What is your theology of community and discipleship?
By elaineb | August 11, 2008
Whoa, yes, lots of big words in here, but I know we’re all up to the challenge. This post is a discussion of this very question.
To summarize: Evergreen Church has a vision and a mission (read them here). How do our small groups fit into that vision and mission? How do our small groups facilitate and promote what Evergreen is about? We need to think about our definition or picture of discipleship and community, and how that is applied in the groups. Is discipleship best promoted in smaller settings, like the covenant groups, or in the larger, more teaching setting of the journey group? Is community only available in the groups which share meals (or dessert)? Or is community available in a number of different ways? If that’s the case, how do our various group offerings match the ways community can happen? Are we doing small groups simply because we didn’t have a building when we first started out, or are we doing them because of the unique way that they match our vision, mission, and philosophy? Now that we have a building, how can we use that resource to enhance our community and discipleship?
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Social Justice Film Series
By elaineb | July 28, 2008
Next week is the first ever Evergreen Film Series! Each night, starting Tuesday the 5th, we will show a documentary, then lead a discussion about the documentary. I would encourage you to come to multiple nights and to make this a Journey Group activity. Especially to those groups which will be meeting on the nights of the Film Series.
Tuesday, August 5th, 7:30, Searching for Angela Shelton
This film discusses the issue of sexual assault.
Wednesday, August 6th, 7:30, Trading Women
This film discusses the issue of human trafficking.
Thursday, August 7th, 7:30, Prince of Peace, God of War
This film discusses the issue of war.
Friday, August 8th, 7:30, Running Dry
This film discusses the issue of water shortages throughout the world.
Topics: Intellectual Pathway, Physical Pathway, Spiritual Pathway | No Comments »
Why Do We Have Groups?
By elaineb | July 19, 2008
Why do we have groups at Evergreen? I’ve posted a discussion of this question here. Here’s the reader’s digest version of that post:
Are groups primarily for organizing Evergreen into smaller groups for pastoral care purposes? For discipleship and spiritual growth? Or to facilitate community? Most churches with small groups are focused on 1 of 3 areas: Community/Fellowship, Discipleship/Spiritual Growth, or Church Growth/Evangelism.
So what are we looking for with our groups? What special mix of things is accomplished by our current group system? Do we need to revise our system in order to accomplish other goals? Please comment and talk back!
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Journey Groups, Cliques, and Growth
By elaineb | July 13, 2008
What is the purpose of our journey groups? Are they intended to be long-term homes for fellowship and spiritual growth? If so, how do we start new ones for new people? How do we avoid the formation of cliques, especially if there is a healthy group which has been meeting for years without any newcomers?
There is a size limit to a journey group. If you have 25 people consistently coming to group, that’s probably too big. There’s also a minimum. If you have 2 or 3 people consistently coming, you really have a covenant group. So, how do we handle growth? When your group becomes too large, what is the strategy? I see two options: create two new groups out of the original. Or, send out your leader-in-training to start a new group, possibly with one or two others. Of course, both options assume that we’re training new leaders within our groups. What do we do about cliques? People will form them. It’s unavoidable. So, as leaders, how do we counteract that tendency? One way is for leaders to intentionally take on bringing new people into the clique. When you meet someone, learn enough about them that you can connect them with someone else, someone possibly in a “clique.” Emphasize their mutual interests. If you’re not a natural connection maker, then just bring the person to someone who is. (I love to connect people - bring them to me!)
I think this is a discussion we need to have: what is our responsibility as leaders to help others “plug in”? How can we be intentional about making sure people’s integration into the Evergreen community is smooth?
Topics: Emotional Pathway, Intellectual Pathway, Relational Pathway | No Comments »
Compelled by the Spirit
By elaineb | July 7, 2008
Ed’s sermon Sunday focused on the overall vision for the Church to restore Creation. It also provided food for thought for people who are either pursuing God’s dream or trying to discover God’s dream - again with the Emotional Pathway! If you’re looking for a way to engage your Journey Group with the Emotional Pathway, discussing this sermon would be a good start. Talk about how an individual’s dream might fit in with the purpose of restoring Creation. Talk about ways we can restore Creation even if we aren’t pursuing an individual dream. One of the ways we can increase the impact of Ed’s teaching is by bringing it home to our Journey Groups!
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Uncovering God’s Dreams
By elaineb | June 19, 2008
I mentioned wanting to post information about the Emotional Pathway. This seems to be the Pathway we are traveling in the least in our journey groups. This is the Pathway in which we explore our pasts, our fears, our hopes, and God’s dreams. But while our journey groups aren’t necessarily delving into this Pathway, Evergreen people are. I know of at least 6 people at Evergreen who are passionately pursuing God’s dreams for their lives. And undoubtedly there are many more than that. As Journey Group leaders, we can help individuals within our groups explore this Pathway on their own.
Some ways that we can help individuals explore God’s dreams:
Ask questions. A new perspective can help people think in different ways, or understand their assumptions.
Challenge. Encourage people to set goals: researching organizations, volunteering, creating action plans, etc. Hold people accountable to these goals.
Prayer. Pray with the person, and pray for the person. To discover God’s dreams requires the ability to hear from God, and prayer is an excellent path towards that goal.
Listen. As people get involved in dreaming God’s dreams, they will get excited. Very excited. They will talk your ear off about their passion. It’s only kind to offer your willing ears. There is nothing more exciting than watching a person embark on a God-sized dream, so listen and enjoy the ride. One day you can say you knew them when.
Topics: Emotional Pathway | No Comments »
Book Review
By elaineb | June 9, 2008
I recently discovered this devotional put together by Eugene Peterson, translator of the Message. It is a devotional which guides the reader through the spiritual discipline of Lectio Divina. In L.D., the reader reads and meditates on a passage from Scripture. In this book, Peterson has selected passages from the Message and paired them with questions to guide the reader through the L.D. process. I have practiced Lectio Divina and consider it an excellent way to meditate, but also pretty challenging. This book is a great resource, especially for people who typically wouldn’t meditate or have never done this type of contemplative reading. It’s got 365 entries, for daily readings, but there is an index in the back which organizes the readings into categories, so the potential use is pretty versatile. This would be a great book for personal use or as a gift to a Christ-follower wanting to start meditation.
Topics: Book Review, Intellectual Pathway, Spiritual Pathway | No Comments »
Leadership Development
By elaineb | June 4, 2008
I was talking with Ed today about starting a couple of new Journey Groups this fall. Dale and I plan to lead one of the groups. We don’t know who will lead the other group. Which brings me to today’s topic: leadership development. What are we doing within our Journey Groups to develop new leaders? Who are we investing time and resources into, knowing that they will grow into leaders? I know, this seems like just one more thing we have to do. But leadership development doesn’t mean you have to write up a plan, sign an agreement, or set goals for someone else. This is something you can work into your regular Journey Group preparation time. There are already people in your group with leadership potential. Ask them to lead in prayer, or to lead a discussion once a month. Spend some one on one time with them and find out what they’re doing to grow. You can make suggestions or pass along helpful resources. And finally, pray for them. These are just a few ideas of ways you can incorporate leadership development within your group. Share some of your own ideas here with the rest of us!
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Let’s get going!
By elaineb | May 29, 2008
So I posted first back in February. Then there were things I wanted to do to the site. Then school and life got in the way. But now I’m starting this blog going. This is meant to be a resource for all you wonderful journey group leaders. I’m hoping we can have the occasional discussion on here about our challenges and victories. For now I want to start with where we are at. I spoke with everyone this spring and it seems that the Pathway we have the most trouble with is the Emotional pathway. Most groups feel like they successfully deal in all the other Pathways. So one thing I’ll focus on in future posts is ways that we can act within the Emotional Pathway.Other news: We are offering a Spiritual Gifts groups on Monday nights starting in June. Alicia has more information about this. This is a good temporary group for your members to attend - they don’t have to leave their groups to do this! Also, I’ll be writing a Bible handbook this summer, along with a Bible Bible study: a study about the big picture of the Bible. It will cover which books go where and why, authors, genres, and the overall story. Once I’m done with the handbook, we’ll have it available for anyone at church. If you’re interested in doing the Bible Bible study, I’ll have the materials available at the end of the summer.
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Welcome!
By elaineb | February 14, 2008
This blog is for Evergreen’s Journey Group leaders. We plan to share information, link to interesting articles, review Bible studies, and discuss some of our victories and challenges together here. New information will be posted on a regular basis.
Topics: General | No Comments »
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