Because Relationships Matter

Church leaders ask...

I frequently get contacted from other church leaders asking about Groups at GCC. I love talking about what we do! What I hate is that the answers get complicated; what we do requires different questions from what are normally asked.

Most of the models for doing small groups, training, and structure --- yeah, we don't follow. So, I've invested some time over the past couple years on this blog to provide further understanding.

How does Granger get people to want to join a small group? We don't try to get everyone in a group. 

How do you get new small groups started? Our goal is not to start new groups, and we don't call them small groups, life groups, home groups, etc.  

If you don' have everyone in a group, how does Granger disciple people and provide care? There are some realities that we've faced: realities about groups and realities about organizational structure. 

Doesn't the church have a responsibility to make people be accountable to one another? We don't believe that's our responsibility.

Do you hear complaints from people? Yes.

How did you make all these changes? We offer less choices.

What does Granger offer then in terms of groups? Monday is Group Night at GCC.

When people do opt to meet as a group on their own, how do you know what they're studying or talking about? What's your approval process? We don't have an approval process, and we don't track what they're doing.

How does Granger find competent group leaders? We look for those who have doubt.

How do you know your leaders are spiritually mature? We don't.

How does Granger provide leader care? Connect. Value. Include. Challenge.

I hope this serves as a helpful 'one stop place' to get some answers. I'd love to talk with you further! I hope this is an effective way to help you first get your head around how we do groups at GCC. I look forward to hearing from you!

WiredChurches.com 2009

Brand New this year for worksops at GCC - one price of $99 per person, per day, when you register online.

Also brand new this year - we'll offer 2 consecutive days of one-day workshops. Granger is not "on the way" to anywhere - we get that! You gotta want to come to Granger, and we want to help you spend your limited travel and training $ wisely!

Information about our Groups ministry will be included in the Lasting Impressions workshop led by Mark Waltz. I've cleared my calendar for both days so I can be available to talk with leaders from other churches.

If you bring a team to Granger - we'll know you were intentional to get here, and we'll do whatever we can - intentionally - to make it worth your trip! Hope to see you on Thursday and Friday, March 5 - 6.

People are asking...

What if the people are weird? What if I don't like them? How will I get away from them?

People really do ask these questions about groups at church. One of our members sent me this article about mystery shopper's for small groups. While the website is mostly satire, there is truth in it.     

"People want to avoid messy social entanglements," says Howard who works a three-state area serving group-shy Christians...."It was worth it to avoid the whole ‘I’m rejecting your group’ thing," says one single woman who has been with her Howard-selected small group for three years. "After a while you get tired of explaining why you’re not coming back."

This provides an explanation for two of our group practices. 1) We don't connect new people to existing groups. 2) We spend considerable time at our group launch and wrap-up sessions helping people learn how to say, "No."

At the Groups workshop I'll lead on November 14 in Granger, we'll talk about ramps to group life, including exit ramps. People want to know how to get into groups, but perhaps a larger concern: how to get out! 

Conveniently excluded truth

From a conversation I had at Innovate '08:

I'm really impressed with your model to launch groups here at GCC. The stuff you do is obvious, I don't know why we haven't thought of it. 

It's hard to see some of the stuff that is right in front of us. I'm glad it was helpful. Our model isn't perfect, but it works for us.

Credibility is important. There's no point to sugar coat something only to have people discover later that it's not quite the whole picture.

It's the stuff that makes me cynical about politics (and used car shopping). This article has a few of the misleading comments both candidates made in the debate. It doesn't appear to be slanted toward either party. Here's an example from both sides:

BIDEN: Said McCain supports tax breaks for oil companies, and "wants to give them another $4 billion tax cut."

THE FACTS: Biden is repeating a favorite saw of the Obama campaign, and it's misleading. McCain supports a cut in income taxes for all corporations, and doesn't single out any one industry for that benefit.

PALIN: Said of Democratic presidential candidate Obama: "94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction."

THE FACTS: The dubious count includes repetitive votes as well as votes to cut taxes for the middle class while raising them on the rich. An analysis by factcheck.org found that 23 of the votes were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all, seven were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, 11 would have increased taxes on only those making more than $1 million a year.

Whether in politics or in church, help people know what the real story is. (It's our standard at Wired Churches). They're gonna find out eventually. Credibility is much easier to lose than it is to gain 

Great Team!

Innovate 08 has begun! It officially launches tomorrow at 9 a.m., but there are pre-conference workshops today throughout the building today.

Markand Shelley Arredondo lead the First Impressions: Creating Wow! Experiences workshop. Besides being fun and engaging, they're really smart! They get it.

Because they get it, it's no wonder people ask for one-on-one time. Sometimes it's not easy to see how to apply values to our own situation. 

Just like our personal lives, we sometimes can't see the forest for the trees, so it's good to get input from others who can offer a clarifying perspective. 

Once you get beyond all the great teaching, there are other priorities - how are we gonna feed all these people? Lindsay does an off-the-chart job overseeing the entire conference!

There's always plenty of fun snacks, but it looks like she's keeping a foot in the land of responsible choices - not as much fun as Twinkies and Twizzlers! (In case you're wondering, it's an incredible volunteer who's getting all that fruit washed and prepped for the guests - we've got great people!)

Pray for all the church leaders around the country who are taking a respite from their own ministry to see what's happening in Granger. Pray for our staff too while you're at it!  

Care & Support Forum

On Monday, June 23, I'm thrilled to lead the Care & Support Forum through Wired Churches!

Forums are very different from the workshops. We'll give it the structure for conversation, but there's less me and more you - which is really good for all of us!

Regardless of the church size, we all have this in common:

• People have needs that require counseling
• People have common needs that can be met in a group setting
• People need someone to visit them in the hospital
• People need others to pray for them
• People need help managing their money
• People need help through gifts of money
• People need to be married and buried

It might appear a little overwhelming, but there is something else these leaders have in common. They share the knowledge that it is a great privilege to serve the ones that Jesus loves - people! When you get involved in caring for people, you get a front row seat to see God work - wonderfully amazing!

You should check out the June workshops being offered and come to Granger with some others from your team. If you are some of the many who have already registered for the Care & Support Forum, please post a comment with the 1-2 topics that interest you most - we want to care well for your needs too!

Get a Grip on Groups

I can't imagine a place you'd rather be next Friday, November 16!

I'm lying. I'm in Maui right now, so I'm actually experiencing a better destination than Granger, Indiana in November.

I'd still love you to join us for the workshop! You can find more about it here. Hope to see you!

Get a Grip...

I'm in the final stages of prep for next week's run of Getting a Grip on Groups. I enjoy meeting leaders from other churches around the country and seeing their passion to help others connect. Here's a previous post about the overall intent of the workshop.

After each workshop, I hope that I won't have a lot of revisions to make before the next time we offer it. Yet again, hindsight proves that the hope is naive!

Seriously, I am not a fan of constant change. I learned recently that one of my strengths is adaptability but another one is responsibility. (Those are a perfect combination for workaholism!) I don't necessarily want to continue to adapt our foundational processes for launching small groups, however, I feel responsible for bringing the best product we can offer to help people meet one another.

So...that means revisions! We've made another significant shift to narrow our focus for the content of discussion in our Starting Point experience. The early results are very positive! I'll look forward to sharing that change and others next Monday, July 30! Hope to see you there!

Front Row Seat

Earlier this week, we offered a Care & Support Forum through Wired Churches. It was a great day spent with people from other churches who are involved with their care ministries. I continue to be reminded that it's really important to serve others in a way that is consistent with the culture of that church.

Here's what was common about the people in all of our churches.

• People have needs that require counseling
• People have common needs that can be met in a group setting
• People need someone to visit them in the hospital
• People need others to pray for them
• People need help managing their money
• People need help through gifts of money
• People need to be married and buried

In the organization of ministry programs, there was not one need that we all addressed in the same way. Not one!

Yet, people at all of these churches are experiencing environments where they hear that they matter. While we agreed on the needs and we agreed on the challenges of meeting those needs, it might sound like a rather tiring day.

Not so much! There was complete agreement that it is a great privilege to serve the ones that Jesus loves - people!

When you get involved in caring for people, you get a front row seat to see God work. It is an amazing experience!

Get a Grip...

In 3 hours, I'm thrilled to be leading Getting a Grip on Groups! There will be about 45 people attending from churches around the country to hear about the culture and strategies we use to help people enter into relationship with one another at GCC. There will be over 300 people in the building attending all the workshops - it's a great day!

The purpose is not to have people mimic what we do. It's fine if they want to, but it's not the purpose. The purpose is to help them understand who we are, what we do, and why we believe it's the right fit for us. By sharing the questions that we ask ourselves, we hope they'll ask questions that will help them discover what God wants them to do in their church, with their leaders, with their people.

Coming into this, I've had a week where I simply didn't feel very effective. I have met with people who are in a lot of pain. I keep asking God to show me what else I could say to help them "get it". Nothing. I know he loves them. Trust God.

There are times as a leader when we don't understand how something can work great one day, and the very next day, it's doesn't seem effective at all. Is it us? What should we change? Where? When? How?

Those are the times when I need to "Get a Grip." For me, that means "Let go." I need to remind myself that I'm human. It doesn't have to be perfect. God is God. I'm not. Relax. It's all a mystery. Bring the skills and talents he's given me to the table, and rest in the truth that God's got a grip on all of it.