This message was presented on May 4, 2014 as part of the series on 1 Timothy.
People often think of spiritual leaders as those who are gifted and have a great deal going for them. Let me give you an example of someone who didn’t. In fact, he had many things going against him! David was left out in the darkness by his parents. He was all alone protecting sheep from bears, lions and other predators. Continue reading
A home group leader who likes to lead may do everything himself or with the help of his wife in his home. But if he does not recruit and disciple new leaders, it may reveal a selfish desire to maintain being the center of attention. The purpose of home groups is to multiply and hence recruit other leaders, which requires discipling participants to greater roles and opportunities of responsibility. Consider the following principles as you consider the potential of each person in yours:
The purpose of home groups is to multiply, and that is a sign of good health. However, it can be deceptive what good health is. For example, one group may enjoy getting together, because they love to study “last day events.” Or another group may like to gather, because their relationships are so strong. Yet, in both of these incidents, while there might be a growth in head knowledge or social activities, there is very little discipleship and no multiplication. In both cases the home groups are not healthy, because they are not multiplying through discipleship. So what makes a healthy home group?
In the previous article, I discussed the importance of reaching the heart over forcing the hands to complete tasks. In other words, you can force behavioral change in a person, but if you don’t reach the heart, the change will not be long-lasting and the task completion will be done out of duty rather than a desire to please. Continue reading
I am a doer. I like to get things done, keep things organized and NOT spend time looking for them. I don’t like to waste time looking for them. Some people call that being a Type A personality; I call it someone you can rely upon to get things done. Continue reading
Home groups are designed to help people grow spiritually. The discipleship process takes a person from the spiritual infant stage to becoming a spiritual parent. As a spiritual parent the process begins again. The following is a short synopsis of the stages of growth. Every home group leader needs to be thoroughly clear on these stages. Continue reading
The goal of the home group leader is to glorify God. One of the best ways to do that is to help people spiritually mature to become spiritual parents. That means helping people lead others. Continue reading
There are four ingredients to the ministry philosophy of home groups, including Biblical Foundation, Relational Environment, Intentional Discipleship and Reproducible Process. If home group leaders focus on the Reproducible Process, they will actually assimilate the first three. The reason is that while programs and gimmicks can be developed to reproduce disciples, the process will break down very quickly without the first three. Why? Continue reading
The ministry philosophy of home groups is built on four ingredients: Biblical Foundation, Relational Environment, Intentional Discipleship and Reproducible Process. Home groups may multiply if there are both a Biblical Foundation and a Relational Environment, but they multiply best when there is Intentional Discipleship. Even Jesus was intentional when He was working with the disciples. Note the following Biblical principles for why discipleship should be intentional and not just accidental. Continue reading
There are four ingredients to the philosophy of ministry for home groups at Grace. The four ingredients are Biblical Foundation, Relational Environment, Intentional Discipleship and Reproducible Process. Everything about the home group must be derived from the Bible and the environment must emphasize relationships. Continue reading
Shepherding Truth 