by Rick Warren Last month I started a four part series on how to stay mentally fit. That article dealt with guarding access to your mind. This month I am discussing one of the very best ways to stay mentally fit - never stop learning. Never stop learning. If you want to be a mentally fit person for the rest of your life, never stop learning. Every year there are graduations all over America. Do you remember the feeling you felt the day you walked across the stage and graduated from either high school or college? I remember. [Read full article] Four Questions You Need to Ask About Your Small Group Ministry
by Steve Gladen
One thing I have learned through the thirty years in fulltime ministry is your ministry will always drift from the course you set. It's not good or bad. It's just a reality. Even at Saddleback Church, a very proactive church in Small Group Ministry, we still drift. Why? Well, some of it has to do with Satan. When you aren't focused, you aren't effective. Some of it has to do with people. Sometimes our agenda gets in the way of what the church is trying to accomplish and knowing or unknowingly we cause drift. Sometimes the issue is with us as the Small Group Point person. As you lead your Small Group Ministry there are four important questions you need to review to stay the course. Pastor Rick has been great at drilling these into us as we set and correct ministry direction. [Read full article]
by Steve Gladen Providing suggestions for health and balance in your small groups is as simple as "tweeting" or "sharing" this post! Pass along these healthy tips! Fellowship - On a piece of butcher paper (at least 2' x 3') write"Community is..." or "Something I would like to discuss in our small group is..." Hang the paper on a wall. Making sure you have pens that won't bleed through the paper onto the wall, ask members to finish the sentence you began. Use their answers to fuel a brief discussion or provide ideas for future meetings. [Read full article]
By Lance Witt
"When we get through Easter, I'll have more time for my family." "Things are crazy busy... but it's just for a season." "If we just had more staff I could spend more time in prayer". In my years as a local church pastor, I have played the "victim card" many times. There have been times when I was playing the victim card and my wife would stop me in mid-sentence. She would say "it never changes. There is always another season." Even when I would defend myself, deep down I knew she was right. [Read full article]
Books, websites, and videos of interest to those directing small group ministries.
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