Come to the Tedd Tripp parenting conference, Shepherding a Child’s Heart, on September 31-October 1. You may register on our website here.

Be faithful in your family devotions. The D6 curriculum guide offers wonderful daily devotionals to discuss with your family that tie back to what your children were taught in church. If you have not received one already, contact Zack Polyak at zack@southlakebaptist.com.

D6 also has downloadable weekly family plans called Splink. You can sign up to receive weekly emails here.

If you are a mother or grandmother in our church, please consider joining Moms In Touch International, which is a group of mothers who join together to pray for their children. You can learn more about Moms in Touch International at www.momsintouch.org.

What insight did you take away from the sermon?

In my last post, I talked about fighting as brothers, rather than with brothers. I said we need to quit fighting with our brothers over silly issues and fight for our brothers’ marriages, ministries, and children.

So how do we put this into practice? How do we change our behavior?

I’d like to offer seven suggestions:

1. Realize that good men are individuals and will therefore be different from each other. Understand that God makes each of us different. (Romans 14)

2. Learn to tell the difference between methods, which change, and actual Bible doctrines, which should not change.

3. Observe a man’s heart for ministry before judging his methods.

4. Be open to people who think differently than you.

5. Enlist for combat against the real enemy.

6. Commit to the defense of your brothers.

7. If you feel you need to confront a brother about something, pray about it, don’t write a blog, email or letter. Call him on the phone or, better yet, buy him coffee or lunch and ask him about it.

As we said earlier, our brothers and we fought “like brothers” growing up. We went at it. Despite the fact our brothers and we fought, if something or someone ever threatened him, we would jump to his defense in a heartbeat! 

So men, it is time that we not only fight like brothers, but we begin to fight FOR our brothers, against enemies that are a real threat: the pattern of this world, the flesh and its passions, ministry burn-out, discouragement, immorality, pornography, the devil, etc.

Many brothers are being beat down and knocked out by these very virulent threats while we blast each other from blogs, quibbling about nonsensical issues like whether to wear a tie on Sunday or whether certain instruments are OK to play in church. The enemy is not the Gospel-preaching church down the street or the brother across town with a different ministry philosophy.
I am under no illusion that one set of blog posts can cure the ills of our public discourse. The above-mentioned unscriptural habits are too deeply entrenched to be rooted out by anything but the power of the Holy Spirit through the incremental work of sanctification.

I do hope that if at least one person would take these thoughts and put them into practice, it would make a difference. If we are busy fighting for and alongside each other, locked arm in arm, it’s a lot harder to turn and fight each other.

If, one by one, we would commit to fight for our brothers against real enemies, we might just see the tide turn for our movement and the cause of Christ — in our generation.

In my last post, I talked about how some Christians fight brothers as if they were enemies. This time, I want to talk about fighting as brothers, rather than with brothers.

Sometimes brothers fight. No sense denying it. And sometimes a fight needs to happen. No sense denying that either. But when so-called brothers launch atomic bombs over preferential issues, like whether to wear a tie when you preach, or whether you project lyrics up on a screen, they are not behaving like brothers.

The only person who deserves that kind of malice in the spiritual realm is Satan. The gates of hell deserve a missile strike from a group of unified brothers. That will never happen, however, if we don’t realize that differences are normal but divisiveness is devilish. If I understand anything from Romans 14, it’s that the welfare of true brothers is more important than peripheral issues.

In Proverbs 17:17, scripture says. “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Growing up, I wisely presented this verse as a proof text to my mom for why brothers are always fighting…because we are born for adversity. Yet my mom corrected my exegesis and reminded me that brothers are not born to cause each other adversity, but to support each other in adversity.

In Shakespeare’s Henry V, King Henry speaks of this need for brotherhood as he rallies his army against highly skilled French knights. In his “Saint Crispin’s Day” speech, Henry V speaks of brotherhood- and the need for a band of brothers.

But we in it shall be remembered-

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; 
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me 
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,

It’s about time we swear an oath, a solemn promise that even though we may differ from our brothers, we will link arm-in-arm and stand together against the real enemy. 

This kind of camaraderie seems a bit foreign to us because our American culture is so individualistic — we are Baptists after all, amen? We could be well served, however, to capture a little of the camaraderie and unity found among the ancient Athenians.

I want you to read the oath Athenian men recited upon turning 17. Of course, we don’t agree with all the values it endorses, but if we had this kind of attitude toward our brothers in Christ, we would be unstoppable!

I will not disgrace my sacred arms nor desert my comrade, wherever
I am stationed.
I will fight for things sacred
And things profane.
And both alone and with all to help me.

Wow. If only we would all commit to not disgrace our ministry or desert our brothers, to fight for sound doctrine by ourselves or with an army, to leave the church, movement or network better than when we found it, and to honor the heritage of sound doctrine we have been given.

That would keep us very busy until we go home to be with Jesus — and there would be no time for silliness. We need brothers who will fight for their brothers marriages, fight for their brothers ministries, fight for their brothers children.

Will you fight for your brothers? Read Round 3

Growing up with brothers is an experience like no other. One minute “blood is thicker than water;” the next minute, you need water to clean up the blood!

As tight as my brothers and I were, we had our share of fights. Trash talking, bruises, hurt feelings, wrestling — even an occasional bloody nose inflicted at the hand of a “loving” brother — were not uncommon. We even had some pretty big battles, with towering egos and fiery tempers on full display.

But even in our fiercest moments, we knew fighting with brothers was completely different than fighting with an enemy. Brother fights can be very intense, but you generally just want a quick concession. As best I can recall, my brothers and I never resorted to guns, knives, grenades, mortars or RPGs to fight each other. Why? Well, other than the obvious, we were brothers.

When brothers fight, they are not out to mutilate, maim, obliterate, or annihilate. Brotherly fights don’t happen at a distance, but in person. Unlike a battle royal between warring super-powers, brothers are no way looking to win at all costs or hurt the other guy beyond repair.

If brothers do fight in a destructive way, they have abandoned their relationship as brothers become more like Cain and Abel. Kill the brother. Bury him in the ground. Hope nobody is looking. That’s not how family works.

In much the same way, it sometimes seems Christian leaders forget how the Family of God is supposed to work. They get into arguments with brothers but fight like they are enemies.

We do well to remember what Paul told the believers at Thessalonika:

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15

14* And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

15* Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Even when the disagreement between brothers is so great that one brother has had to separate himself from the other, Paul is very clear that they are still brothers. In God’s family, we fight like brothers.

It saddens me — and I am sure it grieves the Lord — that today we have mercurial siblings who fight brothers as if they were enemies. So-called brothers launch atomic bombs at each other from a distance and think they are behaving scripturally — and are good brothers for doing it. It’s not even over core issues either. All-out attacks are launched over the silliest stuff, like whether to wear a tie when you preach! When you attack like an enemy, even if you claim to do it for the brother’s good, you are not behaving like a brother.

The only person who deserves that kind of malice in the spiritual realm is Satan. Brothers in Christ are being gunned down by the devil — the real enemy — with weapons like immorality, burnout, and discouragement, while we launch D-Day assaults over song selection and architecture. God forgive us all!

As a movement, I hope we will get better at fighting. Our arguments should not leave brothers gravely wounded on a battlefield. I hope our sibling quarrels will be fewer and farther between.

Brothers may fight — brothers often do — but we must never attack each other from a distance with the intent to destroy. At the end of the day, we must still be brothers. And we must never forget our Father is watching.

In my next post, I want to talk about fighting as brothers, rather than with brothers. Read Round 2

Effectual Spirit-guided intercession for others is like most enterprises of the spiritual and natural world; the more something is exercised the more it tends to become a normative practice. Contrariwise, when we fail to exercise faith and Biblical understanding in praying, we often pray in opposition to the Spirit.

Prayer becomes effort without effect, ministry without a message, and desire without discernment. We grow spiritually dull, while whetting the blade of our soul on the rock of our intent. Eternal things grow flaccid and dull within our being and we’re at a loss to understand why.
 
To pray in the Spirit of God is a humbling thing to partake of for those who are in Christ. Praying “in” the Spirit is also praying “with” the Spirit. By praying in/with the Spirit I am referring to that place in prayer where we ask in faith, apart from ourselves (that is as much as humanly possible we stand outside of ourselves and our selfish interests), that God’s gracious will would be accomplished in not only our lives, but also the lives of others for whom we intercede. It is a place where artificial barriers and personal desires are swept into the background and we simply avail ourselves of Divine sufficiency according to Romans 8:26-27.
 

For years I tried very hard in intercession. Often I wearied myself with what I considered valid worry and concern for others in need, particularly those whom I was privileged to pastor. I desired to bear their burdens, to alleviate their loads, to mitigate their pain and suffering. Perhaps, I reasoned,  if I prayed, longer, harder and with additional fervency heaven would break through and deliverance would come swiftly and surely. Yet, in looking back through the years, I can well see that the very strength of my efforts caused me to miss much of what God was after in the lives of those I loved as well as in my own life.

 
 A prime example of how I missed this truth in my personal ministry can be summed up as follows: The area of northern Arkansas where I pastor is an economically depressed area where quality jobs and employment is at a premium. This is not a complaint just an acknowledgement of reality. So desiring to be a good pastor I have prayed often for my people along these lines, “Dear Lord, could you provide our men better jobs? Dear Lord, would you help this family be delivered from their heavy burdens, be able to buy that house they desire, send the kids to school, ect.” And often I’ve prayed this way as well. “Dear Lord, we could do so much more for missions if our people just had more….”  In praying earnestly for the very real and practical needs of my people (of which there is nothing wrong to pray for) I was, however, neglecting the ministry of the Holy Spirit in my praying. Yes, the practical needs were and are very real and demanding. But how much greater is the need of the heart among the saints?
 
How much more in line with the great heart of the heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ would my praying have been had I prayed in and with the Holy Spirit for a spirit of wisdom, understanding, charity and faith to be developed in my people? In the great intercessory prayer of our Lord Jesus in John 17 we find that He doesn’t pray for His disciples escape from their present troubles and tribulations in the world, but that the Father would keep them from evil, sanctify them and that they would be made one with the Father and the Son. We see again and again in the prayer greetings of the apostle Paul (Ephesians 1:15-18, Philippians 1:8-11, Colossians 1:9-11 for example) how he prayed in and with the Holy Spirit for these early churches. It wasn’t for economic improvement, impressive buildings or dynamic programs that he prayed! In II Thessalonians 1:3-4 he gives effusive thanks to God because of the Thessalonians growing faith and abounding love towards each other and he follows this in 1:11-12 with a continual prayer that God would be glorified in them and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ would be manifest in their lives.
 
How different is this from our intercession that focuses primarily on “self interest” and “man-centric” outcomes? Praying in and with the Holy Spirit is, indeed, a holy calling. It is praying with the interest and heart of God as our great concern. “Not my will, but thine be done O Lord” is effectual praying. Do we pray with a heart and mind that desires blessing for our heavenly Father and our Savior and King or simply for what we view as a satisfactory outcome in our estimation? When we pray in the Spirit and with the Spirit we are seeking the Divine interest above our own and Paul’s statement of truth in II Corinthians 4:18 becomes our own – our focus is eternal over the temporal. Do not fear loss beloved brethren in Spirit led praying. Consider Matthew 6:33 and Philippians 4:19 among the many promises that ours in Christ!
 

You see, I knew in my heart that when my people were blessed with good jobs and were giving good that it “lifted” a burden from me that I had been chafing under (although loathe to admit it). So, in praying for these benefits to accrue to them I was in at least some way expecting to be on the receiving end of their being blessed. After all, Lord, I have a wife and eight children to provide for and I have obeyed you in coming to the middle of nowhere and starting this church. This was my regular argument in my mind for my “righteous” prayers.

 
That said, however, I know me and this I know about me. Had these trying times not been my portion I truly doubt that the depth of sincere faith and love that God has blessed our family with would be present today. What I needed was help in the inner man more than the outer man. Yes, my flock continues to have many pressing practical needs, but I have learned to rejoice more in times of need, recognizing the Good Shepherd alone truly knows where the green pastures and still waters are. How amazing and refreshing to hear the saints testify in public as well as private of how God has grown their faith and understanding in seasons of distress. So learning to pray in and with the Spirit rather than against the Spirit has been revelatory to me through the years.
 
A man will never begin or, if having begun, will cease to pray this way except he walks in the Spirit and is filled with the Spirit. Because the carnal man (our flesh) is at enmity with God it is impossible to pray this way except we practice the truth of Galatians 2:20. Intercession, as Oswald Chambers has well stated, is having the

“mind of Christ formed in us” concerning the individual for whom we are praying.

A couple of years ago, I blogged about when Jack (my oldest) turned nine years old, I began to realize how quickly he was growing up and how I used a jar of marbles to keep track of his growth and determine priorities. (read post)

Today, Jack turned 13. This year, the marble jar will be half way empty. It is hard to believe that Jack is a teenager. He is almost as tall as me. He runs faster than me.

Looking back on the day I started the marble ceremony, my life is quite different. My priorities are different. My schedule is different. The marble ceremony has whittled some of the silliness out of my life.

When I first started the marble ceremony, I was running all over the world, I was running a company, I was running off different places to preach in churches. In some ways, I was famous to strangers…and a stranger to the people in my house.

Over the years, I decided that my kids needed me more than they needed a famous dad.

Over the last few years, I sold most of the companies, stopped most of the travel, started a church, and decided to be a stay-at-home Dad.

There have been many changes…for instance, my airline status in no longer top tier “Executive Platinum.” The other day I had to take a trip and did not upgrade automatically.

But to be truthful, missing the meal in first class reminded me that I had been home for weeks of meals around the table with my family. Laughing, learning, and being among my favorite fan club.

That nice hotels and the “Heavenly Bed” at the Westin was not a good trade for playing in the back yard with my kids, and sleeping with my wife.

That watching the news on a Hotel TV at night, is not a good substitute for tucking my kids in, kissing them on their foreheads, and praying over their beds.

The praise of strangers was not the same as the admiration of my own kids.

I don’t spend much time at conferences anymore…but I make it home almost everyday for the family conference.

Days are filled with the mundane…mowing grass, playing catch, listening to piano practice, taking kids to Karate lessons, and the potato cannon.

It still seems unbelievable that he might be out of my house and on his own in another 5 years (I left home for college when I turned 18.)

All in all, the trade was not good for my bottom line if all you value is dollars and frequent flyer miles. But oh the joy of watching a son turn into a man. Of watching a self centered kid turn into a God-centered man. Priceless.



In the last post, we learned that Paul cultivated a sense of thankfulness in his prayers for the church at Colossae. He also celebrated the eternal in their lives, instead of the natural and temporal.

The second part of the prayer (the second long, drawn-out sentence in the Greek, vv. 9-14) is about Paul’s petition. What did the Apostle Paul ask for in the lives of these believers? It’s nothing like most of our prayers sound for others!

9* For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Paul’s unceasing petition for the Colossian believers is aimed at their being filled with and growing in the knowledge of God’s will.

Paul then expands on this request and lets us know what this looks like:

10* That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11* Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

In other words, as the believers were filled with this spiritual wisdom, this knowledge of God’s will, Paul prays they would:

Walk worthy. Live in such a way that God was glorified in them.
Be fruitful in good works.
Increase in their knowledge of God.
Be strengthened with spiritual power so they could be patient and suffer with joyfulness

To say this anther way, the Greek is structured like this in each section:

3-8 “I thank my God because of your…”

faith
love
hope,
etc.

9-14 “I never cease to pray and ask for…”

The knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and insight for the purpose of (so that you might)

Live worthy lives
Please him with everything
Bear fruit
Grow in knowledge
Be strengthened

As I have prayed this way over the past few weeks, my prayer life has changed. I focus less on the “health, wealth, and success” of others and more on the formation of Christ in them.

Are you praying this way too? What are you learning from it?

I know none of us subscribe to a “prosperity gospel,” but don’t most of our prayers for other people sound something like that? Ever sit through a church prayer meeting? Don’t most of the prayer requests you hear center on health, wealth, and success in the lives of the people we pray for?

D. A Carson once said about our prayer for ourselves and others:

“80 or 90 percent of our petitions ask God for good health, recovery from illness, safety on the road, a good job, success in exams, the emotional needs of our children, success in our mortgage application, and much more of the same.”

Is there a better way to pray for others?

I was recently studying in Colossians and was struck with the way Paul prayed for others. It sounded nothing like a typical trip down our (my) prayer list!

Col 1:3-14 is one prayer, which in the Greek is fixed in two complicated sentences. The first sentence starts in v.3 and ends at v.8. The second sentence starts at v.9 and ends at v.14.

Paul begins his prayer for others by giving thanks to God for others. He prays from a heart of gratitude toward God. The whole prayer essentially is saying is, “Thank you, Lord.”

He begins by saying:

3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Then Paul goes on to list all the aspects of his friends lives that he thanks God for:

-faith in Jesus Christ
-love for the saint
-blessed hope of heaven
-the gospel
-the fruit and growth of the gospel.

The heart of Paul’s prayer is thanksgiving to God for others. Can you see his heart grow closer to the Colossians as Paul thanks God for what is going on in their lives?

It is difficult to be hardhearted about people when we are thanking God for them in private. How would our hearts draw closer to God and others if sometimes we just worked down our prayer list and thanked God for what he is doing and has done in the lives of the people we pray for?

Did you also notice that Paul’s thanksgiving celebrates the eternal matters in the Colossians’ lives, rather than focusing on the short-term?

Paul never says, “I thank God because they won the Super Bowl. I thank God because they made A’s. I thank God because they got over the flu.” He was totally focused on things that mattered for eternity — faith, hope, love, and the gospel — not just the immediate concerns of the moment.

You will really see this come out in Part 2 of this series, as we dig into what Paul prayed for after he finished his “thanksgiving time.”

Today, Robert Lewis, taught about how tough men need to be able to express love for their wives and loved ones. Robert read a letter from a soldier in the Civil War that was written to his wife shortly before the soldier’s death at the Battle of Bull Run.

July the 14th, 1861
Washington D.C.

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure—and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows—when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children—is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country?

I cannot describe to you my feelings on this calm summer night, when two thousand men are sleeping around me, many of them enjoying the last, perhaps, before that of death—and I, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me with his fatal dart, am communing with God, my country, and thee.

I have sought most closely and diligently, and often in my breast, for a wrong motive in thus hazarding the happiness of those I loved and I could not find one. A pure love of my country and of the principles have often advocated before the people and “the name of honor that I love more than I fear death” have called upon me, and I have obeyed.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar—that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night—amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours—always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.
Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father’s love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God’s blessing upon them. O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

You can read more about the letter here:
You can read more about Mens Fraternity here:

Our Men’s Fraternity local chapter meets at 6:30 AM on Tuesday at the DPS Headquarters in downtown Southlake. It is lead by Johnny Ballenger, a man with a passion for his children and who is committed to Authentic Manhood. You can read more about our local chapter by clicking here:

You might think attending church on Sunday morning with a large group of believers fulfills your weekly commitment to church, but when the Bible describes the normal Christian life, it points toward something more than just a Sunday morning, large-crowd experience.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul had a different take on ministry. As he was addressing the leadership of the church of Ephesus, he said: “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable to you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, (ASSEMBLIES) and from house to house (SMALL GROUPS) ….” (Acts 20:20)

Paul said that, in addition to public meetings, he used home-level meetings for intimate instruction and Christian development.

This idea of meeting in homes seems very odd to some because, for many people, Christianity has lost some of its meaning and intimacy. In many places, the church has become top-heavy with programs. But church is not a location; it’s a body of people who “do life together.” That’s why we are sensing a renewed vision and quest for small group ministry.

Small group ministry enables the church to meet face to face, in intimate fellowship.

In a day when bigger seems better, it’s important to note that Jesus’ most lasting work was done in a small group of people who did life together. For three and a half years, He lived with 12 leaders who were His special community. Mark’s gospel tells us the first priority for this called-out community:  “He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him….”(3:14) For three years, this small group spent time with Jesus.

Think about it: Sometimes the most significant things happen when we think small instead of large!

Can you imagine someone asking Jesus, “How many people are in your group?” and His answer being, “Twelve, and one of them is a traitor”?! Those 11 men and a small group of women were the basis of the church explosion described in the book of Acts!

Small groups have been a normative part of the church for years. From the time of Christ, to Sunday school, to home groups – all are founded on the basic concept that when we get small, more work gets done.

So what are the components of small groups?

Bible Teaching
Outreach
Restoration
Relationship

All small groups are some combination of the above components above with different areas of focus.

If you grew up with a church that had Sunday school, your small group structure looked something like this:

Bible teaching – 50% of the time
Outreach – 25% of the time
Restoration – 0% of the time
Relationship – 25% of the time.

By the way, Sunday School is a rather recent part of church history. Most historians believe that Sunday School was not conceived or a normal part of church life until the 1800’s.

Predating the Sunday School model, were small groups that met in homes. There has been a huge revival of home groups over the past 30 or so years as people have looked for a more hands-on Christianity. If you have ever been associated with a home group it looks something like this:

Bible teaching – 25% of the time
Outreach – 25% of the time
Restoration – 0% of the time
Relationship – 50% of the time.

If you have ever been involved in a recovery program it looks something like this:

Bible teaching – 25% of the time
Outreach – 0% of the time
Restoration – 50% of the time
Relationship – 25% of the time

The other significant difference between the different models is the location of the group. We think using both on-campus and off-campus locations is an effective mix of small group ministry.

In Scripture, it is clear that the early church worshiped both collectively and in their homes. In our day of big, expensive church facilities, it is easy to forget that the church is not really a building, but a group of people. Old timers used to call church buildings “meeting houses.” We see wisdom in gathering for meeting and training – and also taking the church out into our communities and into our homes. As long as “church” is associated with “building,” it is easy to compartmentalize church to a specific spot and time of the week.

Southlake Baptist engages in small group ministry in multiple formats to fit every need:

Campus Groups – We have family-integrated (whole family goes to one class) and age-segregated (different classes for different age groups) teaching times on Sunday morning before our main worship service. For those of you who grew up in church, Campus Groups function much like the “Sunday school” time. These groups major on Bible teaching and outreach. Most of the relationships in these groups happen in scheduled activities during the week.

Home Groups – These groups meet in our church members’ homes around Southlake during the week. It is a wonderful time of relationship between the members of our church family and their guests, along with an additional time of prayer and Bible study related to the Sunday morning message.

Recovery Groups – In the late fall or spring, Southlake Baptist will be launching recovery groups for people who are struggling with various “hurts, habits, and hang-ups.”

Men’s Group – Southlake Baptist will be hosting a “Men’s Fraternity” at a central location in downtown Southlake to help men grow as husbands, fathers, men, and leaders.

Women’s Group – Southlake Baptist will be hosting several women’s Bible studies in our “members’ homes” around Southlake where ladies can be encouraged, refreshed, and challenged.

At Southlake Baptist, we are purposely trying to get small – so God can do a big work in a meaningful way! For more information about our Small Group Communities visit southlakebaptist.com