Patriarchy or Serving Love

Dennis McCallum

1 Peter 3:1-8

It's commonly understood that most religions, including Christianity, portray women as inferior to men; but this concept is unbiblical. Oftentimes people are misguided on their view of marriage roles because their concept of leadership is far away from God's view of leadership. In marriage, God designed the man to be a spiritual leader for his wife. A husband is called to lead in humility and love?not ?try to gain power? over his wife. In this type of marriage, a wife would most likely find it joyful to submit to her husband.\r\n

Motivation in Discipleship

Dennis McCallum

1 Peter 3:1-8

Dennis McCallum explains what it looks like to effectively motivate people through discipleship. People must be convinced of the correctness and urgency of Christian goals to such an extent that they're eager to act and keep acting to reach those goals regardless of what other people do or think. This requires instruction, modeling, direct influence, and occasional reproof. Although this works best in one-on-one relationships, these principles can work in small group settings as well.

The Seeker Small Group: Unleashing the Power of Community to Reach the Lost

Mark Ashton

1 Peter 3:1-8

Mark Ashton, Associate Evangelism Director at Willow Creek Community Church, explains what seeker small groups are and how to start and lead one. These groups begin with relationships we already have with people and are seeker targeted, discussion oriented, and an extension of personal evangelism. Mark provides ten helpful "laws" for seeker small groups, including material and resources that are available for guidance and for use in the group.

Coaching and Overseeing Home Group Leaders

John Cleary

1 Peter 3:1-8

When overseeing small group leaders, you want to start with establishing: 1) who are the people, 2) what is their focus, and 3) what role can you play in their lives. The main goal in coaching leaders is for them to get their focus on the right things so they can withstand and navigate the difficulties of ministry with faith and perseverance.

Vision and Discipleship

Dennis McCallum

1 Peter 3:1-8

Setting a vision for people is part of leadership. The best way to receive a vision for the people you are leading is through prayer, Bible study and reflection. It is important to cast a positive and negative vision for the future. Other methods to receive vision include: visiting other churches and ministries; reading church history; hanging around other visionaries; assessing your people; and spending time with the lost people. It is imperative that all these methods be done with a critical eye.

The Good Shepherd

Dennis McCallum

John 10

God's method of leadership is through serving. Through God's example of servant leadership, we can understand the type of leaders He calls us to be. 1) We should influence others relationally, 2) we should lead by example through modeling, 3) we should invest in people deeply, 4) we should love sacrificially, 5) God will never abandon us, and so 6) we should never abandon our people.

Cultivating Character

Matt Boone

2 Timothy 2:2

There is no recipe for helping people cultivate character that works 100% of the time. If, however, we are in a position of leadership in any capacity, it is first important to make sure we are the kind of person we would want others to model their lives after. It also requires our willingness to enter into the chaos of people's lives and build deep relationships. Having open conversations with people about God's view of character encourages them to pray about it, research or seek input from others, and ultimately come to their own convictions about it.

Seeker Small Group

Mark Ashton

2 Timothy 2:2

In our culture today, people are seemingly becoming less interested in Christianity, seen through the declining numbers of church growth in America. Seeker small groups, however, target the meeting and discussion around people who are not believers in Christ. A group like this would have a majority of non-Christians with a Christian discussion leader and be a relatively small cluster of people. This provides a safe environment for spiritual discussion and is thus an effective method of evangelism. This can be especially effective for people who may not be close to believing in God yet. We discuss 10 "laws" of seeker small groups, why they are effective, and how to run them.

Casting a Vision

Mike Sullivan

2 Timothy 2:2

Our churches need people who are convinced of the need to serve and evangelize, and convinced that they have a role to play. But often people don't seriously believe they can be used to do great things. We need to give individuals a vision for how they can be used powerfully by God for His kingdom.