Wait! Don't Cancel Your Group This Week
As Community Group Leaders, your lives are undoubtedly busy, so there will be weeks when it will be really tough to carve out time for your group meeting. Remember, though, the level of community you get from your group is directly related to the level of commitment you give to your group. Of course, there will be weeks when it’s just impossible to meet together, but instead of cancelling right away, here are some ideas that might help keep your group connected…even if it’s not face-to-face.
Get together with those who can still meet. There will be weeks when a family gets sick and can’t come. The same week one of your guys calls you and says he is going out of town and won’t be in group. Then you get a text an hour before your meeting with another cancellation. Don’t automatically cancel the meeting! Your group may have 14 people in it and only 5 can meet. That’s okay! Get together with those who still can, but do something different with the smaller group. Pray together. Go out to eat. Or brainstorm a way to spontaneously serve someone and go do it. These gatherings could produce some meaningful opportunities for your group to experience life change together.
Rely on your co-leaders. Sometimes you will be the one that is busy or gets sick. Life happens. We get that. Talk to your co-leaders and have them host and lead group those nights. This not only keeps your group together, but will give your co-leader a chance to lead and get great experience. Make sure to follow up with them and evaluate the night to help them grow.
Use technology to have a virtual meeting. Even if you’re group can’t all be together in the same room, you can still have a meaningful conversation. The next time you are considering canceling your weekly meeting, consider one of these creative techie options:
- FaceTime. If a member of your group is unable to get to group consider having them FaceTime one of your other group members. You could use other video chats like Skype, Google Duo, Viber, or Facebook Messenger. This can be a great way to still include those who can’t be with the group.
- Google Hangout. When you can’t get together as a group look into using Google Hangout, which has the ability to either video chat one-on-one or in a group. This app is really useful for group video chats. The only requirement is a Gmail account. It allows you to create a group so you can all video chat together. Plan a time for your group to video chat and work through the sermon questions together over Google Hangout. It’s a great way to still see and hear your group while not being face-to-face.
- Facebook Live. Create a private Facebook page for just your Community Group. Your group will be able to use this resource for encouragement, group updates, prayer requests, and community-building. It will also give you access to Facebook Live. As the administrator of the page, you can “Go Live” to the group. This allows your group to type in real-time responses to a live video of you walking through the discussion questions for the week. As a bonus, group members can log on later and watch the video again, even if they missed it live. What a great way to interact and share as a group, even if you can’t be face-to-face!
These are just ideas. Hopefully they help you get creative with your group. And, if you really need a break from group this week - take a break! Rest is good. We are so thankful for you as you lead your Community Group to make more people more like Jesus.
How To Lead Challenging Personalities
And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14
If you're a Community Group leader, you're goal is to help create environments where people in your group can experience life change together. But what happens when there are some in the group that seem to resist? What happens when you don't get along well with someone in the group? What about someone that just has one of those challenging personalities? Here are some ideas that may help as you lead people that might require extra patience.
Someone Who Talks Too Much
- Talk privately with the person before your meeting and ask them to help get others involved.
- Ask, “What does someone else think?”
- Use body language to address other people.
- Sit next to the talker. This directs your eyes to other people and allows you to be close enough to the talker to lean in to appropriately interrupt, if you need to.
- Direct questions to other people by name.
Someone Who Never Talks
- Express appreciation (both publicly and privately) for the contributions they make.
- Use an icebreaker to get everyone talking right away.
- Ask them specifically, “What do you think?”
- Direct simple questions their way.
- Enlist the help of other group members to draw them out.
Someone Raises A Controversial Question
- Remind the group that we must rely on the truth of God’s Word as the final authority in our lives and in the group.
- Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know the answer, but I’ll try to find out.”
- Acknowledge that Christians hold different views on a variety of topics.
- Know that you are not going to settle every question for all Christians for all time in one discussion.
- Focus on what the different opinions have in common.
Group Participation Is Limited
- Use the “Connect” section on the Sermon Questions to ease into the deeper discussion.
- Encourage people to take notes during the Sunday message and come ready to share their “one thing” - something that stuck out to them about what they heard.
- Ask application questions like, “So how could you practice this principle this week?”
- After someone answers a question, use follow up questions to draw out more thoughts from them or someone else.
- Focus on open-ended questions rather than asking for “Yes/No” responses.
- Use statements like “Go on”, “Tell us more”, “What do you mean?”, “Anything else?”, “What does everybody else think?”.
Group Discussion Drifts Into Tangents
- Be flexible - sometimes the issues need to be discussed even though they are not scheduled.
- If it’s appropriate, say, “Let’s stop and pray about this right now.” After prayer, transition immediately back to the main topic.
- Agree to discuss the topic at a later date.
Leading Great Group Discussions
Whether you've been leading small groups for years, or you're just starting in your leadership journey, you'll need to be skilled at facilitating conversations. Check out these tips on how to lead your group discussions like a pro.
Prepare
- Pray for your group and your discussion
- Pray that God will give you humility and clarity as you lead your upcoming discussion.
- Watch/Listen to the sermon
- Most of our Community Groups discuss the sermon from Sunday. In order to best prepare to lead a discussion, make sure you watch the sermon either in person or online.
- Take notes and encourage your group to take notes
- Taking notes helps us follow along more closely and remember content longer. Bring your notes to your group discussion that week.
- Preview the sermon questions
- Discussion questions are posted on the sermon page every week during the school year.
- Make sure to read through all the questions before leading the discussion. Be sure to make note of questions that you think will work best in your group.
- Three ways to use the sermon questions
- Try them (read the questions as-is)
- Tweak them (edit or adjust the questions to better suit your group dynamic)
- Trash them (write your own questions, study something else that week, be sensitive to what’s happening in your group that week)
Discussion Tips
- Ask follow up questions
- After someone answers a question, use follow up questions to draw out more thoughts from them or someone else.
- Focus on open-ended questions, rather than asking for “Yes/No” responses.
- Use statements like “Go on”, “Tell us more”, “What do you mean?”, “Anything else?”, “What does everybody else think?”.
- Get comfortable with silence
- Don’t be the first to answer your own questions. It usually takes time for people to process the question and think of an answer.
- Give affirmation whenever you can
- You may not always agree with someone's answer, but the more you are able to affirm their thoughts, the more likely everyone will be to keep sharing.
- Use phrases like “Great question”, “Thanks for sharing”, “I love that”, “Very helpful”.
- Try to involve everyone
- Draw people in that haven’t talked yet. Use phrases like “Anyone who hasn’t shared yet?”, “How about someone on this side of the room?”, “Guys, any thoughts from you?”.
- Don’t let someone dominate. Talk to them beforehand and ask them to help you involve others. Sit next to them during the discussion. Call on others.
- Begin and end on time
- Know ahead of time when to begin and end discussion. Plan how long you want to spend Connecting, Applying, and Praying. It is better to leave people wanting more with a short discussion than to drag on too long.
- Don’t focus on getting through all of the material
- The goal of discussion is to help everyone apply their faith, not answer all of the questions. Be ready to pause the discussion to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
- Get feedback
- After your first time facilitating, ask your co-leaders for feedback. Always try to improve!
How To Use The Story Cards
Looking for a creative and meaningful icebreaker or opener for your group this week? Download the Story Cards, then read the instructions on how to use them below.
We live in a visual culture. When you have people interact with pictures instead of just asking them questions, they open up in surprising ways. It’s a great way to get past surface topics and start to really get to know people. You may learn new and eye-opening things about people you thought you already knew well.
Story cards can be used with brand new groups to help people get to know each other, or in established groups to dig deeper into existing relationships.
Instructions:
- Print out the Story Cards, cut them apart, and bring them to your next group meeting. (Alternately, pick a few pictures from the Story Cards and email/text them to your group before your meeting.)
- Spread the story cards out in the middle of the room so people can see them when they first walk in. Or, if you’re sitting around a table, spread the cards out on the table where everyone can reach them.
- Ask each person to pick a card that illustrates what’s going on in his or her life right now. Here are several examples of questions you might use:
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- Pick a card that represents your week so far.
- Pick a card that represents how you feel about this time of year.
- Pick a card that captures your current level of stress in life.
- Pick a card that reminds you of your childhood.
- Pick a card that reminds you of your first date.
- Pick a card that illustrates one of your favorite vacations.
- Pick a card that reminds you of a person that helped shape you spiritually.
- Pick a card that represents an event that helped shape you spiritually.
- Pick a card that reminds you of one of the most difficult seasons of your life.
- Pick a card that reminds you of one of the best seasons of your life.
- Pick a card that represents a goal you have achieved.
- Pick a card that illustrates a goal you still want to achieve.
- Pick a card that represents an area in which you want to change this year.
- Pick a card that captures the way you feel about your relationship with God today.
- Ask why each person picked the card he or she did.
Don’t be surprised if your group members go deep quickly. And don’t be surprised if someone doesn’t share anything. Your response to what they say has the potential to deepen or hinder the relational bonds in your group, so proceed with wisdom.
Feel free to be creative and develop your own questions. Story cards can help get conversations going around lots of different topics. Ask questions that will help people connect with their own stories and with others.
This idea has been adapted from a resource created by North Point Ministries.
Using Icebreakers To Spark Group Conversations
Using group openers is a basic, yet essential, small group skill. Icebreaker questions are designed to facilitate discussion help people open up more freely. They are not designed for simple yes and no answers. Use these questions in your group time to help get everyone participating in the conversation right away.
- If you could have free tickets to any concert, where/who would it be?
- What was your favorite subject in high school?
- Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why?
- Are you the type who gets things done early or waits till the last minute?
- What do you normally do when you have free time?
- Where’s your favorite place to eat and what do you usually order?
- What’s the best Christmas/birthday gift you’ve ever received?
- What’s the scariest situation you’ve ever been in?
- Are you a morning or a night person?
- If you could drive any car in the world, what would it be?
- What’s the last movie you saw? What did you like about it?
- Would you rather be rich or famous?
- If you could be a professional athlete in any sport, what sport would it be?
- If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
- How would you describe yourself in three words?
- What’s a character quality you admire most in others?
- Are you the type to save your money or spend it right away?
- Who are you closest to in your family?
- What’s the story behind the longest time you’ve gone without sleep?
- Who is the most famous person you’ve known or met? How did it happen?
- If you could do one miracle, what would you do? Why?
- What do you miss most about being a kid?
- What day of your life would you most like to relive? Why?
- What’s the smallest space you’ve lived in? What was it like?
- In what way are you most like your dad/mom?
- What does your name mean? Why were you named that?
- What is your favorite Bible verse?
- If you were to describe yourself in terms of a flavor, what would your flavor be?
- If you could eliminate one kind of animal from the earth, which one would it be?
- What has been one of the greatest adventures you have ever been on?
- If you could swap roles with someone for a day, whom would you choose?
- What would you do if you could design your perfect day?
- If you could attempt anything with guaranteed success what would it be and why?
- What is your earliest memory?
- What is one of your biggest pet peeves?
- What was your favorite TV show when you were eight years old?
- When you hear the words, “getting older,” what comes to your mind?
- What was the happiest moment in your life?
- What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
- When was the last time you did something for the first time?
How To Handle Childcare
If you have children that attend your regular Community Group gatherings, you'll need to think about how to handle childcare each week. Be sensitive as you work with your co-leaders, as well as the parents of the children in your group. Before you make any final decision about how to incorporate children in your group this season, consider the following options.
Children or No Children?
Here are some common options when children participate with adults in the group:
- Children remain present with adults for the entire meeting.
- Children remain present with adults for part of the meeting, and then break into a separate group in a separate room. Children can develop their own small group, participate in an activity (such as a Veggie Tales video), or enjoy a supervised time of free play.
- Children join the adults every other meeting, or once a month. Children and adults meet separately during the other weeks.
- Children and adults meet separately for the entire meeting.
Finding a Babysitter
If you decide to have the children separated from the adults, it's good to have a babysitter. Here are some ideas for finding and paying a babysitter:
- Rotate “guys nights” and “girls nights” where wives stay home with the kids one time and husbands stay home with the kids the next time.
- Adults work together to arrange a babysitter for all of the children in the group. Payment is split among all group members, or among only those bringing children.
- Couples from the group rotate each week, caring for the children in a different room than the other adults. Each couple does childcare once every two months or so.
- A babysitter cares for most of the children during the group meeting, but nursing infants are allowed to remain with adults.
- Outside of the small group, each parent arranges for the care of their own children through a relative or sitter.
- Older, responsible children of group members serve as the babysitters for the rest of the children of your small group.
- Young adults or teenagers from the church’s youth ministry volunteer to care for the children of your small group as an act of service.
- Young adults or teenagers from the church’s youth ministry care for the children of your small group and are paid for their work. Perhaps funding a week of camp or a missions trip.
- Participants of other small groups at your church (ones that meet during a different time of the week) rotate to provide childcare for your small group, which returns the service.
Caring For Families With New Children
When a family in your Community Group welcomes a new child it’s a time of celebration! Whether that child came biologically or through adoption/fostering, we rejoice with our people and plan ahead to come along side serving them in their time of need. A new baby/child changes a family dynamic and gives Community Groups a great opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus in tangible ways. As leaders, it’s our job to assemble our groups and help these families as they transition and grow. Here are a few ways we can be proactive:
Set up a meal plan. A very tangible way to minister to a family of a new baby is to set up some meals for them during their transition time. This will require some planning on your part but will pay large dividends in the end. A few weeks before the baby arrives carve out some time to get directions from the parents-to-be: Do they have allergies or food aversions? How many will be eating? What time do they want their meals delivered?
There are two websites that are often used when setting up online meals: takethemameal.com and mealtrain.com. Both of these websites allow you to plug in all the information you've gathered from the family, plug in address and phone numbers, etc. This makes it easy to allow others to jump in and serve.
There is also the “old fashioned” method of just asking people in your group to take a meal. Write up your own schedule, pass it around at Community Group and encourage your people to plan ahead.
The responsibility of making and taking meals doesn’t all fall on one person - everyone in the group should participate! You, as the leader, need to set up the plan and encourage people to sign up and serve. Don’t forget to sign up for a meal date yourself. We lead by example!
Plan a visit to the hospital. Some new parents may desire a visit during their hospital stay. Saylorville Church tries to send at least one pastor to the hospital to visit and pray with new parents, but as our church grows we rely on our Community Group leaders. Find out ahead of time if the family is open to visitors or if they prefer a quiet hospital stay. Be respectful of their wishes. You can then pass that info on to your Community Group.
Offer Care. The first few weeks after a new baby/child can be an exhausting time for a family, particularly the mother. Are there other ways your group could step in to lighten the load? If there is no extended family living near, this would be especially appreciated. A few ideas to care for a new family:
- Caring for other children in the family
- Picking up groceries or running other errands
- Small housework tasks or even yard work
Work together as a group to think of creative ways to bless the new family. Most importantly, be praying for them as they transition and be patient as they blend back into your group.
Keep an eye on that meal plan. As a group leader you will want to keep an eye on the meal plan making sure people are getting signed up. Be proactive seeking out families to take a meal. Share the link to the meal plan on social media. If you are still having a hard time filling the plan (and everyone in your group has signed up) let the church office know - often they will know of people who will want to help.
The body of Christ in action is an awesome thing! When we sacrificially spend time, money, and effort on our people great things can happen. God calls us to care for each other!
Check out this charge from Alexander Strauch in his book, “The Hospitality Commands”, “…we are to actively pursue, promote, and aspire to hospitality. We are to think about it, plan for it, prepare for it, pray about it, and seek opportunities to do it.”
Caring for a family of a new child takes planning and it’s our privilege to love on them in this way!
Counseling Helps For Group Leaders
Counseling is like jazz. We have a melody, but not a script. We must improvise within boundaries.
Benny Green - “A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges.”
Counseling Defined:
- Giving people the Bible in a way they can understand, so they can change.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17
- Romans 12:8
Counseling Myths:
- The myth that preaching solves everything
- Jesus’ communication was 80% conversations and 20% preaching
- The myth that counseling only happens when you “go to counseling”
- It’s happening on the bus, in the cafeteria, and on the athletic field
- The myth that only trained professionals can counsel
- God has given you a specific situation, His Word, His Holy Spirit - why not?
- Trained counselors are the emergency room. Community Group leaders are the weekly check-ups.
Every Christian is a counselor:
- Matthew 7:1-6
- Vs 5 - Help your brother when you see something!
- Vs. 3-4 - Deal with your own sin first
- Vs. 1-2 - Believe the best, because that’s what you want people to believe about you
- The goal is unity, restoration, and community
- Acts 20:17-21
- Paul lived alongside people (in community)
- Teaching publicly and privately
- Urging people to change
- Jesus counseled both publicly and privately
- Public - Sermon on the Mount, feeding of the 5,000, public healings
- Private - Woman at the well, Mary and Martha, his disciples
- Ephesians 4:11-16
- Speaking and hearing the truth in love from community is the way we grow
Examples of real issues people in your Community Group struggle with:
- Drugs and alcohol
- Sexual impurity
- Gambling
- Laziness
- Pornography
- Etc.
Where do these issues come from?
- Realize what the real issue is
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- Our lives are lived in the context of our circumstances, sin, and suffering
- 1 Peter 4:12
- Our behavior, thoughts, and emotions are all connected
- Phil 4:4-9
- Our behavior, thoughts, and emotions all come from our heart
- Mark 7:21-23
- 1 Peter 1:22
- Our behavior, thoughts, and emotions all reveal our real desires
- James 1:14-15
- Our desires are ultimately rooted in our worship
- Romans 1:22-25
- Ezekiel 36:24-26
- Colossians 3:5
- Am I making God-centered choices, or Man-centered choices?
- Our lives are lived in the context of our circumstances, sin, and suffering
So, how do we help our community?
- Start and end with the Bible
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- Hebrews 4:12
- There isn’t one problem, issue, mess that someone is in that the Bible doesn’t help makes sense of.
- Mind the gap
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- Try to understand the difference between you and the person you are talking to
- Family background
- Place where they were brought up
- Ethnic or racial cultures
- Economic situation
- Emotional makeup
- Man/Woman
- Try to understand the difference between you and the person you are talking to
- Listen in love
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- Proverbs 18:15
- Luke 10:40-41
- Give full attention
- Eye contact
- Respond appropriately
- Body language
- Ask good questions (Sherlock Holmes)
- Circumstances - What is happening?
- Behavior - What are you doing about it?
- Thoughts - What are you thinking about it?
- Emotions - How are you feeling about it?
- Worship - Why are you thinking, doing, and feeling what you are?
- What do you love/hate?
- What do you want/hope for?
- What do you fear/concerns you?
- What do you think you need?
- Where do you run for comfort/safety?
- What do you think you deserve/are entitled to?
- Say what is most needed (Not, “What’s the right thing to say?” but “What will help?”)
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- 1 Thess 5:14
- Proverbs 27:14
- Be part of their continued journey
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- One anothers in Scripture
- Hebrews 10:24-25
Summer Social Ideas For Your Group
Summertime means experiencing life change together a different way. Instead of meeting weekly to study and apply God's Word, groups gather monthly for socials. Make this summer a fun time and your group will make plenty of memories this year.
- Hit the State Fair together. There's no better way to say "We love Iowa!" And butter.
- Meet at the pool, the lake or a park a couple times this summer and invite friends to join you and get to know the group.
- Spend the morning downtown at the Farmers' Market in Des Moines. Be sure to grab a breakfast burrito while you're there!
- Schedule several BBQs during the summer. Try having front yard BBQs and invite curious neighbors to come join the party.
- Ladies in the group, have a “girls night out” for dinner, coffee, shopping, or whatever the girls like to do.
- Guys, do the same with a “guys night out” for shooting, bowling, a movie, paintball, or whatever the guys like to do.
- Go to a movie together and then have dessert or dinner afterward and discuss the biblical themes in the film.
- Do a serving project together. Summer is a great time to help out at Saylorville, fix up a group member’s house or apartment, do some yard work for one of our senior saints, host Rise Up one Sunday morning, or serve in Vacation Bible School as a group.
- Grab your group and head for the outdoors. How about an overnight retreat together? Head up to The Ledges, plan an overnight or two-day outing, meet up around a campfire at night and eat, sing, and have a devotional. What a great way to share life!
Lots of kids in your group? Here are some bonus ideas:
- Pick a playground and meet there for lunch one day each week. Try to get to know other families that might be visiting the playground too.
- Buy a summer pool pass or a family pass to Adventureland. Throw the kids in the minivan and make a day of it!
- Looking for a place to watch the fireworks? Grab and blanket and some snacks and spread out on the grass at Hawkeye Park in Ankeny.
- Love the outdoors? Meet up with your group to bike the High Trestle Trail, kayak at Big Creek, or hike through Jester Park.
- What's summer without ice cream? Get the kids a cone at Dairy Zone on the east side of Des Moines, grab a milkshake or slush at Sonic, stop by Tropical Snow in Ankeny, or check out one of those frozen yogurt places where you pay by the ounce.
Don't stop creating opportunities for your group to experience life change together this summer!
Making Great Hospital Visits
Part of sharing life with your Community Group will eventually lead you through the doors of a hospital. If you're not accustomed to spending time in hospitals, you may feel nervous or even awkward about visiting a group member. Instead of waiting until they get home, don't waste the opportunity to offer comfort and encouragement right away. Here are some pointers before you head to the hospital.
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Ask first - call the patient or immediate family to understand if making a physical visit is appropriate.
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Take someone from your Community Group with you. Consider it a good training and good team ministry opportunity.
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Plan to stay less than 15 minutes.
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Read Scripture. Have several passages prepared before you arrive.
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Leave a note or card. Include your contact info, encouragement, and a short note that provides proof of presence.
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Be respectful to medical staff. Stay out of their way and don’t challenge the way they do their job.
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Don’t ask too many personal medical questions.
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Pray for the patient and ask if they would like to pray.
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Represent Christ, Christians, and your church to those who don’t know Jesus.
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Talk about things other than their medical condition - life highlights, family, relationships, memories, goals, etc.
Why Should My Group Memorize Scripture?
Memorizing the Bible can be difficult, but it is an important habit to memorize and meditate on Scripture privately and within Community Groups. Joshua 1:8 says, “Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night so that you will be careful to do everything that is written in it, then you will be prosperous and successful.” God’s Word is not supposed to depart from our mouths, but it will never make it to our mouths unless it is first in our minds! Here are some practical reasons why your Community Group should make Bible memorization a priority:
Imitating Christ. It may seem inconsequential at first glance, but the fact that Jesus had Scripture memorized is a powerful reason why we, followers of Jesus, should adopt the same habit. Romans 8:29 says, “For those he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn amongst many brothers.” We are supposed to look like Jesus! Just as Jesus quoted Scripture to combat Satan in the wilderness, rebuttal the pharisees, and teach his disciples, we should have Scripture in our mouths and minds.
Victory over sin. Psalm 119 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” God’s Word is a powerful tool to use to combat sin in our lives. Ephesians likens God’s word to a sword that is our only offensive weapon against the devil. Memorize passages that will point you to God and away from sin!
Comfort and counseling. John Piper says, “When the heart full of God’s love can draw on the mind full of God’s Word, timely blessings flow from the mouth.” Proverbs 25:11 puts it this way, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” We must memorize Scripture so that we can be ready to speak it as encouragement to those who need a word from the Lord.
Preach the Gospel. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” As Christians we are commanded to “Go unto all the World and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). At the very least, we should have verses that speak of the gospel memorized so that we will be able to accurately convey the good news to those who don’t know Christ. Understand and memorize passages about God’s holiness (1 Peter 1:16), Man’s sin (Romans 3:23), Jesus’ saving act (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and the call to believe (John 3:16), so that you can accurately share the gospel with others.
Delight in God. Do you delight in God’s person and character? Psalm 1:2 talks of a man who “delights in the law of the Lord” by meditating on it day and night. Understanding the character of God, who he is and what he has done, will bring us joy and peace as we memorize and mediate on passages that point us to Him.
As you think through some of these reasons for memorizing Scripture, come up with a plan that will help you and your Community Group succeed in this area! Encourage your members to write verses down and place them around their house where they can see them, and hold each other accountable for memorizing God’s Word.
Can We Really Trust The Bible?
One of the essentials of a healthy Community Group is the centrality of the Bible. We rely on the truth of God’s Word as the final authority in our lives and in our groups. As a Community Group Leader, an even as a Christ-follower, you’ll need to be prepared to defend your faith and the reliability of Scripture. Here are four quick reasons we can trust that the Bible truly is God’s Word.
Early testimony. The gospels were written by eye witnesses living within one generation of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Imagine playing the game, “Telephone,” lining up 100 people, with each one representing a single generation. We would expect corruption to take place with the message within those 100 people, right? But if the first generation wrote down the message, then we should expect the message to be accurate, even 99 generations later. As William Lane Craig says, “If the gap between the evidence and the event that took place is short, then the gap between the evidence and today is irrelevant. Good evidence does not become bad evidence because of time.”
Embarrassing testimony. If someone is writing about a real event that took place, they will include every detail, including embarrassing details. If the gospels have no embarrassing details about key characters, we might question the truth of those stories. But the gospels do in fact have embarrassing details: Peter is called the devil, Jesus’ closest disciples are constantly rebuked for their failures, and women (who were considered by that culture as non-reliable witnesses) are some of the heroes of the gospel stories. If the writers of the New Testament were trying to write a good story, they did a really bad job. But they weren’t trying to write a good story, they were writing a true story.
Excruciating testimony. If the disciples really knew that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead and they were spreading a lie, would they have died for that lie? 10 out of the 12 disciples were murdered for their belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The eleventh was dipped in a boiling pot of water, survived then exiled. And the twelfth was Judas, who betrayed Jesus and then killed himself.
Extra-Biblical testimony. When we compare the New Testament documents to other ancient documents, the New Testament simply has way more evidence for its reliability. For instance, the 3rd best-preserved ancient work is Sophocles with 194 copies - and the earliest ones date 1400 years after the original. The 2nd best is Homer’s “The Iliad” with 643 copies dating 500 years after the original. With overwhelming evidence, the best-preserved ancient work is the New Testament with 24,000 hand written copies dating within mere decades of the originals.
With these testimonies, and others, we can confidently rely on the truth of God’s Word as the final authority in our lives and in our groups.