what I learned today

Today I learned more than I ever cared to know about a Plasma Cutter.

I learned that this tool would make our creation of the Crossroads Christmas Set Design a piece of cake - slicing metal as if it were cake.

I also learned that none of the Tool rental businesses have any to rent!

Bummer. So tonight all the Crossroads artists will gather to take a look at our second hand metal and decide what will be used and what will not. We will then create our templates and finally attempt to cut without a plasma cutter!

Again I say yay to the concept of a small group that also serves as a team. Common interests foster very, very connected groups. This can be true whether it is a group connected by a 'job to do' or connected by common age or life experience.

I feel sad when I watch people on the weekends enter - walk straight to the auditorium and leave the same way - never connecting. Yes, we can come and grow in Christ through the teachings we hear, but how much richer our learning can be when truly connected to others.

What I learned today is that even a plasma cutter - or lack of one can be used as a connection tool when used to create something bigger than ourselves.

art reclaimed

We are reclaiming the arts for God!

I am pumped! We launched the new art group that I have been talking about endlessly, and it far exceeded my expectations! I thought I knew all the people that were coming! Wrong!! It was the coolest group of people!

I felt totally out of my comfort zone trying to lead these talented, experienced, creative artists! We talked about how scripture is full of amazing descriptive passages, we talked about God as Creator and we talked about how much the church needs artists. They seemed encouraged and excited to be together. One lady told me she "felt like she came home tonight". Another told me she had tried small groups before and just felt like she didn't fit.

We talked about their art backgrounds, how they feel when they don't have a creative outlet, and then we talked about field trips, and art classes and experiences we could do as a group! This was an exciting night and I am still praising God for the artists He brought to us, the artists He loves so much. The artists that He created to create!

small groups rock!

We were busy again tonight, another 12 hour day, but a lot of fun! Crossroads is full of activity day and night! There were people everywhere. This was a Small Group training lead by Deering Dyer. My hubby Ron, helped with training too. As I made my way down the hall there was a CCB Data Base training for leaders in the ministry going on.

Next I went through the auditorium where I found Steve Browning, our Technical Coordinator checking all the lighting cues in preparation for the weekend services. Looking down from the lighting booth I caught the sound guys hard at work! Not to be outdone one of our praise teams was practicing too!

It's time to go home and I leave anticipating what the weekend may bring, changed lives for eternity. How cool!

what I learned today

Today as I sat down to see what I could learn, I had in my reading pile Larry Osborne's article entitled Sermon - based small groups keep people from exiting the back door. North Coast Church in Calif. has 20 weekly services on 5 campuses. One of the things they are known for is their "small back door". They lose very few people from their ministry.

I recently have started 2 new small groups and I am enjoying them more than I ever thought I would. I can tell already both groups are going to bless me as much as they bless anyone else.

I have been a member of several small groups in the past that seemed to serve their purpose then gradually fade away. What I once thought was a problem with my focus and steadfastness, turns out to be a very common ending to many groups. North Coast doesn't worry about the size of their groups, when they become too big or unhealthy group members just naturally break away to begin other groups. What North Coast Church has discovered is that their Sermon-based groups have the most staying power. This is due largely to the fact that these kinds of groups only require a facilitator rather than a leader skilled in inductive Bible study. What a relief, even I can facilitate!

The cool thing about this article is that Crossroads is offering the same thing to our small group leaders! Deering Dyer creates a Pulpit Study Guide each week to go along with the weekend teaching. This enables our leaders to just stop by and pick one up! What a great concept to keep the discussion going all week long. This creates a sense of community and mission within the body.

After I read this article which confirmed that Crossroads is on the right track with small groups, I received an email. Deering sent me several videos to look at for a big January Small Group series! How ironic!

I learned today that God is working at Crossroads, a large ministry can feel connected and can have a sense of community if we are intentional with small groups!