, uncommitted and casual faith in a set of theological propositions.

Sermon-Based Small Groups

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I’ve been thinking about how we can get more people involved in smaller communities without loading down already busy families. I also sense there are only so many truth units that a person can absorb each week… Sunday School, the pastoral message, Wednesday night meeting, any devotional book someone may be reading, and perhaps a Christian living book from your local Lifeway store.

All that spiritual activity is likely pretty optimistic on MY part, but the reality is, a Sunday class and the Sunday sermon may be all that people are taking in each week (or twice a month, or once a month). So, what do you think about designing groups that meet during the week, NOT for additional truth units, but to focus on application and clarification of something already heard last Sunday… like the pastor’s message? I thought of a few questions on the topic:

1. How can sermon-based groups be used for God’s glory, for the good of the local church, and for the good of the community?

Anything that brings glory to God is used by God to glorify Himself, and any time He is glorified the local church is better for it. Anytime the local church is known as being focused on bringing glory to God, the community is enhanced.

I like that! These groups can help our church to be “a city on a hill,” (Matthew 5:14) and a light shining brightly for Christ on the street or cul-de-sac where believers live. They can function as a mission of our church which they represent, in the community where God has placed them for his own glory.

2. How can sermon-based groups “remember” their leaders (Hebrews 13:7) rather than forget what their leaders spoke?

One of the most positive aspects of sermon-based groups or Bible studies is that group members are reminded of the main points of the sermon. Imagine how God will be glorified in the lives of the participants! These groups would study the passage more fully and strive for clarification, questions and application. After reviewing the main points of the sermon, group members should then process what they heard in the sermon then make commitments to live out what was preached.

3. How can I lift up the name of Jesus above all names and respect my pastor?

Humankind will instinctively worship that which they can seen and touch, so there is potential for the pastor to become the focus of attention rather than Jesus. In order to overcome this, small group leaders should be trained to elevate the words found in the Bible above the teaching, clichés and phrases spoken by the pastor in the sermon. Then, consistently during the Bible study time, leaders should point people to Jesus and his word rather than focusing on the teaching pastor and his words.

4. How can people move beyond the after-service surface-level comments like  “Great sermon” to significant conversations?

A very short answer ought to do it… GREAT discussion questions that are placed in the right order. When this happens a transformational conversation will be experienced. Our need is to develop capable of creating these kinds of experiences. This is where most sermon-based groups fall very, very short.

5. What are some upsides of sermon-based small group studies?

  • The pastor is happy with the small group pastor knowing he or she is working in tandem to establish the principles and practices that were unearthed during the sermon.
  • Small group members are reminded of the main points of the sermon which helps establish the truths that were taught.
  • Sermon based Bible studies make more time to discuss application. Since the principles and practices that would normally be unveiled as group members discussed the passage are already established, (since the pastor took care of this when preaching) the group can climb immediately into discussing how these principles and practices are to be lived out.

While God’s Word is sufficient, we must caution that group discussion and attempting to determine what God is saying is vital as group members learn how to interpret Scripture without an official “teacher.” Many people may never learn to think on their own or use their Bibles or interpret Scripture apart from someone telling them what it means.

The Downside of Sermon-Based Groups:

I am a proponent of any small group experience that lifts the name of Jesus above all other names, creates a safe place for everyone involved, and produces an environment where unbelievers feel as though they are equals on a spiritual journey so they attend consistently.

I recently spent some time reading about the sermon-based small group experience, and not everything is positive. These are some concerns I discovered.

1. Elevating the pastors words while inadvertently diminishing God’s Word: When utilizing biblically based, well-done discussion guides, the conversation must be strategically turned toward what the Bible is saying. When discussing the weekend sermon, the conversation can be built around what the pastor said. The primary voice in the Bible study wouldn’t be God and his Word, but the pastor and his words. Instead of hearing phrases like, “The Bible says,” or “Jesus told us,” or “God’s Word instructs us,” small group members hear phrases like, “The pastor told us,”or “If the pastor was here he’d probably say,” or “I’ll check with the pastor and see what he meant.” The pastor’s voice may inadvertently become known as the ultimate truth source rather than the Bible being the only source of all truth.

2. Senior pastor worship: Sermon based small group experiences can easily lead to high levels of senior pastor worship. My research on this topic has indicated that the senior pastor’s name is brought up (and he is held in awe) at least six times during each group gathering. Jesus’ name and his personality are discussed much less than the pastor’s personality and the senior pastor’s name. In some pastor-driven high-power church, Jesus is subconsciously established as the senior pastor’s sidekick, the secondary personality in church life. Before long, many believers speak more of their pastor and his great sermons than their Savior and his redeeming power.

3. Those farthest from Christ won’t attend a small group – Those who are far, far from Christ are not going to attend church services which means they’ll never feel comfortable in a sermon based small group experience. The truth is, people who are far from Christ are NOT going to come to a group to discuss a sermon they haven’t heard. To expect a “not yet” follower of Christ (who didn’t hear the weekend sermon and never will because they are not going to attend a weekend worship service) to come weekly to a sermon based small group experience is like asking someone to come to a book club for a weekly meeting to discuss a book they refuse to read. They aren’t going to attend.

One way to combat this last observation is to invite unchurched friends for the fellowship and discussion on a certain topic (the sermon topic, for instance). Even though someone did not hear the message, in the conversation, the group can highlight the main points of the message as the evening progresses, and then the Bible is STILL the primary source of guidance and the one who missed church is not disadvantaged.

Obstacles to Small Groups

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These few items describe the biggest obstacles standing in the way of both on-campus and off-campus efforts:

  1. The misplaced priority given to on-campus strategies.  The most influential people need to become location agnostic.  Why?  I’ve long believed that adults not currently in an on-campus experience are unlikely to add another 60 to 75 minutes and unchurched adults are extremely unlikely to embrace a three hour Sunday morning.  I often note how common it is for most of us to watch a 60 minute program in 42 minutes (DVR).
  2. The insistence that the best leaders have résumés.  As long as we pursue the notion that leading a group has anything to do with experience… we’re going to have a hard time overcoming this obstacle.
  3. The illusion of knowledge.  The sense that we’ve figured out how to do it, that we know best, is a massive obstacle.  The only way to break through is to admit that the very best ways to launch new groups hasn’t yet been discovered.
  4. The lure of the status quo.  This is the way we do it here.  This is how groups happen here.  We are a Sunday school church.  We are a small group church.  Unless we can break free from the shackles of the status quo… we will not be able to beat this one.

What do you think?

[By Mark Howerton]

Barriers to Small Group Growth

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I always am on the lookout for teaching points regarding small groups, and here is solid wisdom from Rick Warren:

Did you know that you get a new skeleton every seven years? Your bone marrow is constantly creating new bone, and you’re sloughing off old cells so that your skeleton can grow with your body. For our church to keep growing, our structure also has to change constantly.

The only purpose of restructuring is to prepare a church for growth and to break through barriers. About 95 percent of all the churches in the world stop growing before they get to 300 people because they are structured to be at a size less than 300. It’s not the problem of the pastor or the people; it’s a problem of the structure.

We often ask the wrong question. The wrong question is, “What will help my church grow?” The right question is, “What is keeping my church from growing?” Growth is natural. All living things naturally grow. I don’t have to command my kids to grow; they just do it, if they’re healthy. If our church is healthy, then it is going to automatically grow.

A church becomes healthy by removing the barriers and balancing the purposes. There are 10 common barriers that keep our church from growing. The first six are:

Members won’t bring their friends to church: You can’t grow a church without guests. One of the reasons Christians won’t bring their friends to church is that they’re embarrassed or they think, “This is a church that meets my needs, but it’s not geared for my friend, an unbeliever, to understand it.” You have to create a service that is understandable but not watered-down.

People fear that growth will ruin the fellowship: Many churches say they are a loving church, but what they mean is that they are good at loving each other and not unbelievers. When members love their fellowship so much that they don’t want anyone new, then they’re not going to bring friends. The average member of a church knows 67 people, whether you have 67 people at your church or 6,000. If you only want to have a church of people you know, you’re only going to have about 67 people. The antidote to this barrier is affinity groups. The church must grow larger and smaller at the same time — larger through worship (weekend services) and smaller through fellowship (small groups).

Churches are driven by tradition rather than the purposes of God: Tradition is a good thing — as long as it works. Never confuse the message with the methods. The message must never change, but the methods have to change. If you don’t change methods from generation to generation, you are being unfaithful.

One of the most expensive and difficult things to do is keep a corpse from stinking. If there are programs in our church that died a long time ago; we need to give them a decent burial. Periodically, we should go through everything we’re doing and ask, “Should I reaffirm it, refine it, or do I need to replace it?” The hardest thing to give up is what worked before, but sometimes you have to stop it before it starts declining.

Churches are trying to appeal to everybody: Our church cannot be all things to all people. The moment we choose a style of music, we are going to turn someone off. We need to know whom our church can best reach in your community. Define that group of people, and then go after them.

Churches are program-oriented rather than process-oriented: A lot of churches think the goal is to keep the saints busy, and people are just worn out. Programs and events should not drive the church; they should fulfill the purposes. Where do we want to take our people in the next 10 years? Where do we want them to be different? Set a goal by determining your role — what God has called you to do. Once you know that, then you decide what programs best accomplish that goal.

Churches focus on meetings rather than ministry: When the number one qualifier in our church is attendance, then we are facing this barrier. It’s not all about the weekend; the weekend is simply the funnel by which you start the discipleship process. If Christianity is a life and not a religion, then it should focus on where we live our lives — at home, work, etc., and not at church. When we focus on meetings, we’re building a group of spectators. We don’t need more meetings; we need to meet more needs. You do that by turning every member into a minister.

[ Here is a full PDF handout with all 10 barriers with application ]

Marks of a Healthy Small Group

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Last year I read a book by Chuck Swindoll called, The Church Awakening. It is a great read and I will one day write about many of those insights. Acts chapter two is the platform for a lot of what we understand about the first church. Today I’m thinking about small groups in the church, so here are seven marks of a healthy small group, based on Acts 2:42-47.

1. Healthy Small Groups Study the Bible: Small groups in the New Testament studied the Bible together. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching …” Of course, we know the teaching of the apostles is what we call the New Testament today. They lived in an oral culture but they were still studying lessons from the apostles.

I have recently discussed with Skip the possibility of publishing Talking Points or Points to Ponder to further get into the Bible. These pages can be distributed, printed out and used by small groups during the week. These will include questions related to the Scriptures and sermon they heard on Sunday with additional verses to consider.

The idea is for people to focus on one Bible truth at a time. People can handle only so many new truth units each week (like a truth from the sermon, one from the Sunday School lesson, one from a devotional). Too often we teach too much. If someone goes to church whenever the doors are open, they can end up with perhaps a dozen different Bible truths. You may be thinking, “My life can’t change that much” so let me focus on a truth that supports the largest church activity, worship.

2. Healthy Small Groups Share Life Together: The book of Acts says the early believers were devoted to fellowship (Acts 2:42), which means they were serious about their friendships. Notice the Bible says they were devoted to the fellowship, not just to fellowship. In other words, fellowship is not just something the church does; we are the fellowship.

Jesus calls us to be committed to one another (I’ll post something about all the “one another” verses at a later date). It is through small groups that we learn the skills of relationship. Small groups are laboratories of love, where we learn to obey the command of Jesus to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

3. Healthy Small Groups Remember Jesus Together: The Bible says the early believers devoted themselves “to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). The “breaking of bread” in this passage specifically refers to the Lord’s Supper or Communion. In the early Church, they did not take Communion in a large worship setting. They served it in small groups. Communion is only for believers, so a small group setting helps make sure only believers will take part.

4. Healthy Small Groups Pray Together: The Bible says the early believers devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42). Jesus taught that there is a power to prayers spoken aloud for each other, and he made an incredible promise about small groups of believers: “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). In the intimacy and confidentiality of small groups, we can pray for each other as we share our hurts, reveal our feelings, confess our failures, disclose our doubts, admit our fears, acknowledge our weaknesses, and ask for help.

5. Healthy Small Groups are Generous: The Bible says these small groups gave “to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:45). Small groups allow us to help each other with practical needs. Can I loan you a car? Can I provide you with some meals when you are sick? We tend to centralize ministries, creating a food pantry or a counseling center, but this wasn’t the New Testament model. The early Church had decentralized ministries, getting the help directly to where the needs are.

6. Healthy Small Groups Worship Together: The Bible says the New Testament small groups worshiped together, “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:47). We need to worship God more than once a week, and small groups offer an opportunity to worship together.

7. Healthy small groups witness together: As these small groups met together, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). They were inviting others to join them. One of the proofs of a healthy small group is that it reproduces for two reasons: so a small group may add members, and so a small group may also birth (or help start) another small group.

Small groups can be creative in outreach. Rick Warren tells of a story where one small group pooled their money and bought season tickets for the San Diego Chargers (for everyone in the group, but they also bought some extra tickets). They go together to each game, but they also use the extra tickets to invite others to come with the group. They don’t start a Bible study at the game; they just have fun, but that allows them to say, “This same group meets on Tuesday nights for Bible study. Would you like to join us?”

At King’s Grant we have no rooms to start new classes, so we are now forced to get creative. I can’t wait to see where God will lead us as we get back to the basics of small groups meeting outside of our 9:45 Sunday School hour.

Living at Peace with Loss

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This semester I am leading a GriefShare group at King’s Grant. It’s a thirteen week small group that will have an effect on the rest of one’s life, but it is possible to Live at Peace with Loss.

A Description of Grief:

June Hunt writes that grief is a heart response to hurt, a painful emotion of sorrow caused by the loss or impending loss of someone or something that has deep meaning to us.

Grief can dig a “ditch of dependency” with deep ruts of anguish, depression, and isolation—strong emotions very difficult to pull yourself out of. God understands our anguish; even the Lord Jesus is described in the Bible as a:

“”Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3)

We can also be assured that our pain is always purposeful, and when grief accomplishes its work, a deep well has been carved within us that God, in His time, will fill with joy, peace, and contentment. Bible says:

“‘Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.” Lamentations 3:32-33

The journey of grief may be painful, but there is joy in that we don’t travel on this journey alone.

Living with Grief:

“Grief is the recognition you’ve lost someone you love; if there were no love, there would be no grief.” (Zig Ziglar)

Grief is normal, it is not a sign of weakness. Many people will pretend that everything is okay, but this response is not helpful. We must give ourselves permission to grieve, and men, we often don’t do that. We feel we need to be the strong ones and pull ourselves up by determination. People need to honestly express their emotions and realize that the pain of grief will come and go from day to day, perhaps hour by hour.

We are often unprepared for grief when it shows up and you will be surprised at how long it may last. In GriefShare we discovered that we should “lean into our grief” which is like standing in the ocean being tossed by the surf. Don’t run from it, you can’t stop it, but you can stand strong by leaning into it.

We also learned that we should not make big decisions while experiencing grief. Don’t rush into selling the house; remember that you had 30 years of memories there and after you have dealt with grief, you will cherish those memories while still living there. Don’t rush into remarriage, big mistake, and don’t allow people to rush you on your journey.

Weekly Encouragement:

The topics for each week are wonderful, and the first three are appropriate for those in grief who may not have lost a loved one to death. Perhaps there is a loss of life as we have known it.

  1. Living with grief
  2. The journey of grief
  3. The effects of grief
  4. When your spouse dies
  5. Your family and grief
  6. Why?
  7. The uniqueness of grief – two sessions
  8. The prescription for grief
  9. Stuck in grief
  10. Top twenty lessons of grief – two sessions
  11. Heaven

Small Groups are Practical

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Here is a great word from pastor Rick Warren about small groups. We may attract attenders through the Internet and a worship service, but disciples are made in small groups.

Small groups provide the kind of accountability and support we need to mature as believers, so here are four reasons why they are important to King’s Grant.

1 – Small Groups are Relational:
You can’t have a conversation with 300 people or 30 people, but you can have a conversation with a small group. Generally, when there are more than 10 in a group, people stop talking. It is impossible to learn how to love your neighbor as yourself unless you are involved in a small group of some kind. You don’t need a lot of friends in life, but you do need a few good ones, and you find those solid, supportive friendships in small groups.

Small groups allow us to know people, regardless of how big the congregation becomes. You don’t have to know everyone in the church as long as you know somebody in the church. If you miss a weekend service, not everyone will know you weren’t there, but your small group will know. Even the largest congregations seem small when your members are in small groups.

2 – Small Groups are Flexible:
Small groups can meet anywhere. They can meet in a library, at a coffee shop, in a park, outside, inside, in an office during lunch, or in a home. The Bible says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)

3 – Small Groups are Expandable:
We will run out of space and money if we try to build enough classrooms for our groups to meet at the church. On the other hand, if our small groups are meeting across the community, then we will never run out of space.

Don’t let buildings limit the number of small groups we can have. That’s like letting the shoe tell the foot how big it can be. Buildings are just a tool for ministry. Invest in people; they will last forever.

4 – Small Groups are Economical:
When people meet at the church, we pay for the lights, and we pay for clean up. But if a family hosts a small group in their home, they don’t expect the church to pay for utilities that night or to send a custodian over to clean up. In fact, they’re usually glad to take care of those things as part of their ministry to others.

Think about it: you bring a guy into the church for a meeting and he might sit there like a bump on a log, but you put him in a home and give him a cup of coffee, and he may talk his head off. Why? Because you’ve put him in an environment that encourages fellowship.

Being a Bible Teacher

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One thing I have emphasized in our discipleship ministry is that we are not just to be teachers of the Bible in our classes; we are to be shepherds of people. Besides, we don’t really teach the Bible anyway, we teach people the Bible. Josh Hunt sent this article out this week (by Elmer Towns) and it captures what I have emphasized over the years:

A Sunday School teacher is not just an instructor, like a saved public school teacher who is teaching the Bible. A Sunday School teacher has a much broader task than just communicating biblical truth.

[ Here is a video series on Shepherding God’s People ]

A Teacher Teaches People
There are two expressions of the spiritual gift of teaching.

  1. The first is the gift of teaching where the person has a desire to study, to discover new truth, then communicate it in the instructing process. This is not the gift that best describes the Sunday School teacher, though many Sunday School teachers have this gift.
  2. The second gift is the “pastor-teacher” described in Ephesians 4:11, “And He Himself gave . . . some pastors and teachers.” The pastor-teacher uses instruction to nurture his pupils. Even though the King James Version separates the two words, “pastors, and teachers,” the Greek language joins them as one function. The pastor is a teacher.

That brings us to the next step.

A Teacher Shepherds People
A Sunday School teacher is a shepherd. A woman who has four small children around a table in a church basement should be doing a lot more than telling Bible stories about baby Moses in the bushes, or Noah’s ark. She should be giving spiritual care to her students, which involves telling Bible stories. Just as a pastor shepherds his flock in more ways than preaching, so a Sunday School teacher cares for the Sunday School flock in more ways than teaching.

Everything the pastor is to his flock, the teacher is to his Sunday School class. The same Greek word is used for pastor and shepherd, suggesting their work is similar.

A Teacher is the Pastor’s Extension
The Sunday School teacher is the extension of pastoral ministry into the life of the class. Just as an extension helps you get to hard-to-reach places, so a Sunday School teacher helps the pastor reach hard-to-reach people (at least hard for him to reach). A pastor can’t always reach down to a three-year-old boy, but a Sunday School teacher can. Classes need to be more than content centers, they need to be shepherding centers.

The Apostle Paul’s advice to the pastors of the church at Ephesus is also a challenge to Sunday School teachers today. “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing-the flock. . . . Therefore watch” (Acts 20:28-31). Notice the three words that are emphasized in these verses. These words contain the threefold job description of a pastor or Sunday School teacher.

  1. First, he is to oversee the flock, which is leading sheep.
  2. Second, he shepherds or feeds the flock, which is giving instruction.
  3. Third, he protects the flock by watching over them.

A Teacher is a Leader
How does the Sunday School teacher “shepherd” the flock in his care? He does so by fulfilling the three primary functions of the shepherd. First, a shepherd leads the flock. The greatest influence of many Sunday School teachers has been the result of their leading by example.

A Teacher is a Feeder
Second, a shepherd feeds the flock. While good Bible teaching will not guarantee your class will grow, poor teaching will hinder its growth

A Teacher is a Protector
Finally, a shepherd protects the flock. Jesus told Peter to ‘tend My sheep” (John 21:16). A Sunday School teacher visits the students who are absent to protect them from falling away. One of the best known and loved passages in all Scripture is the Twenty-third Psalm. In this passage, David describes the care he received at the hand of his Shepherd, the Lord. The example of the Lord who is our Shepherd is a constant challenge to the Sunday School teacher who is trying to be to his class what the Lord is to him.

The Purpose of Small Groups

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The mission of King’s Grant Baptist is to know Christ and make him known, so any program of the church must fit under that mission statement. For small groups to be successful and avoid stagnation, our focus has to be bigger than ourselves. Consider this as the purpose of small groups:

Our Purpose – to Fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20)

  1. The Task – Make Disciples (Matthew 28:19). If we are not developing people into fully devoted followers of Christ, we are definitely not making disciples.
  2. The Process – To Go in Obedience (Matthew 28:19-20). The word process brings with it steps and stages leading to an end. If our task is to make disciples, we need a plan (and Jesus offered one).
    1. Go = we are to Win – (Mark 16:15-16). We are not to huddle together but move out with the marching orders he has given us. Let’s get out there with the people and win them to Christ. We don’t do it alone, but allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in this mission.
    2. Baptize = we are to Build. We cannot birth new believers and leave them to fend care for themselves. The next stage in the process is to build them up so they can feed themselves, learn from the Bible, grow in their faith and imitate Christ.
    3. Teach = we are to Equip. The mission is to be passed on like a baton to the generation behind us. Christianity is only one generation from extinction, so how are we helping believers to carry on the mission; the reason we need to equip the body for the work of service.
  3. The Scope – All Nations (Matthew 28:19). We are to multiply or reproduce. Contrary to the sports arena in Norfolk, the scope is actually our field of vision; who is the target of the Great Commission? To whom shall we go? It’s not just to the ends of the earth, but sometimes to the next cubical, or across the street.
  4. The Recipients – the Disciples, and over 500 Brethren (Matthew 28:16 & 1 Corinthians 15:6). Sometimes we feel like the Great Commission was given to the church at large or maybe to the disciples in particular, but actually Jesus has given it to each of us. It is an insult to our faith if we fail to ask ourselves, “What do you want me to do?” We have the marching orders, we must be obedient to the Lord.
  5. The Fuel – Worship (Matthew 28:17). Balancing worship and missions… which is more important? John Piper has said that missions exists because worship doesn’t. People are giving the glory that God deserves to something else. He is the one to be worshiped. I believe that this verse points out that people will have one of two responses when they see Jesus:
    1. They worshiped him.
    2. Some were doubtful.
  6. The Duration – Until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). No one can say that they have done enough, then sit back and relax. We cannot wait for a new generation to run with the baton, we run together, training and equipping, supporting and encouraging those who will come behind us. Jesus must not find us idol and sitting on the sidelines while the game is on. The song goes, “we will work, til Jesus comes.” Does that describe your passion for the Great Commission?

The purpose of the church found in the Great Commission has been personalized for King’s Grant Baptist Church in the following way.

We exist… “to know Christ and make him known.”
“His Last Command is Our First Concern!”

Leaders Ask Application Questions

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The point of this post is to challenge leaders and teachers. To be effective in leading your class, make sure to ask application questions that lead your group to spiritual growth. This is perhaps one of the most quoted passages in the Bible Study business:

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22-25)

To study the Bible, or to take a class on prayer, or discuss compassion for the poor but not do anything about what one has learned, is a waste of time.

The Word of God holds up a mirror in which we can see our own face: our character, values, attitudes, and habits. It offers us a perspective on our situation and relationships that we can’t get on our own. It also opens up a window into the realm of God, in which we see the face of Christ looking back at us. We get to compare our face to that of Christ, noting the similarities and differences. The Bible promises that we can change (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Extensive psychotherapy doesn’t change most people all that much. When change does happen, something on the order of a miracle is occurring. But the gospel insists that the Spirit of God (through the Word of God and with the help of the people of God) can and will perform this miracle in any person willing to cooperate.

So many study groups settle for educating people about God and the Christian life, but they don’t believe it’s possible for them to really become like Jesus. People like the idea in theory, but the actual process scares them.

  1. Do we really want to take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror, week after week? Can we bear to see and examine the face of Christ?
  2. Do we really want to give up our familiar paths and strike out on the uncharted territory of God’s ways?
  3. Do we really want the Spirit breaking up our concrete habits with a jackhammer?

Likely, your group contains decent people who sort of want to follow Christ but aren’t all that eager to see their lives disrupted. They are busy people who have jobs, families, bills, and housework that don’t leave them hours and hours to contemplate Christ and their lives. Discussion questions that invite them to apply the Word of God to their lives need to take into account both the mandate of the gospel (big changes) and the realities of the human condition (big obstacles to change).

Go Slow and Deep: People who are asked to take drastic action too often and in too many different directions eventually go numb in order to survive. Consider the person who hears a Sunday sermon, reads the Bible even once or twice a week, and attends Sunday School each week. If this person encounters three, four, or more calls in one week to change drastically, it’s overwhelming. Over time, people learn to tune out the guilt feelings triggered by such calls.

In your small group, learn to ask, “So what?” regularly and systematically, but ask, “Now what?” sparingly, yet with focus and detail.

  1. “So what?” invites group members to think about the implications of what they are studying. “Now what?” asks them to take action individually or together, to do something concrete about those implications.
  2. “So what?” is theoretical, general application. “Now what?” is practical, specific application.
  3. “So what?” helps people think an issue through. “Now what?” guides them step by step in a realistic plan to be doers of the Word.
  4. “So what?” questions work in at least two dimensions.
    1. The first dimension is when: helping the group bridge the gap between when the passage was written (then) and our current situation today (now).
    2. The second dimension is who: discerning how a passage applies to people in general, to them as individuals, or to them as a group.

Then and Now: One common error in Bible study is to assume that something God told someone to do in 605 B.C. is what God wants each of us to do today. A related error is to assume that God wants us to imitate everything the first Christians did without regard to the differences of situation. These errors overlook the fact that God deals both in timeless principles and in unique situations.

  1. “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) is a timeless principle.
  2. “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household” (Genesis 12:1) is an instruction to a particular person, Abram.

When we get the particular and the timeless confused:

  1. We may conclude that God wants all men everywhere to be circumcised and all women everywhere to cover their heads.
  2. We may conclude, like many 19th-century Americans, that because Paul treated slavery as OK in A.D. 50, it was still OK in A.D. 1850.
  3. We may decide that since God told Joshua to practice genocide against the utterly degenerate Canaanites, then maybe our enemies deserve genocide, and maybe we have been called by God to imitate Joshua.

1. “So what?” questions always begin with what was then. The first “So what?” question should point to the original purpose of the writer or speaker in the passage:

  1. What do you think Jesus wanted His audience to do in response to this parable?
  2. What action does Paul tell the Galatians to take?

With a story, it may be more helpful to ask about how the various characters responded to the challenges they faced:

  1. How did Abram deal with his doubts?
  2. How did the apostles handle the conflict between the Greek- and Aramaic-speaking believers?

2. Next we look for bridges between then and now by asking how our situation is like and unlike the situation addressed in the passage:

  1. What conflicts do we face in our ministry? In what ways do they resemble the conflict described in Acts 6? In what ways are they different?
  2. Do you identify with the Galatians in any ways? In what ways are you similar or different?

As the leader, you should always ask yourself, “How is our situation different?” This question will help you guide the group away from erroneous applications. Joshua’s conquest of Canaan was in many ways a unique situation. The founding of the first Christian community in Jerusalem was also unique in many ways.

3. Finally, with the similarities and differences between then and now in mind, we can ask whether the passage offers any timeless (always) principles, like, “What can we learn about good and poor ways of handling doubt from Abram’s example?”

Principles can include a sin to avoid, a promise to trust, an example to follow, a command to obey, or a truth to believe. It is essential not to generalize a universal principle from a specific situation without careful thought about the differences between then and now.

Sometimes you’ll want to help people apply the passage to their personal lives. At other times, you’ll draw out a group application. Most of the Bible was written not to individuals, but to groups. The “you” in many passages is plural.

Another way of asking, “So what?” is to point people toward listening to the Holy Spirit:

  1. What do you sense the Holy Spirit is saying to us about how we relate to others in our lives who don’t know Christ?
  2. What is one key truth from this passage that you sense the Spirit is urging you to embrace?

Set aside 15 minutes at the end of your group meeting to contemplate questions. Pray, asking the Holy Spirit to speak. Then talk, with ears open.

Now What? “So what?” questions are general and ask for relevance. “Now what?” questions are pointed. They ask us to take action.

  1. How can you put this insight into practice this week?
  2. What can you do to cultivate this into a habit?
  3. What will it mean, in practical terms, for you to seek God’s kingdom first this week?
  4. How can we, as a group, obey Isaiah’s call to a true fast?

Many of your discussions will end with “So what?” questions. It is not a waste of time to help people think and feel more biblically. But sometimes, action is called for.

“Now what?” questions require specific, realistic, and measurable answers.

  1. Specific means that definite actions, rather than general goals, are specified.
  2. Realistic means that the person has devised a plan he can reasonably carry out within the limitations of his life, with the power of the Holy Spirit and the help of the group to back him up.
  3. Measurable means something concrete will be done, and at the end of a month or a year, the shift in the person’s attitudes or actions will be noticeable by an observant outsider. We shouldn’t become obsessed with measuring spiritual growth, since the most important changes are internal and may take time to affect our behavior dramatically, but it is possible to ask ourselves. What can I do to become a significantly more compassionate person by this time next year?

Bear in mind that questions about the future are often more intimate than those about the past or present. Most people don’t talk about their hopes and goals casually. When the group has been together for about six sessions or more, members will find it extremely bonding to begin discussing their hopes for who they want to become and how they plan to pursue their goals. One way of formulating this question is, “In what ways do you want to be different as a result of our studying Philippians?”

Counting the Cost: Jesus told a parable about two sons, in which one son agreed to do what his father asked but then didn’t follow through, while the other balked but eventually obeyed (Matthew 21:28-32 ). People frequently talk about how a passage applies to them but don’t do anything about it after the discussion. One reason for this is that they don’t consider the risks and costs of living the gospel. Jesus urged His followers to count the cost and to be sure they knew what they were getting themselves into before embracing the kingdom of God. Here are some questions you can use when studying a passage that you know asks something difficult, such as turning the other cheek:

  1. What are the risks of doing what Jesus says here?
  2. What would it cost you to do that?
  3. What obstacles hinder you from living that way consistently?

Then, having looked squarely at the downside, invite people to weigh it against the upside:

  1. What would be the benefits of living like this?
  2. What would motivate a person to take those risks?
  3. How can you overcome those obstacles? How can we help?

Not Just the Facts: Application questions provide the potential for spiritual growth. They take us beyond learning facts about a passage of Scripture. We discover how the passage applied to its original readers, how that ancient situation connects with our modern world, and how to do something with what we’ve learned. This process helps us become doers of the Word, not merely hearers, and as the Scriptures promise, such people (and such small groups) “will be blessed in their doing.”

Thanks to Karen Lee-Thorp, Discipleship Journal, July/August 1998 [print_link] [email_link]