If for some reason you don't have something to talk about this week...

You missed the sermon.

There are a ton of personal discussions/applications you can make from that sermon.

The links listed on the website have some articles and resources.  

So be sure to check www.emmanuelbaptist.com/blog

Here are some quick things I jotted down during the sermon.

An Honest, Hard Evaluation of Soul Care!

O.K. about a year and a half ago I read a book Gaining by Losing by J.D. Greear.  I posted about it a couple of times on our church blog.  You can read these posts at www.emmanuelbaptist.com/tag/gaining-by-losing/

This past week Pastor Duke let me know that he wanted to encourage the church to read this book especially because Missions Emphasis Month.  The subtitle of the book reflects a great Missions theme Why the Future Belongs to Churches That Send. So over the last two days I have been rereading sections of this book and getting knocked around by the Holy Spirit because of some things Greear wrote in this challenging book.   

Here is one specific thing I have been thinking/processing through....

An Honest, Hard Evaluation of EBC's Soul Care Ministry.
I want to share some incomplete thoughts with you to help us improve the disciple-making work of Emmanuel

One of the quotes that really challenged my thinking about Soul Care is

"Maybe the worst failure for a church is success in things that aren't producing reproducing disciples."  (139)  

Here is a specific question Greear asks in relationship to this quote.

"Are our small group ministries raising up new leaders to plant new groups?"

Now here comes the processing part for me.  Please read through to the end

In many ways, I feel like Soul Care has been successful.

• This year, I believe we have over 225 people in groups.
• Over the 5 +  years we have been doing Soul Care, attendance has either remained steady or slightly grown.  I have spoken with a couple of people who said they thought the small group ministry would lose enthusiasm or die after awhile.  
• Many people are connecting in a deeper way with others in the church.  I have seen this in my own groups. This includes deeper prayer requests and talking about real life personal problems

At the same time, I think of the Greear quote and question above and cannot help but think our Soul Care ministry has not been as fruitful as I would like (Note the use of the word fruitful not successful here).

• While it has maintained, it has not grown.
• I want to be very clear that I am not saying we need to have hundreds of people in groups.  I believe the FIRST and primary mark of a healthy small group is CHRIST-CENTEREDNESS.  However, the growth I am talking about is growth in the number of leaders and growth in the ways people engage with others outside of their current group. 
• We still have about the same number of groups.  In years when we have had growth, the average number of people in a group has grown.
• This addresses the first growth issue: the number of leaders.
• As I think about and evaluate the ministry I am not sure how well we are doing at "producing reproducing disciples."  
• This addresses the second growth issue:  the ways people engage with others outside of their current group.

This is not a "poor Pastor Dave" post, so please know 

I don't need encouragement, pats on the back and "You are doing a great job.  I wouldn't change anything" statements.

I do need your prayers, just like all of our pastors, and help in equipping disciples to be disciple makers.  This help could be in the form of suggestions and even more so in each and every one of us evaluating our own lives in light of the Great Commission.

One of the Plumb lines in the book is "Prayer Doesn't Fuel the Ministry.  Prayer is the Ministry."  You can read more about this Plumb line at www.jdgreear.com/my_weblog/2016/09/prayer-doesnt-prepare-for-ministry-prayer-is-the-ministry.html

I would appreciate your thoughts/responses to this post.  You can either comment below for everyone, which would be best, or email me at soulcare@emmanuelbaptist.com. 

Bad Weather and a "Small Group" of 26.

Last night (March 8, 2017), we had an intergenerational "small group" time with 26.
This was motivated by the weather and a blog post I read recently entitled:  Intergenerational Teaching:  Why and How? 
We don't do this regularly but it was a good night for families to connect and encourage one another.




Here are some pictures from our Soul Care group last night!   
We had 26 people there.
Let me explain why we had this many people and moved it to the church.

Our Wednesday group has several families who have middle schoolers.  Well, last night the high winds knocked the electricity out at the school and our youth building.  So we had to think fast.

We moved our meeting place from our house to the church and planned an evening of brief sermon discussion, prayer, and family interaction.
Now here is where it gets fun.  Enjoy the following dress up pictures then read the explanation of what we did.

After reading the passage of scripture from this past week's message we played two games that connected with the Soul Care notes.

The first was a "put on and put off" game.  You saw the pictures above.  

Even one of the younger kids
got in on the fun.

The second activity was different mixed groups had to pick which one of six pictures they liked the most and liked the least.

After these two games, we discussed the "Put On and Put Off" passage and the Colossians 3:12 - 17 and talked about things we need to "put off" and "put on" especially as it relates to love.

We also talked about what we need to love more and love less.

Then we prayed. 
I asked one person to pray for George Collins, GAP (Global Access Partners) and the Akha Baptist Church.  
I asked another person to pray for our missionary family in general.
Then, I closed our prayer time.
We started at 6:45 ended around 7:50.
People stuck around, talked and played games until about 8:30.  It was a great night.

Romans 13:8-10

The following link is to a sermon based study guide for Romans 13:8 -10.
I would encourage you to look it over and see if there are things you can use in your group.
http://fpchouston.org/am-site/media/small-group-study-guide-november-1-sermon.pdf

Also, I really want to encourage you and your Soul Care group to be thinking MISSIONS this month.
Here are some suggestions.

1. With your Soul Care meeting time.
• Head:  What do I need to remember/know from this passage/sermon?
• Heart:  What do I need to love/hate more from this passage/sermon?
• Hand:  What do I need to do because of this passage/sermon?  How can I specifically help/encourage one of our missionaries?
2. As a Soul Care group write a missionary.
• Send one or more paper letters.
• Email blitz one of the missionaries.  
1. Decide on a missionary.
2. Get that missionaries email
3. Assign each person in your group a day.
4. Each person should send the missionary an email on your assigned day.
3. Plan to come to the missionary movie night but here is the Soul Care part of it.  Do one of the following with your group:
• After the movie go get a sundae at Dairy Queen.  They are on sale.  You can go to another desert place.
• Before the movie have dinner together.  This could at a restaurant or member's house.  Then come to the movie together.   

Small Group Discussion questions for Our Two Small Group Ministries

This past Sunday was a Kids in Church Sunday.
What I try to do after Kids in Church Sundays is put some talking points up for families.  

These talking points for EBC's natural small groups, families, can also be used in our Soul Care groups.

Take some time in your group to read Genesis 3 and make some observations.

Try to think about how your group can do the activity together.

Originally posted at ekidzministry.blogspot.com/

[Sunday] morning we heard from a very familiar passage - Genesis 3.Pastor Tim Pasma gave us several good talking points for kids and families.

Here are a couple of tips and topics to talk or ask questions about.  More may be added later.  Also, please post your own ideas in the comment section.

Quote to discuss:  We will understand this world in submission to God OR in rebellion against God.

Quote to discuss:  Because of Jesus, we don't need to blame shift.  When you shift the blame you miss out on God's mercies.

Quote to discuss:  "The serpent questions the goodness of God 'you don't need God to make sense of the world.'"

Question to ask:  Because of Jesus, what can we do?We call God "father."We don't need to shift blame.We can love our work because nothing is done in vain..

Activity to do:  Play hide and seek.  Talk about the difference between the game hide & seek AND what Adam and Eve were playing. 

By the way, jokingly I told my kids we were going to eat dinner today naked.  You had to hear the sermon.  Their response verified Pastor Tim's point.Two of my wife's kids came down to dinner in their undergarments. 

Repeat After Me "I must..."

Here is a quick sermon discussion tips.  If the pastor repeats a phrase several times AND has the congregation repeat the phrase, then you should probably talk about what that phrase means and how it should work itself out in your life.
Here is the phrase.
"Having Gifts, Use Them."

What does it mean?
How should it look in my life?

Repeat after me...
"I must talk about the quote 'Having Gifts, Use Them."

Taking Sermon Notes and Leading a Sermon Based Discussion

As I wrote last week, I want to encourage you as leaders and assistant leaders to develop two competencies this winter and spring.

Competency 1:  Asking questions that make the Bible and sermon even more applicable.

Competency 2:  Praying prayers that glorify God using the passage of Scripture preached.

Here is an article that could prove very helpful in developing Competency 1.  While the whole article is good tips 6, 7 and 8 are especially helpful for Soul Care.

#6.  Before the sermon ends, write down a one-sentence summary of the whole message in your own words.
Pastor Dave's Soul Care Leader Tip:  I know Pastor Duke often gives a summary of the sermon.  A good way to implement this tip in your life is to hear Pastor Duke's summary and write Pastor Duke's summary in your own words.

#7.  Remember that the goal of sermon note taking is communion with God, not detailed or beautiful notes.
Pastor Dave's Soul Care Leader Tip:  The members of your group need to see your love for God not only your knowledge of Him.  I want to suggest two ways to grown in this.  First, at the beginning of the meeting time, ask someone in your group to check your passion level as you lead.  What causes your voice to rise or your speech to quicken?  Second, before your group meets write down a couple of brief summary statements that passionately communicate the truth of the Bible and your love of God.

#8.  Revisit your sermon notes throughout the week.
Pastor Dave's Soul Care Leader Tip:  As you prepare for leading your group, prayerfully read through your sermon notes.  You may even want to write some of these prayers down.   Some of these statements may be what you share with your group (see #7).  One of these statements may be your summary statement (see #6).  

8 Tips for Taking Good Sermon Notes

Originally posted on January 06, 2017
at www.crossway.org/blog/2017/01/8-tips-for-taking-good-sermon-notes/

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A Prayer before You Begin

We live in a noisy world. Whether in the back or foreground, through talk radio, music, or conversations, we're almost constantly ingesting audible information. By week's end when we arrive at church and settle into the pew for a sermon, we try to silence the noise and prepare ourselves to hear something altogether different—God's living, active Word.
Good biblical teaching is more than just inspiring. It has the power to change hearts! With that in mind, taking notes on the message is a great way to stay engaged, leaving reminders for reflection later in the week to revisit the message and discuss with others.
Try these eight tips, and use a notebook or the margins of your ESV Journaling Bible to record thoughts and sermon notes. Before beginning, invite the Lord to bless the hearing of his Word.

Dear God, thank you that I can gather with other believers and hear your Word proclaimed and explained. Oh, give me ears to hear! I pray that the pastor's words would serve to point me to your truth, and that it would take deep root in my heart, producing much fruit.

1. Come prepared with the right writing utensil.

It's important to choose the right kind of pen or pencil when it comes to writing in your Bible, even if you're writing in a Bible with thicker paper (like the ESV Journaling Bible). Download our quick-reference Bible Writing Utensil Guide for more helpful information.

2. Don't try to transcribe everything the pastor says.

The goal of good sermon note taking is not creating a verbatim record of everything the pastor says from the pulpit. If your church records each week's message, there's no reason you can't go back and listen to it again (or even transcribe it) later. One of the dangers of trying to write down everything the pastor says during the sermon is that it often has the ironic effect of distracting us from truly thinking about what he's saying.
A more helpful approach to sermon notes is summarizing the sermon's key points, paying attention to the message's inherent structure. Some preachers explicitly lay out the structure of their message, regularly calling out different, numbered points. Others may not be as explicit about the structure of the message, but, most likely, there is structure to be found if you pay attention.
Focusing on the main points of the sermon will also allow you to note particularly impactful insights, practical applications, and follow-up questions.

3. Note related passages.

Even if your pastor tends to preach from a single passage each week, it's likely that he often reads or references other passages at times. Jot some of these references down as you listen to the sermon—this will make it easier for you to return to your notes later and dig into other biblical passages that may shed more light on the message itself.

4. Look up from time to time.

When taking notes during a sermon, it's easy to get sucked into the actual writing and forget to look up from time to time. And yet, looking up can be important for a couple reasons.
First, it gives you a chance to pause and take a step back from what you're writing. In doing this, you may find that you're able to make new connections, glean new insights, and ponder new applications related to the biblical text as you focus on simply listening to the message.
Second, it lets the preacher know that you're paying attention and engaged, rather than bored or distracted. Making eye contact can provide a small but needed encouragement.

5. Be sure to take note of the date and speaker.

Much like a journal entry, sermon notes can provide a record of what you were learning in various seasons of life. Having a date and name to associate with the notes can be helpful ebenezers (or reminders) when looking back through your notes at a later time.

6. Before the sermon ends, write down a one-sentence summary of the whole message in your own words.

Challenging yourself to sum the sermon up into a thesis of sorts can be a great way to solidify your understanding of the message. If someone were to ask you about the sermon at lunch afterwards, what would you say it was about? What is the main point you think your pastor intended for you to take away?

7. Remember that the goal of sermon note taking is communion with God, not detailed or beautiful notes.

It's easy to lose sight of the ultimate goal of good sermon notes: communion with the living God through his Word. Fight against the temptation to allow other goals—perfect accuracy, comprehensive detail, beautiful penmanship, etc.—to distract you from that which is most important.
Ultimately, it doesn't really matter what our sermon notes look like or even how infallibly they reflect the sermon from which they were originally drawn. What matters is how God uses his Word to transform our hearts and minds, conforming us more and more into the image of his Son. When taking notes during a sermon, make sure that's your ultimate goal.

8. Revisit your sermon notes throughout the week.

For most of us, by the time Tuesday morning rolls around, we've often forgotten all about our pastor's sermon the Sunday before. Sermon notes are a great tool for reminding yourself of what was preached on Sunday later in the week, allowing us to continue meditating on the message. What's more, if your pastor is preaching through a book of the Bible expositionally, reviewing your notes from the previous Sunday's message could serve as a great warmup for hearing your pastor's next message.
Finally, this may prove especially helpful for those in churches with weekly small groups, which often include discussion related to the most recent sermon.