Brandon Boyd

  Leading a Bible study for a small group is an achievable task for most leaders. With the right preparation and curriculum, a group leader’s main goal is simply facilitating a conversation aimed at creating a discipleship experience.On the other hand,  teaching  an effective Bible study is not easy, and only a few people are gifted enough teachers to exegete scripture in an applicable, easy to understand way. That is why I love having video-enhanced studies as a curriculum tool for small group leaders. They free the leader up to focus on the discipleship conversations, while making sure the group is getting doctrinal sound teaching from teachers you can trust. Widespread use of broadband internet has made the video delivery easier as well. Instead of each group having to purchase a DVD, they can stream it straight from a site like smallgroup.com to their tv or computer. But like any tool, there are a few things a leader should still do to make it a good experience for th...

  One of the key ways that we can help people grow in their faith is by understanding where they are on the discipleship process.  By really listening to people, we can learn what is important to them, what their beliefs are, and what their goals are. Then, you can help determine next steps. Listen to how the book  Discipleshift  by Putmam and Harrington describe it. Again, we teach our people to recognize these phrases so that they can know where a person is — not to judge them or condemn them but to help our people better know how to pray and respond, to understand what part Jesus wants to play in their lives right now. Just as a teacher will assess a student to better grasp where he or she needs help, a discipler can use these identifying phrases to assess a disciple (or potential disciple) to better understand where he or she needs help in their journey toward spiritual maturity in Christ (p. 62) For a review of “Phrase from the Stage,” re-read pages 211-215 in t...