The Small Group Journey

2nd Annual NID Water Bottle Project

Congregations in the northwest suburbs are partnering with one another for a major outreach event. In the heat of the summer, they will provide busy commuters at Metra and CTA stations in their communities with a bit of relief by passing out free water bottles, no strings attached!  The effort is again being coordinated by Pastor Micah Greiner, St. Peter, Arlington Heights.

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Facebook & Your Church

Many local churches and denominational groups already have Facebook Groups.  Anyone can set up a group. A group page provides a common place for users to meet and share information. 

In fact, one of the groups you can join on Facebook is the NID Small Groups Network. It's another place for people in small groups in the NID to connect and share ideas. If you're already on Facebook, then join NID Small Groups Network.

Here are just a few Facebook groups …

NID Small Groups Network 

The 2010 National LCMS Youth Gathering 

NID Church Professionals 

Lutheran Bible Translators

Church Professionals Retreat – LCMS

Walther Lutheran High School Broncos

LCMS World Mission

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8 Traits of Effective Church Leaders

Thom Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources.  He is the author of twenty-one books, including Simple Church, Raising Dad, and Essential Church.  Simple Life, the latest release by Thom and Art Rainer, will be out later this summer.  Rainer says, “In our studies of churches that are reaching people and retaining them through biblical discipleship we have seen a very clear pattern develop, especially in contrast to leaders in other churches that did not meet our criteria.”

1. Fierce biblical faithfulness. Without exception, these pastors held to the total truthfulness of God’s Word.
2. Longer tenure. The leaders we studied are willing and even want to have long-term ministries at one church.
3. Confident humility. In our subjective interviews with effective church leaders across the nation, our interviewers repeatedly reported that the leaders had a clear and compelling confidence about their own leadership.
4. Acceptance of responsibility. We did not hear of excuses for ineffective ministry from these effective leaders, even though many of them experienced prolonged periods of struggles.
5. Unconditional love of the people. Ministry can be dirty and Christians can be jerks. It is often difficult to love those who complain and attack you.
6. Persistence. Because these leaders have a long-term perspective of their ministries at the churches where they serve, they are able to lead toward progress one incremental step at a time.
7. Outwardly-focused vision. An integral part of the lives of these effective leaders was their passion and vision to reach people who were not Christians and who were not a part of their churches. They are passionate about reaching the lost and unchurched, and the visions they communicated inevitably reflected this priority.
8. A desire for a lasting legacy. The ambition and drive of these leaders cannot be denied. But that ambition is not limited to their personal successes. They are ambitious for their churches to be thriving and healthy well beyond their ministries and even their lifetimes.

Summer Bible Reading Plan

Craig Mattes is the small group point person at Trinity Lutheran in Lisle, IL.  He posted recently about his summer Bible reading plan. 

This summer, I've been trying out something a little bit different for my daily quiet times.  I'm reading through one book of the Bible 3 times in a row (a different translation each go-round), 1 chapter a day.  I feel that this plan has helped me in taking next steps in my spiritual growth, so I wanted to pass on this plan to you. 

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Monday Musings

Some things I’m thinking
about this Monday …

• We had a blast on the Fourth!!  Had a few friends over for a cookout and, as usual, started playing a game.  I haven’t laughed that hard in a couple weeks!!  We also tried an experiment with Diet Coke & Mentos as well … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM.   Our experiment was not quite that elaborate, but it was pretty funny!!
• Last week some very good friends visited for a couple days from South Carolina.  It was great spending some extended time with them.  They’re trying to move back to the Chicago area, but with the housing market it’s been a very slow process.
• I had a couple very fruitful meetings with two congregations looking to launch small groups. One is looking at a turbo group process while the other is looking to use a congregation wide small group campaign this fall.  I love it when I can come alongside a congregation and be helpful.
• I spent time with one of my cousins at a local hospital.  Her husband is having brain surgery because of his Parkinson’s disease.  Please pray for his healing and that this procedure will work.
• No guitar lesson tonight due to a praise team rehearsal.  Four of our praise team members also play in group called Thunder Road.  They’re playing this Thursday, our normal rehearsal evening, at a local mall. Hope to go see them!

Until next Monday … (“My Country, 'Tis of Thee” by Samuel Smith and Thesaurus Musicus)

Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty,
To thee we sing; long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might, great God, our King.

Developing One’s Leadership

Donald Christian grew up in Elgin, Illinois where his dad was the principal of the St. John Lutheran school.  Currently, he’s Dean, College of Business, Concordia University, Austin, Texas.  He posted these comments recently on his blog, Thinking About Leadership.

One of the most influential aspects of Abraham Lincoln’s leadership development was his ability to learn – whether it was from reading, from talking with others, or from experiences. Lincoln was a self-taught individual. He read everything he could (often multiple times) and engaged people in conversation who were always much smarter than him. How often do we as leaders do the same thing?  Here are a few ideas to consider as we continue the process of developing ourselves as leaders:

• Take the time to read
• Never spend a lunch by yourself
• READ, READ, READ (part 1)
• READ, READ, READ (part 2)
• READ, READ, READ (part 3)
• Become self-reflective

Read Don’s Entire Post

Happy Fourth of July!!

America the Beautiful
Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Please have a safe and happy Fourth!!

Timeless Truth

 

"It is better to set ten men to work than to do the work of ten men."

-- D. L. Moody

Directness and Trust

Donald Christian grew up in Elgin, Illinois where his dad was the principal of the St. John Lutheran school.  Currently, he’s Dean, College of Business, Concordia University, Austin, Texas.  He posted these comments recently on his blog, Thinking About Leadership.

1. When being direct, shape your comments around the organization, not the individual
2. When being direct, reflect how one's weaknesses are often a result of the overuse of their strengths
3. When being direct, be sure to note that you may be wrong (and if so, allow the person to tell you so)
4. When being direct, state the issue and let it go (do not beat the person up with negative comments)
5. When being direct, be sure you have your facts straight
6. When being direct, be sure to follow up to see if the behavior has changed
7. When being direct, do so with an empathetic heart, mind and voice
8. When being direct, trust that the comment will be taken in the spirit in which it is given

These are some great suggestions not only for personal communication, but for group leaders as well.  Thanks Don!!

Monday Musings

Some things I’m thinking
about this Monday …

• This past week I attended the 2009 President's Mission Convocation with Dr. Jim Galvin.  Jim is a lifelong Lutheran and active member of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Carol Stream.  He’s a regular presenter at PLI (Pastoral Leadership Institute) and spoke on the topic of “Transformational Leadership.”  It was very well received.
• The Guitar Club, which normally plays in the comfort of our living room, ventured out this weekend for its first public performance.  We’ve received a number of positive comments which is all very affirming.  See the previous post for more information on our outing.
• I had a number of individual coaching appointments this past week. They are usually very uplifting and these were no exception.
• On Sunday I presented a new starts award to Christ Our Savior, Winfield.  They launched a second service targeting a different demographic.  Plus, I played the guitar for the second service.
• Friday night we saw “Pump Boys and Dinettes” at Drury Lane Theatre.  What a riot!!
• Guitar lesson update … worked a little on “Freight Train.”

Until next Monday … (“Sanctuary” by John Thompson & Randy Scruggs)

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You