2011: The Year of Relationships

On New Year's Day of 2010, one year ago, I began a new practice that I'm continuing next year. I had read John Eldridge's New Year's Eve post about his annual practice of asking God for a theme for the coming year. Last year, I heard God say the word more. Since 2009 had been a very difficult year, that word really scared me at first. I did not think I could take more of the same. But then I heard God complete the theme: more Jesus. See my 2010 New Year's Day blog here to read more.

The past year has still been a tough year. It wasn't more of the same from 2009, but there were definitely lots of challenges. I got through 2010 because of God's fulfilled promise of more Jesus.

I spent more time with Jesus on a regular basis this past year, and those times have been rich and rewarding. But more than just time spent with him, I have sensed more of his presence and power in my life than ever. Like monster truck rallies, I felt MORE POWER! I'm hoping for even more of that in 2011.

Over the last several weeks, I've been asking God for a theme word or phrase for next year. What I believe I'm hearing is relationships. This is a key word for me right now. I desire for God to strengthen my relationships on every level:

1. Continue to grow in my relationship with my Father. That's where it all starts! If I have a strong relationship with him, I believe he will strengthen my other relationships as well (see Matthew 6:33). 
2. Continue growing in my relationship with my wife, Heidi. Next to my Father, this is my most vital relationship. I still have a lot to learn here!
3. Continue to invest into my relationship with my kids, Jordan, Dru, Sarah, and Annie. I want to be a good steward of what God has entrusted to me, and, next to Heidi, they are the best gifts and responsibilities he has given me.
4. Invest into my relationships with our small group leadership team and leaders. I tend towards the task-oriented/achiever side of leadership. Like many other small group pastors I know, I love vision and implementing it through strategies. (Alan Danielson wrote a great six-part series of blogs titled "The Problem with Small Group Pastors." Start here to read this series. See his Triple-Threat Leadership graphic here.) I desire to be a more relational leader, and it takes effort and Christ's power to move in that direction. This year, I'm going to be very intentional about this.

I believe I needed more Jesus before I could successfully strengthen and build my relationships. God is at work, and I can't wait to see what he does in 2011.

How about you? What theme is God giving you for 2011?

Healthy small group leaders are friends with non-Christ-followers

The attributes for healthy small group leaders includes many things. One that is not usually on the list but that I believe is vital is that they intentionally build and invest into friendships with folks who do not yet have a relationship with Christ.

Small group leaders may or may not have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but they do intentionally seek out friendships with those who are seeking and those who could care less about God. These friendships are genuine and unconditional—no strings attached. Yes, they pray diligently for their non-Christ-following friends and watch for opportunities to share their story and the gospel, but they don’t “use” the friendship to force conversations about Christ. Rather they allow God to use them to shine his light. They allow the overflow of God’s love to pour out of their lives naturally.

Jesus was known as a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Luke 7:34). Why? Because he “came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Healthy leaders model this Christ-like attribute for the rest of the group. They model praying regularly for friends and neighbors who do not yet know Christ. They model inviting friends to the group. They team with other group members to pray for and reach out to seeking friends. They get out of their comfort zone to go into the world of non-Christians. 


What do you think? Would you consider this an attribute of a healthy small group leader? Why or why not?


This post excerpted from my new book, Small Group Vital Signs, available in 2011 from Touch Publications.

Healthy Small Group Leaders Are Friends

The Best Small Group Leader Ever called his group members friends. But perhaps that word meant more to him and them than it usually means to you and me. “Greater love has no one than this,” Jesus said, “that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Real friendship is sacrificial.

A healthy group is a group of real friends. A healthy leader considers the members of the group as friends, not as students, participants, or “those people who come to our house every week.” As the leader, you invest into the friendships first, especially with the Core Team.

On Facebook I asked for stories about favorite small group leaders. Linda from our church wrote:

Joe and I have been in small group with Gary Wood for about five years now. I wasn't sure about a "bible study," but this group is so much more. Our group is small, but the friendships we have formed are everlasting. Our small group, with Gary as our leader, not only studies the Bible, but we hold each other up; we encourage each other in good and bad times; we have moments where we laugh and sometimes cry; we love each other, no matter what; and we know in our hearts that Jesus Christ is always with us. Gary keeps us focused, and he is one of the best friends Joe and I could ever have!

Wouldn’t you want someone in your group say the same about you?

How else is friendship a vital part of leadership?


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This post is excerpted from Chapter 2 of my new book, Small Group Vital Signs, available in 2011 from TOUCH Publications. 

Convergence: New DVD-Driven Study

Imagine inviting Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz) along with Dan Allender and Tremper Longman (Intimate Allies, Breaking the Idols of Your Heart) to your group and having the opportunity to listen in as they discuss a difficult or confusing spiritual issue. Imagine the discussion this could prompt with your  group as you study what the Bible says about these issues.


A new study series called Convergence does just that. In this series, Donald Miller hosts a discussion with other well-known speakers and authors about the challenges we face trying to integrate faith with real life.


Don't miss the SPECIAL OFFER below!



Frustration and False Gods from All Things Converge on Vimeo.


I had the opportunity to preview one of the sessions from this series (from the lesson on "Frustration and False Gods: Living in a Fallen World"), and was really drawn into it. This was way more than just a talking head teaching a lesson. Rather it was a real conversation among three Christians honestly dealing with an issue we all face--one that I've heard many groups try to deal with. In this case, Miller, Allender, and Longman didn't just give some pat answers. Instead, they wrestle with the issue together, discussing applicable Scriptures and providing thoughtful application. This discussion provides a diving board into a dynamic discussion around God's Word as it applies to the issue at hand.


Several things I really like about Convergence:

1. The videos are just the right length. The one I previewed was 18:25. Others range from about 15-18 minutes ... just right to be engaging and to give enough content to discuss afterwards without being too long (like some others DVD studies).
2. They've made the videos easy to get and use. You can either buy the DVDs or download them from the website (www.allthingsconverge.com) at a very reasonable price.
3. The easy-to-use Participants Guides and Leaders Guides  are downloadable for free on the website. The questions in these guides are well-written, and the guides are very simple and easy to use.
4. If you want to test drive a study before either buying a DVD or downloading a whole lesson series, you can download one session  for $3.99 from the web site.
5. Other videos include authors and speakers such as Henry Cloud, John Townsend, Randy Alcorn, Phyllis Tickle, and Lauren Winner on topics ranging from spiritual practices and personal growth to marriage and parenting. You can get a lot of mileage out of the Convergence studies!

Now here's the BEST PART! The first 25 people from my blog will get a free download. To take advantage of this offer, just go to the Convergence site and use the promo code MACK.

Bad Trip

In my time with the Father this morning, I read Zechariah 5. Strange chapter at first glance. The "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" chapter of the Bible. Seems like Zechariah ate too many poppy seeds the day he wrote this. There are huge scrolls flying through the sky, like those airplane banners you see at Myrtle Beach ... only without the airplane. There is a woman named Wickedness held captive in a basket coming down out of the air. Then there are stork-like flying women who swoop down and extract the Wicked woman-carrying basket. Sounds like a bad trip!

Wickedness is taken away, which represents Jesus taking away the sins of his people. It's interesting that the basket was taken to Babylonia, which represents the kingdom of this world in Scripture. This reminds me of when Jesus sent the demons from the possessed man into the pigs on the hillside (The story is in Mark 5:1-20.).

God's people who had come back from Babylon had brought with them some of the wickedness of that land -- the commercialism, greed, stealing, and lying that was prevalent there. In order for God's people to be God's people, that wickedness needed to be removed -- sent back to where it came from. That wickedness was worshipped in Babylon. Only God was to be worshipped in Israel.

Aren't you thankful that God takes away our sins? We can have a relationship with him because our Wickedness has been removed.

Maybe its not such a bad trip after all!

What kinds of wickedness has the Church absorbed or embraced from our culture? What have we conformed to from the pattern of our world? What's in the basket?


What does God need to remove from your life, your small group, your church, and take back to where it came from?

Nothing Small About It!

There is no such thing as a "small group" when it is focused on the presence, power, and purposes of Christ!

This morning I was reading Zechariah 4, where the prophet receives a vision from God about the rebuilding of the Temple. Verse 6 is probably on the Top 10 List of most quotable verses in the Bible:

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty.

In this passage, might refers to military strength--strength in numbers, while power refers to individual strength. Neither has the capacity to get God's work accomplished. It can only by done by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We often say there is strength in numbers. I've often said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. It's the only thing that ever has." I've used illustrations of the power of a team, like horses bridled together who have a synergistic effect in pulling a load. But none of that comes close to the effect when we join God in carrying out his work!

There's no strength in numbers unless the Lord is leading the way!

We usually do ministry by starting with our own strength, then adding more people to form a team, and then, when all that is still not accomplishing as much as we'd like--when we start getting frustrated--we pray. Instead, we should start with the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out God's work, then develop a team, and then divvy up the tasks to gifted individuals.

In verse 10, the Lord tells Zechariah, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand" (NLT). (Zerubbabel was the chief engineer for the project.)

Don't be anxious when a ministry or small group gets off to a slow start. God rejoices to see new ministry begin when it's in partnership with him. He loves an entrepreneurial spirit! (God is, after all, an entrepreneur himself.)

This Temple was smaller than the original. As they built the foundation, it was obvious to observers that this Temple would not be as impressive as the one built by Solomon. Bigger is not always better. God doesn't rejoice in the size of a church, organization, or ministry; he rejoices in the work itself, in the process. He rejoices in a job being done well, with integrity (the significance of the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand).

It is not by our own work or strength or action anyway, but only by the working of God's Spirit that really matters. God rejoices when we partner with him and do his work by the power of his Spirit. He accomplishes far more through this partnership than we could ever accomplish by our own power! More than we can even imagine!