Month: September 2007

When we worship in our small groups, God shows up. He blesses. He makes us alive. He does great things. At times, I feel so weak when I am leading my cell group. Yet, as we worship, He comes to the group. His life is manifested among us. God moves in a special way and brings a special peace.

How does your cell worship? I like to intermingle times of silence during and after worship songs. Both during and after worship, we allow time for people to pray out loud. We allow God to speak a prophetic word to the group. So often in Scripture, God manifested His presence through worship, and it’s vitally important to hear from Him during this time.

In one meeting, the leader concluded the lesson time by playing a CD of worship songs and just asked the members to remain in silence as the Holy Spirit ministered to them. The Spirit ministered to our souls as we just sat before the Lord for ten to fifteen minutes, and we left that time super-charged with joy. Several parents who were stressed due to demanding kids and schedules were especially touched. The worship time energized us to serve each other. Dynamic talk and fellowship characterized the remaining moments of that night.

Without Christ’s presence, the cell group is no different than a work party, a family gathering or a meeting of friends at a football game. Even if non-Christians are in attendance, Christ’s presence is often what the non-Christian really wants. Non-believers who attend a small group frequently want to know and experience the reality of God. Some have called this worship evangelism; it’s the idea that as we lift Jesus high, He’ll draw all people to Himself. Referring to His death, Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). We need to face the fact that only God can draw someone to His presence.
Comments?

 

Joel

 

By Steve Cordle

Discipleship is at the heart of group ministry. The best group leaders do more than facilitate good meetings, they also lead their members toward spiritual maturity through relational discipleship.

But discipleship should not be left only to the leader. I was reminded of this not long ago.

About 2 months ago, a woman prayed to receive Christ during the group meeting I was leading. It was her first time with us, and she was sincerely wanting to experience new life in Christ. After the prayer, a couple of group members gave her encouraging words about following Jesus.

The next day I emailed the woman some basic information about what to do in order to keep growing. We were able to follow up a bit at the next meeting with her questions about where to starst reading the Bible, and so on.

But how much better would it have been had another woman in the group said to her “Let’s have coffee this week and talk more about following Christ”. And what if the two of them met for a few weeks to work through a brief study of the basics of the faith? In short, what if another woman had personally discipled her (don’t worry, we’re working on making that happen!).

When there is a culture of disicpleship in a group, it’s not just the leader who is trying to pour his/her life into others, it is everyone! That will make for a much stronger group and ministry.

Let’s encourage our group members to look for opportunitie to encourage, equip, and challenge each other in love. Do your group members know how to do that? Has your church provided them with the resources and understanding of how to do so?

 Comments?

I believe in Sunday morning worship. Sunday worship is one entire “wing” of the cell church. Yet, Sunday morning worship is not enough. I think of Nancy, a gal who I sat next to on a plane from Houston to California. She had received Jesus and begun attending a large evangelical church that faithfully taught God’s Word each Sunday. “Over time,” she said, “it became painful to smile, walk through the church doors, hear the message, and leave one hour later to resume our family crisis in the car in the church parking lot.” She finally stopped attending the church because she felt like a hypocrite. For Nancy, going to church was hearing the preacher on Sunday.

Nancy needed to a place where she could share her life with others, receive personal pastoring, and grow with God’s people. She needed to be held accountable, as Rob Campbell so clearly reminded us in yesterday’s blog. Cell groups provide that accountability. In a cell group, a person can share life struggles and discover that others are going through the same thing. It’s a place to be known and to know others.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Jesus desires us to grow spiritual in the light of His soon coming. Cell groups are an awesome place to see that happen.

Comments?

Joel

What you call your cell groups says a lot about what you are trying to accomplish through cell life.  My church family’s cell groups are called HEART groups (H- Home, E- Encouragement, A- Accountability, R- Relationship, T- Teaching).  In this post, I want to concentrate on accountability.

“Accountability is a preventive measure displayed by sturdy people who want to lead lives of growing godliness, and who know they can’t do it alone.  It includes opening one’s life to a few carefully selected, trusted, loyal confidants who speak the truth– who have been given the right to examine, to question, to appraise, and to give counsel”  (Chuck Swindoll).

“Accountability is being regularly answerable to qualified people for each of the key areas of our lives”  (Patrick Morley).

“Accountability means getting off each other’s back and on each other’s team” (Doug Haag).

There are twenty-two questions that the members of John Wesley’s Holy Club asked themselves each day in their private devotions over 200 years ago.  Here they are:

1.  Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am?  In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2.  Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3.  Do I confindentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?

4.  Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?

5.  Can I be trusted?

6.  Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

7.  Did the Bible live in me today?

8.  Do I give it time to speak to me every day?

9.  Am I enjoying prayer?

10.  When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?

11.  Do I pray about the money I spend?

12.  Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

13.  Do I disobey God in anything?

14.  Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

15.  Am I defeated in any part of my life?

16.  Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?

17.  How do I spend my spare time?

18.  Am I proud?

19.  Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?

20.  Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard?  If so, what I am I doing about it?

21.  Do I grumble or complain constantly?

22.  Is Christ real to me?

In my estimation, these twenty-two questions are wonderful for personal, daily introspection.  For a cell group or an accountability group, answering these twenty-two questions would be exhausting experience on a weekly basis.  I am not suggesting that at all.  However, you may consider choosing a handful or so and integrate them into your cell and/or accountability group. 

A closing thought:  Thoughtful and honest personal introspection opens the door to excellent accountability with our trustest friends.

Comments?

Rob Campbell

www.cypresscreekchurch.com
 

Today is labor day in the United States. Labor day is an annual holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from efforts of the labor union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. The celebration of Labor Day has its origins in the eight hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

Most countries celebrate Labor Day on May 1, known as May Day. The holiday has become internationalized and several countries hold multi-day celebrations including parades, shows and other patriotic and labor-oriented events.

As believers in Jesus Christ, let’s remember that we are laboring for a worthy Master. Yes, we will face adversity and difficulty in this life. But let us remember that Jesus Christ is our ultimate rewarder. Paul the apostle, talking about the resurrection and the fact that we will soon have new bodies, says, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15: 58).

Joel