GroupLife Blog

From Facebook to Face Time

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Bill Donahue) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:40:00 -0500

Preview Article from Rev! Sept/Oct 2009

It remains a challenge to connect new people who are seeking meaningful, transformational relationships through the local church. Sign up forms, web-based strategies; social networking and “all our groups are posted in the lobby” are attempts to provide broad-scale assimilation pathways for interested community-seekers. But what works best?

Regardless of the approach, strategies that work best involve authentic “face-time” with people trying to find a group. Make sure your strategy includes this often overlooked aspect. Here are some questions to answer when shaping an effective connection strategy:

Make it Clear: Do people know where to go to begin forming relationships?
Make it Accessible: Is it easy to get there and to take a next step?
Make it Personal: Who will be a friend or guide along the way?
Make it Meaningful: Why is connecting to a little community so important?

Take a few moments to evaluate these guidelines against your existing connection strategy for helping folks find a group, regardless of the size of your church community.

Strategies from the “Deep South”

This spring I travelled south—way south—to teach and mentor leaders in four cities in amazing yet challenging South Africa. At Hillcrest Christian Fellowship in Durbin, I learned how they connect people to group life—right from the service.

Those interested in finding relationships that foster growth are invited after service to an open lounge area attached to the main auditorium. There elders and church leaders provide overview of the church and the group process, invited people to their homes the very next weekend. In each home 10-12 people get to know these leaders and each other, and are invited to return again another week. There they begin to form groups or are connected to an existing group.

“It is so important to us that people see us in our homes,” remarked an elder, “because in a church of 1500 it is difficult to find a connection with church leadership.” This “face-time” and the interaction with each other allow people to receive that personal touch from church leadership and also discover a clear pathway to a small group. See http://www.hcf.co.za for more information.

Bill

Is Real Change Possible

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Greg Bowman) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:01:00 -0500

In a recent talk here in the Chicago area, Dallas Willard made a comment on spiritual formation that haunts me. “…all this appears to the ordinary Christian today like near or distant galaxies in the night sky: visible, somehow, but inaccessible in the conditions of life as we know them. Hence you will rarely meet an individual Christian who is seriously engaged in the transformation depicted in the Bible…or who even has a hope for anything like it this side of heaven.”

Say it’s not true. Please. I beg you. Yet 30+years of ministry experience tells me it is. Persistent patterns of sin remain, souls are malnourished, and the person whose heart beats passionately for God stands out as abnormal in our ministries. Not always, but far too often.

How is it in your ministry? How is it in your own life? Does real growth seem attainable? Really?

That’s why our team is so passionate and excited about the topic of the Group Life Conference 2009. We believe real change can happen and it happens best in a small group. And we have a lineup of speakers who share the same belief. And we have training planned that can help it happen more consistently in the groups you lead.

The brochure for the Group Life Conference 2009 is on the presses today. I thought it might be fun for you to have a sneak peek at the brochure before it's dropped in the mail. So we’ve attached a file for you to have the first look - enjoy!

And how about my question – is it just me (and Dallas) who think real growth seems beyond hope? And can we be the generation to change that?

GLC09 Brochure.pdf (2.38 mb)

Group Life Update

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Greg Bowman) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:54:00 -0500

During the first months of 2009 the Group Life team and the WCA have been evaluating new strategies and technologies to better serve the local church during tough economic times. I want to update you on some of the resulting changes to the 2009 Group Life Conference that will impact our guests.

We are shifting the fall conference to a one-day event with a laser focus of equipping small group leaders in the local church. We will offer two events like this each year, one in the fall and one in the spring, and each will be unique in its training content and theme.

We are also moving to a broadcast only model, an expansion of our 2008 partnership with the Church Communications Network (CCN). This move makes the conference accessible to every church in the US and Canada with no blackout zones or exceptions. As a result, the conference will be available to your church leaders exclusively through this CCN broadcast.

We have worked to make the event affordable and accessible to volunteer leaders. With a price point as low as $39 per person for a full day of training, our hope is that your entire church can participate in a training event even in these tough times. Simply put, you can now equip 15 leaders right in your home church for the same cost as sending one person to Chicago for last year’s event.

Our fall event will be on October 24, 2009. The title of the event is “This Changes Everything,” and our focus will be on the spiritual formation in small groups. Our goal will be to envision and equip small group leaders to intentionally lead their group in this area. We are privileged to have a world-class lineup for this one-day event: Andy Stanley, Mindy Caliguire, Henry Cloud, David Johnson, Heather Zempel, Russ Robinson, and Bill Donahue.

To find out more information on hosting or attending this event, or to simply find out more information please go to www.ccn.tv/grouplife.

We hope you will join us for the Group Life Conference 2009 live via CCN on October 24!

In Him,

Greg Bowman
Brand Architect—Small Groups Movement
Willow Creek Association

Block #5: Wrong Questions 5 & 6: “How do we measure it and how have others done it successfully?”

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Bill Donahue) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 06:29:00 -0500

Measuring growth, change and progress have always been the sword of Damocles hanging over the head over every small group pastor or volunteer.

The tendency is to think that if we cannot measure it (qualitatively) it does not exist. There is no growth, no change and no progress when we cannot count it or benchmark it against what others have done.

Block proposes asking two different questions: “What is the crossroad I find myself in at this point in my life and work? and “What do we want to create together?” Instead of measuring the past and thinking we are successful, we should be re-creating the future. Block knows that success in the past is, as he calls it, “the gilded cage of today,” a splendid and beautiful prison that blinds our vision and quenches our creativity.

Block asks, as a bonus sort of question, “How will the world be different tomorrow as a result of what we do today?” Such questions are the heart and soul of communal ministry. It helps us shift, as he says, from “What works?” to “What matters?” and from How to Yes. It is the quality of experience we create for ourselves and others—not the results we achieve. I am wrestling with this as you might be as well. So, as Paul, we “press on” while forgetting what lies behind. Learn from the past but do not live in it.

Last post in series.

Block #4: Wrong Questions 3 & 4

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Bill Donahue) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:04:00 -0500

“How much does it cost and how do we get people to change?” What are the right questions?

Again, these are the wrong questions and should be replaced by, “What price am I willing to pay?” and “What is my contribution to the problem?” So instead we are called to look inward versus trying to change the circumstances around us.

In this economy there is no secret that everything is changing, including the rules about how things change. Ministries face funding challenges on a scale not seen in decades. The “cost” in dollars of ministry and the desire to make others change to fit our demands are tempting subjects to occupy our thoughts.

But, as Block proposes, the real questions of “price” and “contribution” confront our willingness to be the change, not simple make changes. In Group Life, this means asking. “What do we really value?” and “How do I bring the best of who I am to the ministry?” Acting on what we believe in – training leaders, praying for people to connect to Christ and community, serving the poor together – costs us something, and thereby creates value.

What do you value in your group ministry these days? What are the non-negotiable beliefs and values you must be willing to sacrifice for? And are you willing to stop changing others and instead acknowledge your role in creating the problem—and you role in solving it? That is the choice we face today.

Block #3 - What Commitment am I Willing to Make?

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Bill Donahue) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:28:00 -0500

Rather than asking a question about time Block says we should be talking about priority, or what is most important. How long does it take to change a culture? If change—real change—comes from care and commitment (as the author states), then “how long” must give way to “what is the most important thing to do?”

Changing a church into a radically communal culture will take much longer that you or I imagine. Even in the most intentional, strategically driven environments, commitment to the change is almost as significant as the change for which we labor. At least that’s my take on it. We can talk “group life” and “community” all we want. But the long-term commitment to changing the way we think, feel and act is what really matters.

Executing on a strategy or surrender to a cause requires perseverance beyond the quick-start, “aren’t groups just great!” honeymoon era of ministry. We all want an Acts 2 Church—but visions of Acts 2 soon confront the realities of Acts 5, Acts 10, Acts 15, and even Acts 20. Do we want that kind of Church as well?” These are the real questions I must confront, personally and in my ministry.

Peter Block #2 – Getting to the “Yes” Questions

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Bill Donahue) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:27:00 -0500

So if the best questions are not “how” questions (see previous post), what kind of questions get us to the place we need to be? Block poses several in contrast to the how questions we listed before. I would like to take each one of these and discuss its implications for the church and for Group Life. Let’s tackle the first one in this post.

Instead of asking, “How do you do it?” Block suggests we ask, “What refusal have I been postponing?” He asks this because, as Block asserts, our “yes” means nothing if we cannot say no. The subject of this question is one of choice, instead of method. What are we saying “no” to or, as Block suggests, “What have I said yes to that I did not really mean?”

In community life we must stop saying yes to event-centered initiatives that inadvertently sap our creative energy for community building. When group meetings, serving the poor, listening to God in prayer, and Scripture reflection become events to attend or activities to accomplish, we have settled for “how” to have a group instead of the decisive “yes” – a yes driven by conviction, meaning, instinct, and the passion to become a group.

Next Question: Ask “What commitment am I willing to make?” instead of “How long will it take?”

The Answer to How is Yes—Peter Block

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Bill Donahue) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:35:00 -0500

Peter Block’s new book really has me riveted.

Block, a consultant, is hitting the "soft side” of organizational life with this work, calling us to become something that flies in the face of most institutional cultures. For him, the relational and authentic self is the best thing to bring to the party. Block wants us to focus on a life that counts versus a life that works. He calls us to be social architects, combining the skills and insights of the engineer, the economist and the artist.

How to do something is often our focus—but for Block this is the wrong question. The real question to answer is “why?” which, when answered with clarity, leads to the “how” we need to create later.

Wrong “How” questions include: How do you do it? How long will it take? How much does it cost? How do I get those people to change? How do we measure it? How have other people done it successfully? None of these gets at the heart of reality.

“Yes” according to Block, is the right question. More to come…

Just Another Pretty Face(book)

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Dave Treat) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:07:00 -0500

Social media, Web 2.0 (or is it 3.0?), MySpace, YourSpace... Our Space. It's not just for geeks anymore.

One of the key thoughts coming from our Advisory Team gathering last week was the need to leverage technology to support community. Blogs are just the beginning. Facebook and Twitter are changing the way people interact with each other individually and in groups. I'll have some more thoughts on that a bit later. For now, I'd just like to invite you to join us on Facebook. Search for the "Willow Creek Association - Group Life" page and become a fan. If you don't know what that means, your fifth grader can help you. See you there.

Remembering the Alamo

wcagrouplife@willowcreek.com (Dave Treat) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:09:00 -0500

This week the Willow Group Life team gathered around 40 of the best and brightest ministry leaders in North America to talk about the current state of Group Life. It was a remarkable setting, within a stone's throw of the Alamo compound in San Antonio, TX.

Each year our Group Life Advisory Team gathers for a couple of days to talk about the latest ideas, trends, and best practices available to facilitate spiritual formation through small groups. We chose San Antonio this time and learned some interesting facts about one of the most notable historic sites in the country. It was here in 1836 that fewer than 200 patriots held off more than 6,000 troops led by self-proclaimed Mexican dictator Santa Anna. As Bill Donahue pointed out in one of our sessions, the vast majority of the patriots were volunteers. After thirteen days, nearly all lost their lives. It was a reminder of sacrifices inspired by passion.

Some who attended our gathering paid their own way, their churches lacking the funds to send them. Some are anxious (but not worried) about what personal changes may be in store for them as the economy continues to gyrate. As we met, the Dow dropped below 6800... yet all were optimistic about the future.

One of my favorite moments occurred during a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the current state of Group Life. The team I was facilitating took virtually no time to assign "economic uncertainty" to the square labled "Opportunities." As with the Alamo defenders, it will be volunteers who carry the bulk of the load during upcoming battles. Duties previously accomplished by paid staff will have to be picked up by unpaid volunteers. Structural changes will need to streamline Group Life frameworks to make them more organic and decentralized. We will re-discover some lost arts of disciplemaking and personal leadership development that rely on creativity and frugality. We'll shed some plans and practices that aren't essential to our core ministry... and learn that we didn't need them as much as we thought we did.

Whether you were with us in San Antonio or not, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.