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!