In conjunction with the sermon series entitled ALL IN, our on-campus and off-campus groups will be using a different approach to each session—the Sermon Based Small Group. Each week, you will be able to download and print a personal study guide that also will be used in that week’s Small Group session. Leaders and learners will have the same material, so the discussion will be exciting and interesting.

To download your copy of the Sermon Based Small Group Leadership Tips and latest Discussion Guide, visit Learning @ Long Hollow or click the image above.

I ran across the following information in the introduction to the Foundations course I will be teaching on Wednesdays in Hendersonville. I think it is applicable to every leader or facilitator.

1. Make it personal. Talk about your doubts. Be vulnerable. Tell brief stories about your life. Think about the difference these teachings will make tomorrow.
2. Don’t try to make the mysterious simple or the simple mysterious. Don’t try to simplify a truth that has been grappled with for the past two thousand years. Get comfortable with saying, “I don’t know.” When we explain away the mystery of God, we often lose the awesomeness of His truth. Likewise, don’t try to complicate the simple. Jesus used everyday objects to teach spiritual lessons.
3. Teach knowing that the truth will set people free. Before each session, tell yourself, “Someone is going to be set free in a way that I might never know, but in a way that will have an eternal impact!” The truth of God’s Word has the power to shatter the lies that have kept us locked up.
4. Teach with passion in your voice. If you are bored with your content, others will be doubly bored. What you are teaching is so important that Satan will tempt you to doubt the effectiveness of what you are saying while you are saying it. God promised that His truth will set people free. Claim that promise and teach as if you believe it.
5. Connect with those you are teaching. You are a facilitator in a room full of people with varied experiences and points of view. Keep it real by respecting the viewpoints of others in the room, but keep the lesson moving. You might find it helpful to create an objective for every class session. This will keep you focused on the goal and keep you from chasing rabbits.
   

Ecclesiastes 12:10 (NLT) says, “Indeed, the Teacher taught the plain truth, and he did so in an interesting way.” May this be true of us as we teach!

There are two things about which we can agree. First, we all have issues. Second, the Bible has answers. Sure, there are a lot of people who try to discount the Bible’s advice, but you and I know it is as relevant to our lives as it was in biblical times.

That’s why we created Real Life University—a comprehensive collection of short-term Small Groups that provide biblical answers to life’s most pressing issues. Real Life University is the perfect supplement to your on-going Small Group because it allows you to focus on areas in which you have a need or want to know more.

Real Life University will begin on Wednesday, January 13, 2010. The course catalog is now available at the welcome centers and the Small Groups Kiosk. You also can view a list of available courses at www.longhollow.com.

MythBusters: Nativity is now ready for Small Groups. This curriculum package includes a leader guide and learner guides (if desired). No DVD was produced for this study. In this five-session study, you will use investigative techniques to uncover some myths about the birth of Christ that are presented by the standard nativity scene. This is sure to be a discussion-generating series that will make you rethink some things you believe about Jesus’ birth. The leader guides and learner guides will be available in the Resource Room at the Hendersonville campus on Sunday, November 22. White House and Gallatin Small Groups will receive their resources from their campus pastors.

Check out the new pages available on the Small Groups Blog:

• Ways to Serve: if you are looking for a way to invest a few hours or a few days serving in and through Long Hollow, check out the new Ways to Serve page. Check back often because new opportunities are being added as they arise.
• Stories: if you want to know what’s going on in Long Hollow Small Groups, check out the stories. Read emails and view videos of people who are doing life together in Small Groups.

Our latest Small Group Study is available for on-campus and off-campus groups. Leader guides, learner guides, and DVDs will be available at all three campuses. In this study, you will work through 1 John discovering some principles that, if applied to our lives, will radically change the way we live each day. You can preview the leadership tips and session one segments below.

Over the next few weeks, we will be enlisting new Small Group HOSTs and starting new Small Groups. To help new people find groups, we will have a series of GroupFinder events that will make this process easier for everyone involved. On October 11 and 18, Small Group HOSTs and potential Small Group members will be able to have a meet & greet time in the chapel on the Hendersonville campus following each worship service. If you are looking for a Small Group or if you are a Small Group HOST with room for more group members, make plans to attend.

The challenge? Create a Small Group curriculum that works in on-campus and off-campus settings. They said it couldn’t be done… at least, it seems as if that’s what they said. Come to think of it, I’m really not sure who “they” are. Maybe “they” are curriculum publishers who just can’t see how on-campus and off-campus Small Groups can work together as a singular strategy. Some believe these are competing strategies. I disagree!

We found plenty of stuff out there. Some of it was little more than cheesy entertainment with very little real Bible study. Some of it was heavy, theological arguments presented by people who seem to have forgotten that most of us don’t understand really big words. Cheesy fluff versus theological talking heads… the options weren’t very good.

When we set out to create Digging In, we started with a good understanding of adult educational principles. We tossed in some creative Bible study techniques, and the added the ingenuity of our Creative Team. The end result is awesome! All of Long Hollow’s Small Groups will be using this new study. In the process, they will take a journey through the first ten chapters of the Book of Joshua and they will learn how to do personal Bible study.

It’s exciting to finally deliver something we believe will change the way Bible study is done. It’s great to be surrounded by creative people who share our vision for making Bible study interesting, informative, and inspirational. It’s our privilege to deliver Digging In!

Long Hollow Small Group leaders will receive instructions for picking up their copies of the DVD and 54-page leader guide. If your church is interested in copies for your Small Group, contact the Small Groups Office at Long Hollow (615.824.4006). You can also visit our ecampus to participate in an online Small Group using this curriculum (http://learning.longhollow.com).

STEP BY STEP through Session One

1. Leadership Tips

2. View the Lesson One Intro Video (approx. 7 minutes).

3. Read the Lesson

Lesson One Leader Guide to download a copy of lesson one or refer to the lesson in your Leader Guide.

4. View the Lesson One Wrap Up (approx. 4 minutes)

1. Healthy small groups have a passion for reaching unreached people. It’s a way of life not a program.
2. Group members are engaged in long-term ministry together. They invest in things that matter to God.
3. Healthy small groups produce new leaders and start new groups. It’s all about reaching people!
4. Group members are volunteering in the church because they see the big picture.
5. Group members talk about what God is doing in and through them, not just what’s happening at church.
6. Group members are genuinely concerned about people who are not in groups. They encourage involvement.
7. Group members spend a considerable amount of time in prayer with and for each other.
8. Group members are transferring what they learn to everyday life. They are growing spiritually.
9. Group members are in touch with each other throughout the week.
10. Small Group members look forward to meeting and will reschedule around conflicts.