Big Ideas about Small Groups

More Top Tens...

My good friend and CCC Lead Teaching Pastor, Tim Sutherland, was walking into the office when I was typing my Top Ten, so I thought I would ask him what would make his Top Ten reading list.  Well, Tim reads about ten times as much as I do (plus he's a thousound times smarter), so he gave me his top 10 in the last 6 months (in no particular order)

• Holy Longing, Ronald Roheiser
• The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
• The Smell of Sin and the Fresh Air of Grace, Don Everts
• To Own a Dragon, Donald Miller
• Gilead: A Novel, Marilynne Robinson
• Dancing with Wolves While Feeding the Sheep, Ray Anderson
• Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, Ann Lamott
• Exclusion and Embrace, Miraslov Volf
• Creation and Fall, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann

Not only did Tim give me his recent favorites reads, but a fellow small group leader posted a few of her favs - here's Sher's books:

• The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen
• Absolute Surrender, Andrew Murray
• Abba's Child, Brennan Manning
• Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning
• The Dream Giver, Bruce Wilkinson (first half)

Good list of books here - although in case you're wondering, as with most books, just because they may be favs or top tens doesn't mean we endorse everthing that is said in the book...cool?  So what makes your list of recent reads or books to recommend?

Since You Asked...

Eric Metcalf | NewThing Small Group Champion

After posting our list of books and resources for small groups leaders I had a number of you ask me what I was currently reading.  Well here's what I'm reading or recently read:

• Sex God, Rob Bell
• Soul Cravings, Erwin McManus
• Growing True Disciples, George Barna
• Exiles, Michael Frost
• The Big Idea, Fergusons and Bramlett
• How To Break Growth Barriers, Carl George (reread)
• Simple Church, Rainer and Geiger
• A Heretic's Guide to Eternity, Spencer Burke
• Community 101, Giblert Bilezikean (reread)
• Externally Focused Church, Rusaw and Swans

This got me thinking about my favorite books (of course the Bible is number 1) but here's the rest of my Top Ten:

1. The Coming Church Revolution, Carl George
2. The Big Idea, Fergusons and Bramlett
3. The Radical Reformission, Mark Driscoll
4. Confessions of the Reformission Rev., Mark Driscoll
5. A New Kind of Christian, Brian McClaren
6. Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell
7. Creating Community, Stanley/Willits
8. A Search to Belong, Joseph Meyers
9. Celebration of Disciplines, Richard Foster
10. An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus

That's my quick list and I'm sure I forgot something, but it's a start.  How about you, what are your favorite books?

Small Group Resources!!!

Eric Metcalf | NewThing Small Groups Champion

Many times we have small group leaders who ask us if there are small group discussion guides we would/could recommend for their small groups.  Other times leaders will ask us if we have any books we would recommend for their group or to study on their own time (as a self-leadership discipline).

Well, with the help of Steve Brewer and Bill Barton we are well on our way to providing such resources.  Check them out:

• Books most of us like
• Here's a website created by North Point Community Church that helps you select small group curriculum
• Trying to find a text in the Bible - look here!
• Looking for articles, messages, or discussions on specific topics look at gospelcom.net or ever-popular christianitytoday.com or another popular one crosswalk.com
• If you want to know more about postmodernism/emerging church look here, here and here.

So this is our first crack at this - is this helpful?  What are some other resources we could provide to help equip you as a leader?