In Wednesday’s blog, I mentioned the article “Sharing Our Lives in Difficult Times” (March 2007) writen by Mike Messerli, pastor of small group ministries at at a church in Texas. You’ll remember that the senior pastor at his church fell into sin and many left the church as a result. Mike found in general that those who were connected to cell life continued through the crisis, while those without cells tended to fall away.

Pastor Mike writes, “In light of our pastoral loss, the elders of our church have put us to this task–to focus our attention on small groups and discipleship. What they realize, as do I, is that it is the small groups that bond us together and care for our body.”

He makes several suggestions for those facing similar crisis situations:

1. Small groups are the best way for people to find community in your church.
2. When life’s problems happen, it will be the small group that will care for your people in the best possible way.
3. Times of crisis bring out the best in the community of faith. In those times of trial, you will be amazed to see those in
small groups care for each other.
4. Sharing all things in common happens most visibly in times of crisis.
5. Needs are not bad things. They offer the body of Christ an opportunity to care for each other. It is important to
share this most important part of the ministry with the small group leaders.
6. People are reluctant to share their needs with one another. You will need to teach the body that being transparent in community
is vital for the health of the church.
7. Crisis in a church and in people’s lives does one of two things–it draws us together or it scatters us. You will find that those in small groups will draw together to care for each other. Many of those who are not in community will scatter from the flock. It is a harsh reality, but from my experience it is true.

Pastor Mike concludes the article by saying, “I am more convinced than I have ever been that small groups are the backbone of the local church.In this time in history, it is the small group where the life of the church can really be lived out. And realize that crisis is not always a bad thing in your church family. It is where you find the family of God pulling together and caring for one another.”

Comments?

Joel

By Steve Cordle

When was the last time your group left the living room and did an outreach project? Or enjoyed a social event - or spent the whole group time praying? If it’s been recently, my guess is that your group feels healthy and vibrant.

Variety can be the spice of group life! Meeting at the same place, and following the same order with the same material can be comfortable, but predictable. And that can lead to lower expectations on the part of the group members — they think they know what will happen before they arrive.

As leaders, we can help people hear the voice of God in different ways simply by changing the location and the content of the meeting. The “Ws” are a vital framework to group meetings, but most would agree that the life of the Spirit in community cannot be contained by one form. We can help our groups stay well-rounded by intentionally breaking out the standard meeting format and doing things differently every few weeks: creating a schedule that features outreach, fun, service, meals, mission.

What ideas have you found helpful in creating variety?

I’m a member of www.smallgroups.com. I like to read through the monthly newsletters and a few days ago I came across an especially great article called “Sharing Our Lives in Difficult Times” (March 2007). The article was written by Mike Messerli, pastor of small group ministries at at a church in Texas. In the article he talks about a time in late 2006 when the senior pastor at his church was discovered to be in sin. The elders asked the senior pastor to resign and then announced the the problem to the congregation.

Many left the church. Pastor Mike says, “A church always loses people when something like this happens. It has been very difficult to watch. It has been heartbreaking to see longtime members simply walk away from our church. I got an e-mail tonight telling me of another family that has decided to call it quits. For all our best efforts, there are families who have left our church looking for another church family.”

Yet, what is so powerful to me is that those who were committed members of small groups were able to weather the storm, whereas those who were simply Sunday attendees tended to leave. Pastor Mike writes, “What I have seen is this–those who are not in a small group are those who have left our church. Not all of them, mind you, but most of those who have left the church were not committed to a small group community. The small groups create Velcro. Those in small groups have a community of people who care for them, who pray with them, who love them and, most of all, who provide a place to share the hurts and sorrows of life. They have a place to grieve. They have a family of believers to care for them. admits that many left the church.”

The power of the cell is that it becomes a famly. It’s one-another ministry at its best. Those in the cell don’t depend on the man in front to make church happen. They realize that they are the church. And the community that develops within the cell becomes a refuge in the time of storm.

Comments?

Joel

Joel’s post yesterday reflected upon recovery cells.  What an awesome mix, eh?  People who desire to be whole and…. cell life.  When we participate with the Spirit of God in the context of community hope is instilled into our hearts.

One day Jesus encountered a demoniac.  Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”  He replied, “Legion.”  Who gave him that name?  Certainly, it wasn’t his parents.  It probably was the community folks who lived by the sea.  He resided in a graveyard.  This was a man of great rejection and he was the subject of “lock down” and “throw away the key.”  As time faded, he began to reject himself by mutilating his own body.

Why did Jesus ask him, “What is your name?”  Nobody knows for sure, but let me share one thought.  Wholeness only comes to us when we face our fragmented lives.  Could it be that Jesus wanted the demoniac to say his name as a starting place for his pathway to wholeness and healing?  “I am Legion…..[Hundreds and hundreds of evil spirits indwell me]….Yes, this is who I am.”

Notice as well that Jesus did not avoid or ignore him.  He didn’t send one of his disciples to “take care” of Legion.  By asking his name, Jesus is extending himself to Legion.  It is a form of acceptance.  It wasn’t what Legion usually encountered.  He was used to rejection, not acceptance.

Do you see the connection?  Legion’s name clearly identified what he needed from Jesus.  It’s not as cut and dry in this life, is it?  Our name does not generally reveal what we need from Jesus.  Yet, we are fragmented and in need of a touch from Jesus.  We all need recovery in the context of community– your cell members.

May your cell have the courage to face our fragmented lives and cooperate with God’s Spirit pursuing a new level of wholeness.

Dr. Mike Erickson loves cells and cell church. He’s the associate pastor of Big Bear Christian Center in Big Bear, CA (senior pastor is Jeff Tunnell). I had the privilege of coaching Mike (and Jeff) over a three year period and I can testify of Mike’s effectiveness in coaching cell leaders and multiplying cell groups. God directed Mike to start cells among those broken by alcohol and drug abuse.

God used Mike to help people in AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) and NA (Narcotic Anonymous) to become converted, baptized, and equipped through the church’s training process to multiply new cells. When I interviewed Mike in March 2006, he had seen twenty-two people baptized from AA and NA programs and has planted three new groups among them. Many were attending Big Bear Christian Center. I asked Mike to write an article on his experience and you can access it here.

The good news is that now you can learn all about how to start recovery cells in your own church through Pastor Mike’s new book called Recovery Cells: Small Groups for People in Recovery (picture to the right).

My motivation for promoting Mike’s work is simply because I believe cell ministry works so well among people with addictions. I’ve also seen Mike’s passion for the cell church strategy and how God used him to apply that strategy to those in AA and NA.

p.s.: If you live in Southern CA., Mike will be signing his book at Barnes & Noble on September 29th at 2:30 pm. (27460 Lugonia Ave., Redlands, CA 92374 tel: (909) 793-4945). Also, check out Mike’s press release 

While I strongly believe that small-group ministry is a powerful tool to reach the lost, we must first give our attention to the Almighty. While techniques to lasso non-Christians are great, they’re not at the core of small-group ministry. God must be at the core. Worship is the atmosphere in which God lives, and His Word expresses who He is. When a group is God-sensitive, it highlights worship and the Word. In this atmosphere, the gifts flow and unbelievers are naturally drawn to Jesus.

Jesus said, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matthew 4:10). Worship first; service second. This order is repeated later on in Matthew when Jesus said: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (22:37–39). The gifts of the Spirit flow when God is exalted and given the place He deserves. In a God-centered atmosphere, unbelievers are also converted.

The normal cell group, like a good diet, includes certain staple ingredients. I recommend the following ingredients in all small groups:
• Upward Focus: Knowing God through worship and prayer
• Inward Focus: Knowing each other through fellowship
• Outward Focus: Reaching out to those who don’t know Jesus through small-group evangelism
• Forward Focus: Raising up new leaders through training and discipleship

No two small groups are exactly alike, but each should include these four ingredients. UIOF (upward, inward, outward, forward) is a great way to view the progress of a small group. While the UIOF focus provides a general direction, I recommend specifying a more precise order. My own small group, for example, use the four Ws as a general guideline: welcome, worship, the Word and witness (or works).

Comments?

 Joel

By Steve Cordle

 This week’s conversation about team ministry is so vital because it is the heart of a successful cell movement.

When we think of a cell group, do we think of a leader teaching and performing ministry on/for the others in the group? If so, “group leader” will be a high-pressure, performance-oriented position. Reproduction will be strained and unnatural, and in most cases, the group will lack energy.

A healthier way to think of a cell group is as a spiritual community on a mission as a team, with each person contributing to the life and ministry of the group. In this image, the leader is handing off ministry and developing others to do it. It is especially important to be handing off ministry to an “apprentice” or “intern”.

On their cell report we ask leaders to answer the question: “What have you done to develop your apprentice?” By regularly asking this question we hope to instill in leaders a developmental mind set. That is, that they will not be content with a “good meeting”, but will be always thinking about what their apprentice needs next. It might mean that they ask the appentice to make phone calls to members that week, or to lead the worship time of the group, or to help organize a social activity. Of course, building into the apprentice’s spiritual life is vital, as well - and any 1 on 1 discipling is a great answer to the question. If there is no clear apprentice yet, the leader can be praying for God to call one forth, and giving away ministry to many group members to see who is rises to the challenge.

The old saying is true - it takes a lot more time and communication to travel somewhere with others than it does to go by yourself. Of course, the problem with traveling alone is that you arrive alone!

As a group leader, how would you respond to the question: “What have I done this week to develop an apprentice?”

Recently, I received a criticism from a new cell member who didn’t like my style. He felt I was too rigid in the following the 4Ws. I thanked him for his honesty and told him that we had other cell groups with different style and flavors. I told him that he might want to check out one of those cells. He really appreciated the fact that I give liberty to individual cells to develop their own style and personality.

For example, Kirk, one of our cell leaders, has a burden to unite families. He likes the children to be the centerpiece of the cell group and often enhances the lesson with object lessons geared for the entire family. Dave’s cell, on the other hand, has more of a “single” feel becasue Dave himself is single (couples do come to Dave’s cell). And Lucy’s cell is distinct from both Kirk’s and Dave’s. You get the point.

What about quality control? you might ask. Like most cell churches, we do ask everyone to go through the same training, and all leaders do receive regular coaching, We even pass out the same cell lesson each week.

My point is that over time, each cell develops its own personality, and each leader will demonstrte his or her own strengths and weaknesses. I believe this is a very positive thing, and I think we should encouage the uniqueness of each cell. 

Comments?

Joel

I was chatting on the phone last week with Joel and mentioned something that came to me one day as I was coaching a church planter.  It was like one of those “epiphany” moments.  Joel asked me to do a post on what I call the “10-5-1″ plan.

This plan is rooted in prayer, keeps you active in meeting new people, and serves as a practical way to invite people to your cell and/or celebration.  In simplest terms, here’s how the “10-5-1″ works.

Meet 10 new people every week.  These people include the young lady who served you coffee, the attendant at the gas station, the mailman, and more.  Introduce yourself to them and get their name.  Write down their name in your prayer journal and a reminder to yourself where you met them.  Begin to pray that God would bless them and work in their lives.  You are not required at this point to have a lengthy conversation with these individuals.  Be friendly.

Of these 10 individuals, strive to have a longer conversation with 5 (of the 10) during the course of the week.  Listen well.  Ask questions.  “What do you do for fun when you’re not working?”  “When I met you yesterday, you were doing thus and so….how did that go?”  You are seeking to open up the lines of communication at this stage.  You are providing care and comfort.  Again, you are listening.  Continue to pray.

Finally, of these 10 individuals, invite 1 to your cell and/or celebration.  This invite does not have to take place immediately.  You may choose not to invite a certain individual for a few weeks or so.  No sweat.  God is in charge.  You are praying, forming new friendships, and being used by Him to simply INVITE!!

If you employed this 10-5-1 plan, then your sphere of relationships would increase dramatically, wouldn’t it?  You would know SO MANY PEOPLE in your town.  You would be spending more time in focused prayer for others.  I would also guess you would be “loving your neighbor” like never before.

One caution.  There’s no hook or catch affixed to the 10-5-1.  Again, God is in control.  You are simply being used by Him to love and befriend others.  You speak and act like Jesus and leave the results to Him. 

To some, this plan may feel too mechanical.  You may even ask:  “Aren’t we supposed to love our neighbor anyways?”  “Why do we need to employ such a formula like the 10-5-1?”  I can totally empathize with you.  If you are a “go with the flow,” no schedule type of person, then the 10-5-1 can easily be chucked.

I would encourage you to think about the difference between a swamp and a river.  One major difference is that a river has banks and a swamp does not.  Generally, a river’s current flows in the same direction while the waters that make up a swamp flow in a variety of directions.

The 10-5-1 is a tool, not a rule.  It’s an intentional plan to keep you focused on the harvest.  Remember in the early days of the cell movement in America?  We would say– “The leadership is in the harvest.”  It’s still true!

Comments? 

• On Wednesday, I talked about the need for team ministry in the cell group. Here are some of the things you can do:
• • Delegate all the various parts of your weekly meetings to others a month at a time and watch them learn as they do it.
  • Ask someone in the group to be in charge of meeting refreshments, prayer, worship, and the ministry time.
  • Ask each member to host the cell group, as least occassionally.
  • Establish mentor-protégé relationships in your group (or accountability partnerships) and call them to see how they are doing. These relationship will be very fruitful if they have a difficult task to complete together, like your church’s discipleship or equipping track.
  • Meet with your intern or apprentice and together decide what the next steps are for your group. Then, let him or her learn by first-hand experience by leading the cell into one-another ministry and outreach, as well as facilitating weekly meetings. This will reduce your workload and give new leaders a vision for the future.

By involving others and forcing yourself to give away responsibility, the group will become an exciting place of ministry and growth. And you will not feel like Atlas, with the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Comments?

Joel