Big Ideas about Small Groups

Chasing the Almighty

Eric Metcalf **NewThing Adult Ministry Champion

God wants to transform us from people who spend our lives chasing money to people who pursue Him in all ways.

We have designed a DVD for this series in a similar format as You 2.0 - questions on the DVD, camera shots, etc.  As a small group leader myself, I look forward to our group challenging one another to chase the Almighty vs. the almighty dollar.  Join us in the Big Idea and pick up your copy at a campus near you!

**If you'd like to have a hard copy of the quesitons and leader guide; they will become availabe soon on the homepage www.communitychristian.org

To compliment our vision for living a generous life we are hosting our second annual Generosity Conference.  It's not enough to just challenge one another to be generous; we are going to provide tools to guide us there.  Register HERE today!

God-Focused

Genea Browne | CCC Shorewood Small Groups Director

What does that really mean? You hear people say it and share how they want their lives to look like that but do we really know what it is?

 

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'^{[a]Matthew 22:37}

 

I believe to be God-focused we have to look at all areas of our lives and ask ourselves, “Is God a part of this?” If not, we need to be intentional about bringing Him back into everything we do.

 

A few places I think of are:

 

Being God-focused in our church so we can help others experience and encounter God.

 

Being God-focused in our marriages. I truly believe we absolutely need to have God at the center of our marriages and by doing that we will draw near to God as couples and have God focused marriages.

 

We want to be God-focused in our leadership. If we aren’t seeking God in our ministry through our leadership how do we know what step He wants us to take next? He knows exactly where the ministry needs to go and we need to follow. We also have to set that example and live that out for the people who are following us.

 

And we want to continue to be God-focused in creating community and connecting more people into small groups. Life change is happening in small groups. It’s an honor and privilege to be a part of that. Sometimes we keep it all to ourselves. If small group has changed your life and it quite possibly did if you are now leading, then go out and invite someone!! If you aren’t doing it chances are noone is.

 

So remember next time ask yourself, “Is God a part of this?” He wants to be involved in every part of your life!

You 2.0 Discussions in My Small Group

Eric Metcalf **NewThing Adult Champion

I've been leading small groups for almost 10 years now and I'm still on the learning track of community.  Our small group is using the You 2.0 curriculum and we have been having excellent dialogue around the topic of spiritual formation and the 3C's.  Moving from doing to being is certainly a hot topic for anyone who is trying to grow in his/her understanding or experience of the Christian faith.

Recently we discussed Celebrate 2.0, where we got to hear from Eric Bramlett our Creative Arts Champion.  He challenged us to consider our motives when we celebrate...do we celebrate out of a love for our Creator or are we thinking about what those around us want us to do?

For our group we spent a lot of time talking about preparation for worship.  How are we preparing our hearts for worship?  Both in our times of solitude and in corporate celebration.  We all decided we need to prepare better and that's when I was reminded about the power of Spirit-led small groups.  Once it was shared we all agreed to pray and ask God to lead us into a deeper Celebrate 2.0 life-style.  And I know for me, it changed my experience this weekend and its changing my experience now as I spend some time listening to God.  Small groups, genuine community, can help us apply any convictions God's Spirit gives us.  My small group is helping me experience Celebrate 2.0 - thanks small group!

Best Study of 2008

What was the best small group study you experienced in 2008?  Please post a Comment below and share with us!  

I know most small groups are constantly on the look-out for new powerful studies to tackle in their groups, and there is a lot of stuff to wade through, and word-of-mouth is often a powerful endorsement. So let's share and collaborate!

The 2 that stick out to me from my own small group from this past year are:
1) "The Story of Everything" (CCC Big Idea DVD curriculum) -- Great fresh teaching on foundations of theology (everything from the trinity to eternity to sin); comes with a DVD and discussion questions

2) "The Life You Always Wanted" (John Ortberg) -- Yeah I know it's "old-school" by now, but spiritual disciplines never go out-of-date, and this book presents them in the most "appetizing" way I've seen.

A 365-Day Challenge for Your Small Group

Check this out....our CCC Lead Pastor Dave Ferguson went from buying some coffee for the employees at a local Kinko's, to starting a phenomenon that is gaining national attention!  It's called the "365 Club", and it's all about doing 365 Acts of Kindness in 2009.  Someone else took the idea and started a Facebook group, and now the whole thing is showing up in media all over the country.

Check out Dave's story on it here (though all the media attention, etc. has happened after he posted this).

What if your small group took on a challenge like this?  When we tackle things like this together in community, we get the advantages of accountability to stick to it, encouragement when it gets tough, people to celebrate with when it goes well, and lots of creative idea sharing.

So talk about it, and let us know if your group wants to try it!  Or if your group is taking on a different challenge or "resolution" for the new year, share that with us in the Comments section.

You 2.0 School of Theology

Eric Metcalf **NewThing Adult Champion

The response to COMMUNITY's new series, You 2.0, has been overwhelmingly positive.  We are so excited about this series and how we as a church have the opportunity to experience genuine transformation as we grow into a 2.0 lifestyle.

If you find yourself, even after only one week of You 2.0, wanting more, craving more to know what it means to really love Jesus - to trade yourself for a committed life of discipleship, then you don't want to miss our next School of Theology.

Speaker, Bill Barton, Community Life Architect at Institute for Community (an organization dedicated to restoring broken community and helping people find their way back to God); evangelist, disciple, leader is speaking to us about his deep convictions about spiritual disciplines and how doing can lead us into a state of being as the simple, yet profound practices of celebrate, connect and contribute can change our lives.

School of Theology presents: You 2.0, becoming the next version of YOU.  Feb 8 - March 15, 7:00-8:30pm, Yellow Box.  RSVP at ericmetcalf@communitychristian.org.

 

You 2.0 Leader's Guide

The You 2.0 Leader's Guide has just been posted on www.communitychristian.org - find it by clicking the link "discussion" just to the right of the You 2.0 graphic.  For each and every Big Idea you will find our discussion guides available at this link.  Thanks for your patience as we caught up over the holidays.

As a reminder, the questions are available on the DVD as well.  Enjoy!