As I read the title of this blog post I cringe. I’ve always had a love hate relationship with ministries that sell stuff to churches. I love the outcomes of such ministries and I hate that ministries of this nature are suspect to so many. I was blindsided when God called me to Christian publishing and have been thrilled to see how NavPress manages the tension between ministry and business.

 

I have made it my goal to be certain any initiative I am involved with includes at least three wins for the church and one win for the company. After all, the church is Jesus’ bride and we are to resource her.

 

I was thrilled when I presented an idea to the NavPress team and, without hesitation, the powers that be agreed to it. Through December your group leaders can choose Bible studies from a list of 195 and get them at 50% off. All you as a pastor have to do is create a link from your website to the list (that’s three easy steps). If you’d like to see how to make this happen just click on this word… LINK.

 

The three wins for the church…

1.     50% off the normal costs of 195 Bible studies in a financially difficult season.

2.     Your group ministry has made it possible for a small group leader to easily find their next Bible study. You build your reputation as a resourcer of your leaders and they save time hunting for their next study.

3.     You, the small group point person, will not have to spend your time in conversation with group leaders guiding them to their next study.

 

The one win for NavPress… Your group ministry finds out about a plethora of resources that will be available for years to come. 

This is the last of the blog posts unearthing my interview with Eugene Peterson. Much thanks to him for his time and his wonderful attitude. It was a great, great honor to speak with him and learn from him.

 

Lots of the questions seem to swirl around Dr. Peterson’s creation of The Message bible, especially with the scholarly theological types. I was intrigued to see what brought about his work in crafting it as well as his perspective concerning rather it was a translation from the original languages or not.

 

Dr. Peterson: Since being in school, high school, I had the sense I was a writer. Writing would be part of my life. I thought I’d be a novelist.

 

I liked books and study. I thought I’d be a professor. I had no thoughts of being a pastor. I went to church and was a Christian but pastoring just didn’t seem exciting.

 

I went on to seminary. I loved theology and biblical studies. I was teaching Greek and Hebrew at my seminary. They weren’t paying much and the baby was coming. I took a job as associate pastor and for the first time in my life I was around a pastor who was a man of God. I realized I didn’t know there was work like this. I sensed I had been a pastor my whole life. Suddenly I was in the midst of the action, people doing real life, struggling. This energized me. After a couple of years I realized I wasn’t a professor, I was a pastor. When I became a pastor I started writing for pastors.

 

Writing grew out of me naturally. Writer and pastor were not separate things for me. One led into the other.

 

 

 

Dr. Peterson: No one encouraged me. I was learning how to be a pastor and writing my way into that. My first book came out of a confirmation class. I wrote a curriculum for a confirmation class. I realized these kids were getting it. I started gathering the parents together every week. They were seeing kids as problems they had to fix. I was trying to get them to see their kids as gifts. When they started seeing their kids companions in the growing up business it changed everything. I realized that these are the people I wanted to write for, people seeking their identity in Christ. 

 

 

 

Conversation Starters require the following necessities:

 

1.     An easy to answer question that everyone can respond to without moving into deep conversation.

2.     In most instances this question falls into one of the following categories:

a.     History… “When you were a kid…” or “When you were in high school…” or “When you started your first job…” or “When you went swimming for the first time…” etc…

b.     What if… “If you had a million dollars…” or “If you could build anything you wanted to build…” or “If you had never been born…” or “If you could get a do over on one decision you made…”, etc…

c.      Who did… “Who would you turn to if…” or “Who is your favorite…” or “Who do you trust the most with…” or “Who has been the most giving…” etc…

d.     When… “When did you first…”, or “When were you the most…” or
“When do you wish you had…” or “When would you like to…” etc…

e.     How… “How would you like to…” or “How many times have you…” or “How will you someday…” or “How did you first come to undestand…” etc…

f.      Where… “Where would you like to…” or “Where did you first…” or “Where is the place you wish you could…” or “Where did you first…”, etc…

3.     Don’t try to write these so that they evoke laughter. This is a great mistake. The goal is simply for each person to respond to the question uninterrupted, be heard, be thanked for speaking, and then move to the next person.

4.     The goal of the conversation starter is to create a conversational environment. Getting people to talk early in the meeting will do that.

5.     Give the group only one Conversation Starter question, please.

 

List the passage here from the English Standard Version. This is the version Josh uses when he preaches.

 

 

 

A.     This should be no more than two questions.

B.     Remember, these questions are not to unveil new information, they are to get the group to regurgitate what the pastor said in his sermon.

C.     Use questions that get the group to restate the main points of the sermon. To ask leading questions of this nature start with one or more of the following phrases.

1.     How would you describe…?

2.     What do you think the pastor meant when he said…?

3.     If you could summarize the main points of the pastor’s sermon what would you say they were?

4.     Since Sunday, what part of Sunday’s sermon have you been unable to get out of your mind?

5.     What did the pastor say that you’ve been revisiting again and again?

6.     What do you think the pastor wanted us to remember when we left Sunday?

7.     When you think of last Sunday’s sermon, what words or phrases stick out?

 

A.     These questions must drive the group to determine what the Bible is saying, not what someone in the group wish it said or the group thinks it says. 

B.     These questions are looking for a concrete answer, not opinions.

C.     These questions could start with the following types of phrases…  

1.     “What does God say about…?” 

2.     “Why did God tell them…?”

3.     “What are the three things God reveals to us…?”

4.     “When did God say they should…?”

5.     “What did God use to…?”

6.     “Where does the Scripture say this experience took place and why does that matter or does it?”

7.     etc…

 

A.     These question are geared toward getting people to realize, embrace, consider, and make change in what they think, do, realize, accept or expect. To define and give examples…

1.     Think - What thoughts run through your mind that the Word of God just told us are untrue about you, those you are in relationship with, your worldview, or your view of who God is?

2.     Do – What are you doing now that you have become aware of that you need to stop doing OR What have you not been doing that you now know you should be doing?

3.     Realize – What do you realize about life, God, others, etc… that you did not realize until now?

4.     Accept – What do you now accept as factual and acceptable that you’ve always thought to be true OR What did you once accept as right action, thoughts, or activities that you now must set aside because the Word of God just pointed out that they are not?

5.     Expect – What do you now know you can expect from God OR What did you expect from God that you now know is not an expectation He is responsible to carry out?

B.     Each of these questions will use the “word” you or “we.”

 

I am indebted to my pastor who is also my son, Josh Howerton at The Bridge in Spring Hill, Tennessee for his guidance as he and I wrote this together for our own church.


If You Liked This Try...
Sticky Church by Mark Howell
Great Free Way to Deliver Small Group Curriculum by Alan Danielson
How to Create a Sermon-based Small Group Study by Spence Shelton

 

 

 

·      Let people give opinion in a conversational Bible study but be certain that the Bible is the opinion that wins the day.

·      Take note when phrases like, “My daddy always told me,” or “I read in this book last week,” or “I once heard a preacher say,” etc… When coming to conclusions about life matters drive the group to the Word of God to find the Words of God and make sure everyone knows that the group is looking for the truth not opinions.

·      Don’t ignore the cringe factor created by the Holy Spirit when answers to questions are voiced during the Bible study time and those answers cause you to question the response. Sometimes people say things that you either know are misrepresentations of what the Bible really says or you think they are. When that happens ask other group members to tell what they believe the Bible says and, if necessary, tell the group you’ll do some research and get back to them next week.

·      When a group member asks a question concerning a real life situation have group members search Scripture for the answer. With the number of study Bibles in the room this will be easier than you think. And, if your group is made up of people studying the Bible daily and privately, the historical account of a bible character and how God responded or how the biblical character responded in the situation may answer the question.

·      Choose curriculum that is biblically-based. Not every Bible study published by a Christian publishing company is biblically based. Sometimes they find some communicator or author with a book title that is selling well and they turn it into a Bible study. For instance, if a Christian publishing company published a study on “The Five Things to Do to Make Your Wife Your Best Friend,” they might be able to find some biblical principles that would relate to the topic. But no where in the Bible are we told what five actions will make your wife your best friend. Oftentimes when a study of this nature emerges scripture is misinterpreted and sometimes misused.