Group format

I thought we had a very important and timely discussion this morning about men's ministry, our small group, and how to make it good, better, best, etc. I am concerned that the current format is too laid back, not focused, not intentional, and not challenging. While I think its phenomenal to just hang out and discuss life, politics, golf, or whatever - I think its important as a New Life Church small group to have some real ministry (whatever that means).

The organized men's ministry at the church, for some reason, is attended mostly by 50+ men with grown kids. While that would be extremely beneficial from a mentoring standpoint to guys in our group and others in our demographic, it just doesn't appeal to me (us) for a fellowship / freindship-based small group. We don't have the time in our busy schedules to dedicate a night every week away from home - mostly because a lot of us try as best we can to give our hard-working wife a break from the daily struggles of mommy-hood after beeing gone all day at work, in addition to other small groups and commitments (T-ball, ballet, soccer, etc.) we have during the rest of the week. And there may just be a cultural gap. To use perhaps a poor analogy with Christian music, the older generation is still listening to The Imperials or Petra while we're jamming out to Switchfoot or Falling Up.

Whatever the reason, I think we should expand a little beyond our current format of idle chatter with the occasional prayer request or thematic discussion of the book we're reading. Let's take turns hosting the guys once a month for a more focused time of "ministry". Whoever is hosting will be in charge of a devotional time or a testimony as to what God is doing in his life. I'll bring my guitar and we can have a time for worship (that's means I have to dust it off and practice, I guess). And we should have food and maybe a movie. We could also meet for pizza or bowling or a hockey game, or a game of touch football, or a trip up the incline, or even bring all our kids to a park, which would serve the double purpose of giving our wife a break from the kids AND meeting for manly fellowship.

I will try and be more organized with all of these changes so that we can be sure and put plans on the calendar way ahead of time.

Strength and Honor

Our Fall 2008 book

This fall we will be reading Safely Home by Randy Alcorn, a work of fiction concerning the Chinese church. First discussion over chapter 1 September 5th. I found a copy at the library.

New Beginnings

Okay, so I had high aspirations about the group blog. Obviously, it did not match my desire to keep it updated - which was extremely low. But, now is a time for new beginnings.

Since I am re-dedicating my passion for this blog, I thought I'd also kick around the idea of re-energizing the group format a little. Is it just me or has it been a little dull lately? My fault entirely as the Group's leader. Help me out, though... What is our purpose for meeting? Is it for the quick 3 minute prayer we (I, anyway) begrudgingly get to right before we all split? How can we make it more purposeful - especially since we are "Men of Purpose." Should we try and meet evenings once or twice a month for a more focused time of "ministry" (whatever that is), with worship and more discipleship, fellowship, etc? I feel like there is something missing that will take us to the next level. I want to be in a group that is passionate about being a man of integrity, passionate about being godly husbands and fathers, passionate about destroying the things in our lives that don't measure up to God's will. And I absolutely need other guys to sustain that passion in me - I can only assume that you all need that as well.

I welcome your suggestions, feedback, criticism, help, etc. There is such a great need for men's ministry for our demographic (mid 30's w/ kids) that is not being met by the current men's ministry, in my opinion. Why is that? How can we make it more accessible, more enjoyable, more worthwhile, more exciting, more indispensible? We need to brainstorm this this week. Hope you all can make it.

Strength and Honor,

Steve

Principle #1: Dig it Up
The first 'thing' we simply MUST do, according to Dr. Henry Cloud, is search our selves for 2 kinds of personality traits: bad stuff and good stuff. What kind of baggage or weight have we been carrying on our back that is burdensome or hindering in our professional, relational, and spiritual lives? What kinds of traits are beneficial and needs to be girded up? Self-assessment or self-analysis every now and then is a healthy undertaking and leads to Principle #2 (although I think Dr. Cloud wanted to stretch 8 things into 9 things - 1 and 2 could easily have been the same principle)...

Principle #2: Pull the Tooth
The second thing we simply MUST do is to get rid of whatever is keeping us from achieving success in our professional, relational, or spiritual lives. Habitual sins, trends, ruts, self-destructive attitudes or behavior should be kicked to the curb. Successful people don't keep these things in their lives for long.

I haven't read Principle #3 yet, but I'm guessing it is to bolster the good things in our lives. I got the sense reading Principle #2 that Dr. Cloud had a goal to make his book a certain length and did whatever he had to do to get there. It is very repetitive and painstakingly drawn out. Integrity was much more enjoyable to read.

9 Things...

Here's the book I chose to study. I recently finished "Integrity", by Dr. loud and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to read another from him. Integrity was geared more towards business leadership and how to successfully deal with people- much more than simply being honest and trustworthy. Those things are necessary, of course, but you can be honest and trustworthy and still not have the character required to deal with problem clients or fellow employees...

Here's the description of 9 Things... from amazon:

Nine practical, easy-to-grasp strategies to help readers discover behaviors and responses that successful individuals have in common. You can win in the game of life!
Have you ever wondered about the difference between those who win at love and live, and those who fail? By carefully observing people who gave him a certain "deja vu" feeling when he first met them, Dr. Henry Cloud made a remarkable discovery. No, he hadn't actually met these people before, but he had encountered their particular ways of handling life. And the common denominator with these individuals who practiced these "ways" was they were all successful!
They all... - Had healthy relationships - Reached their goals - Did not repeat the same mistakes - Were in control of their lives - Felt a sense of purpose
Dr. Cloud then decided to do something that was not the focus of his clinical training: investigate why successful people's lives were working, rather than trying to uncover what was broken in a person and trying to fix it. He learned that personal growth is not only about getting healthy, but also about the principles successful people invariably practice.
If you follow these nine principles, you can achieve great results in y our work, your relationships, and other areas of your life. Best of all, these principles are not limited to the chose few who are born with money, brains, or great talent. They're available to anyone who wants to transform average relationships and uncertain hopes into vibrant and achievable dreams.