As a small group leader, you want people to talk. But what happens when one person starts talking and never stops? Discover simple techniques to deal with small group members who talk too much.
Collection of Blog Posts - Small Groups, Bible Study, Community, and Transformation
Welcome to the Working to Live Differently blog on finding, becoming, and living in Christian community. My goal is to show how to encourage personal and community growth through a process that looks like this:
- share honestly with yourself, God, and other people
- connect with God and people
- build and become part of a group with a sense of belonging
- learn and grow through Bible study and Bible doing
- inspire others and be inspired
- share your experiences (successes and failures) to continue the process of connecting, belonging, and growing
Blog posts include how-to articles and reflections on leading small groups, developing friendships, building community, studying the Bible, and achieving personal and group goals. I also write on developing physical endurance, which I believe offers insights into spiritual endurance and perseverance while giving us a way to connect with people, God, and ourselves.
Lydia in Acts: How Confidence in God Is Contagious
Lydia in Acts is considered the first European convert to Christianity. Learn how she kindly yet boldly became an integral part of the Christian community.
How to Deal with Overly Needy People in a Small Group
An excessively needy person who dominates discussion yet never seems satisfies with the love and nurture offered by a small group can wreck group dynamics. To guard the group’s integrity, recognize and deal with this personality type before members exit the group and the concept of small groups forever.
8 Things You Should Never Say in Your Small Group
There are certain phrases and stances that make people reluctant or even scared to keep talking. Learn what you should never say if you want people to share their thoughts, experiences, fears, and hopes.
But there are certain statements that shut down conversation. I’ve known that terse responses and pat answers weren’t conducive to getting people talking and continuing to share their stories. But until recently, I didn’t understand why this happened or how to recognize phrases and stances that ended discussions abruptly.
Learn common phrases that shut people down so you can avoid them and keep people talking.
How to Do a Bible Character Study
Do studies of Bible characters with this easy-to-follow guide. Get glimpses into struggles faced by real people, the slow and tangled process of spiritual development, and God’s grace and action in the real world. This guide includes thoughtful questions and an example of a sample study.
Lessons from “Making Small Groups Work” (Book)
Making Small Groups Work: What Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know offers the theological vision and practical guidance for nurturing small groups within a Christian faith community.
In this book, psychologists Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend show how healthy relationships within a small group offer the ideal environment for personal growth. They dispel common, unspoken sentiment that maturity and wisdom happen largely as the result of communing with God alone, striving for growth in a vacuum, divorced from daily life and fellow Christians.