Group Answers Podcast

February 24, 2021

February 17, 2021

Group Answers Podcast

February 10, 2021

Group Answers Episode 191: JT McCraw on Men’s Ministry

By Chris Surratt

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:37 — 46.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris sit down with Pastor JT McCraw to talk about the state of men’s ministry in today’s world.

JT is the co-host of the Renovating Masculinity podcast, a John Maxwell certified Life Coach & Speaker, an independent life coach with Stephen Mansfield’s GreatMan Coaching team, the Executive & Men’s pastor at Bethel World Outreach and is one of the leading men’s ministers in the United States. He has traveled around the globe teaching men what he learned during his dark days of personal crisis. He now coaches men and helps them build high quality noble manhood into their lives by drawing from his years as a successful custom builder.

Questions Discussed:

– What would you say is the most surprising thing you’ve learned on the Renovating Masculinity journey you started about a year ago now?

– As you engage men in various capacities, what are you learning about current and emerging crucial aspects of a man’s life and how to minister to men uniquely and specifically?

– Talk about the idea of band of brothers. Why is this important? What have you learned about developing this kind of relationship and what are the principles for fostering a sense of community within a group of men?

– Why does men’s ministry pose such a challenge within a church context?

– How is a gender-specific group different from a co-ed group? Why might this be more important for men than women?

– How are you defining “intentional awareness” and why have you adopted this term for men’s ministry?

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway and author of Leading Small Groups.

Group Answers Podcast

February 3, 2021

Group Answers Podcast

January 27, 2021

Group Answers Episode 189: Jeff Martin on Leading a Volunteer Movement

By Group Ministry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:12 — 36.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Jeff Martin about his new book, Empower: The 4 Keys to Leading a Volunteer Movement. In “Empower,” Jeff drills in to four key principles that can unlock a volunteer-led movement. They were unearthed from an event he founded in 2004 called “Fields of Faith” that focused on giving ordinary people the microphone. It has impacted and united millions of people, thousands of volunteers, and countless community organizations. Each year, over 250,000 people gather on one night in communities across the country.

Questions

What prompted you to write this book?
Who did you write it for?
What are some common mistakes that leaders of volunteers make?
What is holding back most volunteer-based ministries and organizations?
Does your book have any implications in the Covid era?

Group Answers Podcast

January 20, 2021

Group Answers Episode 188: Evan Owens on Mental Health

By Group Ministry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:51 — 44.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris check in again with Evan Owens about caring for people with mental health issues in our churches and groups. Evan currently serves as the Executive Director of REBOOT Recovery. He is certified in military ministry and has personally facilitated trauma recovery groups for over 350 combat veterans and military spouses. REBOOT is a non-profit that helps veterans, first responders and their loved ones to heal from the moral and spiritual wounds associated with service-related trauma.

Questions

This year has obviously been a difficult time for mental health. What are you seeing in your practice at Reboot?
First responders and frontline health workers have been especially hit hard this year. How are you helping them, and what can we do?
What are steps we should take to make sure we are staying healthy through all of this?
How can group leaders best take care of hurting group members as they start to regather in 2021?
What should a leader do if someone in their care is in crisis?

Resources

REBOOT Recovery

[If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging 741741.]

Group Answers Podcast

January 13, 2021

Group Answers Episode 187: Leading in a Deeply Divided World

By Group Ministry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:32 — 39.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Chris talks to Will Johnston about how we navigate tough conversations in our groups, especially after the events of January 6.

Will Johnston is the Director of Build Community at Eastside Community Church in Anaheim, California. Will graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in theology, did a two-and-a-half year stint on Capitol Hill, and then joined the staff of National Community Church in Washington D.C., where he oversaw small groups.

Group Answers Podcast

January 6, 2021

Group Answers Episode 186: What We Learned About Groups and Community During This Pandemic

By Group Ministry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:05 — 51.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian catch up with three previous guests about the lessons they learned from doing groups in 2020, and how they are going to apply them in 2021.

Ashley Anderson is community groups leader at Church of the City in New York, New York.

Dave Enns is the pastor of life group ministries at North Coast Church in San Diego, California.

Jon Hughes is adult ministries director at Community Christian Church in Chicago, Illinois.

Group Answers Podcast

December 30, 2020

Group Answers Episode 185: Bonus Classic with Andrew Peterson

By Group Ministry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:39 — 43.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

On this classic episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to author and musician, Andrew Peterson.

Andrew Peterson is an award-winning singer-songwriter and author. The second book in his Wingfeather Saga, “North! Or Be Eaten” (2009) won the Christy Award for Young Adult Fiction, and the fourth, “The Warden and the Wolf King” (2014) won Children’s Book of the Year in 2015 from “WORLD Magazine.”

In 2008, driven by a desire to cultivate a strong Christian arts community, Andrew founded a ministry called The Rabbit Room, which led to a yearly conference, countless concerts and symposiums, and Rabbit Room Press, which has published thirty books to date. He’s been married for 24 years to his wife Jamie, with whom they have three children.

His new book, “Adorning the Dark”, is both a memoir of Peterson’s journey and an encouragement for artists, written in the hope that his story will provide practical tools to others stumbling along in pursuit of a calling to adorn the dark with the light of Christ.

Question asked:

Why did you decide to create The Rabbit Room community?
Community seems to be important to you – The Rabbit Room, Behold the Lamb of God tour – why is it important to have a community – even in the world of artists?
How do you keep a consistent community when you’re constantly on the road as a musician and speaker?
What prompted you to write “Adorning the Dark”?
For whom did you write this book? Can those who don’t work in the arts and may not consider
themselves a creative person use this?
What is one thing you have learned about creativity and the Christian life in your 20 years as a
singer/songwriter, that you wish you could go back and tell your younger self?
How does our calling as Christians intersect and inform the “great mystery of creativity”?

Resources mentioned:

Group Answers Podcast

December 23, 2020

All Ministry Sites

Digital Resources

Lifeway Network